"How do you view things you sell?" Topic

First off, I am not in business selling figures and I have sufficient funds to buy anything I want. I will also add that my lead mountain is large enough to last into the next century.

In the past few years I have started to sell some of my unused figures. The first to go was my plastic 1/72 American Civil War collection. As a result of that sale, I purchased new 22mm ACW figures. Since then I have made a few more sales that have been turned around into new figures that I would not have purchased without the sale. In at least one case I would not have bought the figures at the price they were offered without the offsetting sale.

So now I am viewing sales as trades. I trade something I don't want for something that I do and the actual money is only incidental.

It also gives me some measure of happiness to know that my unwanted figures will go to someone who can really cherish them.

How do you view your sales?

Same opinion as you, I sell something I no longer want to get something I do want, and if the person who buys them is a happy guy all the better.

I'll sell at a loss to move it. At Con Flea markets my motto was "make an offer, I don't want to take it home"

If it is not in my "base collection" and I haven't used it in a few years it will probably be on the block

Vcarter; much the same view as you.

I agree. I have recently sold off a huge chunk of my collection, mostly half finished projects that I will never get around to finishing. The peace of mind not having them hovering over me and the ability to do targeted purchasing of better terrain and a few periods has really increased my enjoyment of the hobby.

I don't sell things but I do give them away – it makes me happy to think that my unwanted figs have a new home

Plus I really like giving away figs for things like the Toys for Tots auctions – this is a shameless plug for a very worthy cause!

I have been getting rid of unwanted items and putting the money raised into a single collection that I really like. I did my first big sell-off and felt quit relieved to get all of the unpainted and never used lead out of the basement. It has been quite liberating.

I readily accept the ransom offered to liberate miniatures from the dungeons of cardboard boxes in which they have not seen the light of moon (as nobody games during daylight) for a year or so.

Also, I have a number of projects that I really like doing, so I end up with too many of certain things. I don't think of it as a business, but rather someone subsidizing me sitting on my couch, watching sports, drinking beer, and doing really fun conversion projects.

I agree with you, selling what you no longer need/want to purchase what you need/want is just good hobby practice.

I get the warm and fuzzies when I give away or sell hobby stuff at a low price. As said above, I don't need it, someone else does, win-win. In 25 years, I can only remember one or two items at most that I regret having parted ways from. On the other hand, I remember dozens of happy faces and/or emails from happy hobbyists. I also know how it feels to be on the other end and how good I feel when I get that "whatever it is" I needed.

I love to see my unused stuff find a new, good home.

And on the other side, I love just as much to take in stuff that was unwanted or in need of refurbishing, and give it a new life. In fact, I feel less guilty about doing this than I do about spending my kids potential college money on new stuff.

I give away or sell low. As you say, I am not using it and if it helps someone else get into a new area to game, then everyone is happy. My feeling is that if I don't touch it in 2 years, then it needs to go.

A lot of people not just gamers adopt the basic attitude when it comes to pricing especially in owner flea markets or market venues. That is 'my stuff is gold and your stuff is crap.'
I see it all of the time in gamer flea markets and normal flea markets.
If you look at eBay most if not all books especially Osprey sale for half price or less and the average number of lots that sale is less than 10%.this is for new books.

Sales yield "play money" that is destined to be reinvested into the hobby, sooner or later.

This is one of the ways I've been able to keep this hobby mostly cost neutral for most of my adult life.

Once I can bear to year myself away from them, I look on them as paying the mortgage, food or oil.

I've just mentioned my loft clearance in another post and, like 79thPA , I've found it quite liberating. I know I won't make big bucks on anything I sell, and even if I do make a profit it never covers the time spent on painting, but I'd rather they get used than end up in landfill.
I have a simple rule: anything that doesn't sell after two weeks on eBay is donated to the Dorothy House Hospice shop; they always seem to shift stuff I can't!
I keep half my takings for toys, the rest goes in Minime's trust fund.
So, to answer the OP, I view my sales as doing somebody some good!

I like to make a decent price, but in the end they get sold to get them out of my house, into the hands of someone who wants them, and I get more money to spend on more toys. I recall a flea market where at the end of the day the guy next to me offered to swap his unsold stuff for mine, and we were both happy. That was perfect!

I like to get them into the hands of someone who wants them.
That being said, i usually sell fairly low.
But-
I irritates me when someone buys my stuff at a flea market and takes it over to their table, marks the price up, and tries to re-sell it. Ebay re-sellers have struck there too.

Anything I sell goes to new projects or an unexpected expense..

Well, wow. What a pleasantly different take than the normal responses here. Instead of the common – from my cold dead fingers nonsense – a consensus of common sense combined with a sense of generosity. Very nice, gentlemen, very nice Now, I just need to act to be rid of the vast quantities of figures I have that it is just unrealistic to expect to ever be game ready. And I agree, the best use of unwanted figures is not to turn any sort of 'profit' but to make someone else happy – especially if it contributes to a good cause.

I thought I might add an additional comment. I am getting older and the eye sight is getting poor rather quickly. I don't want to leave it to my wife to get rid of the clutter when I am gone. I have been looking at things that I had good intentions for, but they have just sat idle and need to go. That money will be used to get active projects painted.

Matthew

I can offer up here, I am currently selling everything i owe, as i am moving to the USA in the new year. Not currently working, selling my house, so selling my figures is my only income. Its going well, as I'm not asking stupid prices, so stuff is shifting well. But, two observations, my friends know my situation, and are buying a lot of my Napoleonic collection, both as bargains, and also, i suspect, to help me out, this is very touching. Also, NEVER underestimate the innate tightness of some Wargamers, offer them a total bargain of X, and some will always want 'X minus a bit more' I swear its some macho crap l have no time for, I've even said, 'No, l'd rather chuck 'em in a skip' it's a deal, it's a steal, it's the sale of the ing century!

And mentally unloading your boat of life is very freeing, all my vinyl LPs went to a collector today, both my old re-enactment uniforms go on Monday, the start of my massive 54mm WWII collection is currently on E-Bay, I'm not feeling any emotional connection to any of this stuff, and l really thought l would.

John