"Selling: Remove From Base or Leave As Is" Topic

Although I swore that I would never sell another painted figure, I have come to realize that at one point in my life I had a habit of purchasing random units in random periods without a thought to being able to actually use them in a wargame. Put simply, I do not have both sides, and often insufficient forces for a single side. It is time to let go of them.

When you purchase painted figures (so this really only applies to people that do), would you be more likely to buy unbased figures or figures that have bad or at best, uninspired basing? By 'bad' I generally mean that it does not look that nice, but that it could easily be saved by adding more material, painting the edges, etc. (For figures where the base itself is bad – cheap cardboard, edges not square, lines not straight – I would simply remove those figures from the bases anyway.) Additionally, would you be more likely to spend a bit more for the unbased figures because you realize that this is that much less work that you have to do?

Thanks in advance.

I have bought painted figures both ways, based on unbased. Based ones I normally wind up rebasing so I have not paid extra just to get based figures. I have bought based figures when the basing if for a system I play and haven't rebased those.

What I would appreciate is to have the type of basing described along with how the figures are glued down and if any special type of filling has been used on the top. Quite a few descriptions omit this info. This can lead to some interesting surprises like finding figures had been epoxied to metal bases (hint: use two pairs of pliers, hold opposing edges in the pliers, then bend downwards trying to get the bend under the bases). I had one buy many years ago from the UK where the fellow had used a dense paste to fill in between the wooden bases. In this case they bases were slightly larger than I needed so I decided to use a jewelers saw to cut them down. I did fine with the first base, but couldn't make a dent on the second. I then looked at the sawtooth edge and found all the teeth had been stripped off in cutting through the paste. I would up using hacksaw to trim them down as those teeth managed to stay in place.

As with gamertom, if I'm buying by mail,I'd like to have the basing described in detail. It might be something I can use, and if not, I'd like to know how hard it's going to be to fix.

But don't take them off the base. Castings secured to a base and properly packed with puffed rice are a lot less likely to be damaged in shipment than castings sent loose.

When I buy painted it's usually to save time and effort, so having to base the figure myself is moving in the wrong direction.

Unless the seller happens to be using the basing convention I am looking for, I prefer unbased. If already based, I prefer a simple base that I can easily pop the figures off of.

Leave it as it is. If I want to rebase it, I'll rebase it myself.
When I sell with pictures, I think that the basing and flocking enhance the look.

+1 7th PA

I always assume I will rebase them so they match all my other bases. So it doesn't make a difference to me.

What this does mean if there is a premium built into the price for basing then it will probably mean they are too much for me as I am looking to rebase.

Unbased.

I prefer unbased. I always rebase to my preference.

That being said I wouldn't be likely to pay more if they were unbased. It isn't usually that much work to remove from bases.

I run into this a lot. in 15mm The already based ones have to be on a stand in use in their area. It is best to put them on painting sticks and hold down with white glue which means they can be popped off after soaking in water.
I have sold more on painting sticks than bases.
In regards to 25/38mm they tend to already be mounted on single bases so I do not bother them. For example I picked up over 100 Bolt action marines at the show this past weekend. Now to decide whether to sell them individually or in bulk.