Wow I even gave up on giving up.... does that mean I don't loose?

[morganm]

At this point in my life I've realized I don't have the time to dedicate to painting, money to spend on it, and really don't have the time to game (which was the whole point of painting for me). Time to sell it all off and focus on other things.

 

I'm not really looking to make a bunch of money here; just get some money for my stuff and get it out of the house.

 

I'd really like to sell it all off in one big lot but I don't know if anyone would even buy all of this stuff at one time. Should I sell it all as one big bundle or sell it off in pieces or sections?

Maybe I should sell all the metal minis and painting stuff in one lot, all of the hirst arts stuff in another, and all of the prepainted plastic minis as yet another lot?

How much is this stuff even worth? Could I get $100 for the whole lot? $50? Less?

 

I'll figure out exactly how much of everything I have this weekend but here's some rough estimates off the top of my head.

 

Around 70 metal minis (mostly reaper, some old ral partha, and just a few of misc)

Dozens of pre painted plastic minis (mostly DDMs, a few LEs, and a few misc)

Some reaper swag points

 

About 20 bottles of paint.

4 really nice paint brushes

A bunch of crappy brushes

Two big bottles of brush on matte and gloss varnish

Half a bottle of flow improver

Bottle of pink brush soap

Shoe box full of basing material

 

 

2 hirst arts molds

30 pounds of hydrostone

A ton of minis cast from the 2 molds

All the tools needed to cast using the molds (glass plate, scraper, timer, plastic cups, etc)

[Heisler]

You will do much better selling that stuff off in groups. The groups are showing aren't bad. The 30# of Hydrostone is going to be tough because its going to cost so much to ship. But the molds will close to retail and I would just throw the casts in along with them.

 

I wouldn't expect you to get much for everything else but you are going to have to figure out which minis make up the first group. I would sell the plastics off as a separate bunch from the metal.

[Inarah]

I would break it into lots.

 

You can expect to get 75% of what you paid for the Hirst molds, especially if they are clean and barely used. Bundle the molds and casting supplies.

 

I haven't seen that used paint is worth much, the buyer doesn't know what they are getting, how dried up it might be, and such. Bundle the paint and brushes.

 

Sort the minis into lots based on type (fantasy, sci-fi, Reaper, Ral Partha, painted, unpainted) whatever makes sense. You can get .50 to $1 a figure on ebay, slightly more maybe if still in blister pack. Lots of 10-30 figures with good sharp photos sell best, IMO.

 

I think you could get $100 or more, but it's more attractive to buyers and smaller chunks. I think you can find more people willing to drop $30 on several small sales more easily than you can find people willing to spend $100+ on one big purchase.

[Thammer]

I had acquired a huge lot of Warlord stuff a number of years ago. I sold it off in lots via ebay. I had attempted to sell single models and even barter town, but, never got anywhere. When I put it up in lots for a generic low fee, people bid on the stuff, and I was able to at least unload what I did not care for.

[Qwyksilver]

Flat rate boxes will be your friend for the Hirst Arts molds and stone.

 

You can get a bigger box, and throw in castings and hydrostone, plus the mold and not worry about the weight.

[Bruunwald]

You sound frustrated. My first advice when I read something like this is to ask yourself if you're sure about this, or if you are just suffering a low. Remember not to make big decisions while emotional or unhappy. Not that the miniature hobby is the most important thing. Just that you seem to have invested a lot, and you don't want to regret anything later.

 

On topic, most of your supplies are going to be a write-off. Nobody is going to want to buy the scraper, timer, brush soap, crappy brushes, and the like, except at something like a yard sale. Depending on what is in the shoebox, basing materials might also be right out.

 

For the DDM, I would separate the rares and see what they are going for on eBay, and then post them at a slightly lower Buy it Now price than your competitors. Everything else, I would throw into a single lot and give away to the highest bidder (no minimum). Common and uncommon DDM are for crap to sell. Getting anything for them would be good.

 

For metal, I would split them up into smallish lots, as others have said. Ral Partha stuff might do better than you expect, saleswise. Basically, there are two camps on those: those who think it is rare and valuable, and those who respect it, but don't expect to pay much of anything for it. The former is a scant minority. The latter are going to insist you sell it for nothing. Might as well put it up and see who wins.

 

Hydrostone ships as a hazardous material. If I were in your shoes, instead of selling it, I would buckle down, use the rest of it up casting, and then sell the bricks. People here and on the Hirst site always seem to be on the lookout for pre-cast bricks. Just as they are always on the lookout to get a good mold for used prices.

[Reaperbryan]

Not that the miniature hobby is the most important thing.

 

Blasphemer!

 

 

No, but honestly, I'd piece it out. And Cragislist is your friend....

[haldir]

Do you have a local game store? You could try selling the heavy stuff there, thou Qwyk has the right idea with the flat rate box(es).

 

RM

[cerebro1974]

All your friends here on the boards are good resources to hit up with what your selling as well, use some pics and move the goods!

[morganm]

Thanks for all the in put everyone.

 

I've thought about this a lot the last 2 months and especially the last week.

 

Now that I've really looked at what I've got it seems that the only things worth selling are the metal minis and the HA molds.

 

It's not that I want to get out of the hobby it's just that I need to put it on hold for... 5 years? Maybe more... maybe less? Hard to tell right now. There's just a lot more important things which require my resources right now and my gaming friends obviously have better things to do. I've already got everything boxed up neatly as I have no dedicated work area or display area. Seeing that it's really not worth it to sell I think I will just pack it all away for now.

 

See yall around!

[kristof65]

If you have the space, packing it away will definitely pay off in the long run if you ever return to the hobby.

 

When I divorced and moved over a dozen years ago, I packed up all my gaming stuff and took it with me, oh so hopeful of finding a new game group. I didn't, and furthermore, I ended up in a job that left me no time for gaming. After three years I was depressed, tired of the stuff sitting my garage, and almost sold it off at low prices, gave or threw it away. But almost without warning my situation changed, and there was a chance I could be doing some gaming later on so I held off.

 

It was a good choice - a change in jobs gave me a few (but far between) opportunites to game, but the real kicker has been in the last couple of years when I've been able to do more. As I get back into the hobby, I realize my cost to replace all of these things I almost parted with would have probably left me out of it and lamenting my loss. Just a couple of weeks ago, I sat down and assembled some GW models I found stashed in a box and while out getting glue for them, I discovered the $100 or so I had spent on those models would now cost me $250 or more. Every time I pull out something like that, I realize how much I saved.

 

OTOH, not everything survives. When I divorced and moved I had a large collection of Citadel and Chessex Paints. They did get thrown out when I almost abandoned the hobby - after three years of non-use and poor storage, they were worthless. Brushes don't do well when stored poorly, either. My advice would be find a worthy cause for the paints and the brushes that aren't worth protecting well - you're going to wind up replacing them anyway.