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Why do people on forums think that they can resell their used models for standard internet prices? Anyone can get 30% off retail if they look hard enough. Ebay can give you as much as 60% off retail for assembled and painted stuff.

The point in selling used models is to recoup costs often for the intent of buying new models.

Perhaps I've played the Warcraft auction house too much, but if you want your product to sell there needs to be some hook. The ENTIRE point of buying models from other hobbyists instead of at a store is for the considerable price drop.

I don't know of many people who consider pre assembled models a bonus. I for one am a stickler for assembly and cleaning, and don't trust many others to put models together with the same care that I do. So if you already assembled, that should warrant price drop. Add priming to this, which again many people (in my experience) have trouble with and often have to be stripped. There's another price drop.

Take my Lizardmen army for example. $580ish retail value. IF it was completely painted then I could MAYBE recoup that full value. But it isn't. Which means the buyer will either have to strip every model and repaint, or try to match the paint job that is already there. That fact makes the army worth 60% of it's retail value. I understand that completely, and so that is what I'm asking for it. The fact that it's put together already doesn't increase it's value at all.

Alas, I'm just ranting.

Well they aren't forcing you to buy it. Some people have very inflated ideas about they quality of their stuff and ask almost retail of a load of damaged and horribly painted stuff.

I've seen several scratchbuilt titans on eBay asking near Forgeworld prices. Really, if I was spending well over £200 I would just get the real thing, not someone's less detailed copy.

I agree with you 100% that is why if somebody has what i want i make an offer usually less regardless of what they are asking unless it is already low. The thing that i have found as of late is metal models are now being sold for full retail. Now granted not much assembly goes into them typically(infantry for the most part) but at least drop the price by 20%.

I have a guy on bartertown who sells me everything from the warstore at 30% of retail(I guess they are his distributor). The ONLY reason I would pay anywhere close to retail from a non store seller is if it's something like a razordon pack that isn't sold by 3rd party retailers.

Metal I'm more willing to slide on because of how easy it is to strip.

I agree.. I'm looking for SoB and someone's like 'its about $750 retail but I'll do it for $500... its more like $500 retail and you'll do it for $350 I would think... and this retail from the pumped GW prices....

madness...

Depends on how much of it is painted, and at what quality. If it's patchily basecoated at best, I'll pay less than retail simply because I need to strip the PoS before I can paint it. If it's close to GD quality, I'd expect to pay a considerable mark-up to own it (although I wouldn't, as I don't like pre-painted miniatures).

I agree.. I'm looking for SoB and someone's like 'its about $750 retail but I'll do it for $500... its more like $500 retail and you'll do it for $350 I would think... and this retail from the pumped GW prices....

Quite technically, however much we wish it weren't true, GW's prices are the retail price even if War Store is selling them for 25% off.

aerethan wrote:Why do people on forums think that they can resell their used models for standard internet prices? Anyone can get 30% off retail if they look hard enough. Ebay can give you as much as 60% off retail for assembled and painted stuff.

Horse-dung, good sir.

if you're willing to watch 18 auctions, if you're willing to keep up bids, if the models you're looking for aren't already 'master painted' lol and inflated 200% + shipping, if the model you're looking for is even available, then maybe, maybe you can get 60% OF, not OFF, retail.

And good luck meeting all those criteria if you're looking for an under-used army like Sisters/Grey Knights (like I am) after shipping, because you're guaranteed to be bidding against 8 other people on that one GK termie.

To wit: I can invest 15+ hours a week on Ebay following auctions, and a tonne of hassle to save ten or fifteen bucks, or, I can pay a private seller that extra ten bucks, and spend that 15 hours out serving papers, and make 700 dollars, which buys a hell of lot of models where I shop. The cost-benefit analysis is clear.

Tbh, in private trades I usually pay 50-60% of retail, shipping in, and that's what I sell for. I don't care if the model is painted, badly, primed, whatever, because no matter what, unless it's NIB or primed white, I'm repainting it anyway because I've never received a model that is as painted as well as I can do it. Stripping a model is the cost of doing business and the value is in the model anyway.

Anyway, my two bits.

I never said that getting 60% off was easy, but it's doable. And yes that is for crappy painted models that have to be fixed.

My point remains that private trades thinking they are going to sell me models at 30% off is silly. If I wanted to pay what I consider to be full price, then I'd go to my sources for it. If you want to unload the models you no longer want, don't expect to get full pop for them.

I'm reminded of the show Pawn Stars. Just because your model is worth $100, he won't buy it for that. He'll buy it for 60 and sell it for 90. Same thing here.

To me, my "normal price" is $26 for a $35 retail box. Trying to sell me already assembled models for $25 isn't gonna fly.

It depends on why they're being sold. A nicely painted army is worth far more than store prices. Why? Because they're painted which is several hours of work you don't need to do. 60% off? You're more likely to look at 25% increase.

People who are just looking to get rid of them I can see, but they just want to get as much of their money back, regardless of the scheme you're still getting store prices worth of models. It comes down to how valuable the hour it takes to strip them is to you.

Painted models are only worth the retail value or more IF they are painted HOW you want and painted well at that. How many people part out full painted units from armies?

So yes, it is safe to assume that all models gotten thru private trade will need to be stripped, and therefore are worth much less than full price.

We aren't talking resale of a fully painted army here. We're talking the half painted unit of skeletons you never did anything with, or the golbins you screwed around with from the skull pass set.

It is unreasonable to expect full value out of used goods. Look at cars. The value drops instantly the second it's sold, as it no longer counts as new. Doesn't matter if you never drove it. You can't and won't resell it for what you paid.

So, since the principle of used goods depreciation is established, the next thing is how much of a loss the owner takes.

It is not my fault if someone paid full retail for models. They overpaid. Like I said, the BASELINE for internet sales is 20% and easily 30% if you look hard enough. THAT is what many of us consider "regular" price. So used goods need to be selling for less than that. And the more used they are, the further they depreciate.

Why are you buying them if it isn't what you want?

I see what you mean with the half-painted stuff tho, I'd never sell a unit that wasnt either fully stripped or fully painted so I hadn't thought of it really.

I honestly think the car salesmen thing is a pure scam and have little respect for them that do that, the item is the same regardless of the owner if its in the same condition.

Just out of curiosity: when you guys talk -30%... of what? GW US price?

When I do my numbers, I always compare vs UK GW official price, even though I live in Spain. Makes sense (to me at least) to compare to the cheapest option available.

So if I see something at ebay that say sells at UK GW price for some 10 GBP, and I know I can get for around 8,5 GBP at an online store, I'll probably only take it for say 7 GBP... that if in sprue or NIB.

If its to strip, 5 GBP would probably be my cap.

I think it really depends on how well they were painted. Are you arguing that a good paint job adds zero to the value of the model?

Ouze wrote:I think it really depends on how well they were painted. Are you arguing that a good paint job adds zero to the value of the model?

If the person who judges the paint job is arrogant enough .

I'm of a different breed. When I finally decide to part with an army I pretty much try to sell it in bulk IE provide it to someone as a 100% painted army to good scale. I've done this a few times, and have several return customers.

I offer several options: cash, combination of cash/ product, or just product. Usually people go for the one in the middle. There are several notible trades of done that i'll highlight for examples:

High Elves, 100% painted, 2250 army, better than average scale. Cost to build $500. Traded for: 3 transport cases, dwarf battalion. I liked to offer, I was starting dwarves, it felt right, i knew the buy. I took a loss, but didn't like the army.

40K orks, 95% painted, 4K troops, average paint scale. Ebay'd by a friend. I no longer had use for the army, I knew I could paint better. I was moving houses. I know I took a loss, accepted it, and started WFB Demon's.

Point is, its about why the seller is selling. Do they want to make money? If so, they will offer whatever they can to maximize provider. What you want to find, if you want to save money, is the guys who consider the army pretty much a total loss anyway and are trying to re-cupe money. These are the guys who offer a huge discount for the army.

Ouze wrote:I think it really depends on how well they were painted. Are you arguing that a good paint job adds zero to the value of the model?

For many of us, ANY paint job decreases the value of the model, cause that means I'm going to have to strip it and repaint it to match MY army.

Indeed, painted miniatures can (in my opinion at least) only add to the value if they are either painted to an exceptional standard or if they are sold as a stand-alone army.

I sold my ~1900 pts Eldar army (pics in my gallery for the interested) this weekend for 375 euro. This is roughly 3/4th of the retail price (GW that is). I think I could have gotten more if I went through the hassle of using eBay and spending much more time to find customers, but I didn't.

As njpc says, it's all about why you are selling. I haven't used the army in quite some time and have 2 other, more recent armies. And since I'm moving soon, I thought I try to sell it. I might have gotten more, but I'm very pleased with this sale as it was nice and quick and left me a reasonable amount of extra money to spend on my new appartement.

For the purposes of my rant, we aren't talking well painted minis or entire armies. we're talking a few random units they have laying around from trades, failed projects etc.

Then again there are some sellers in the UK eBay, who sell for more than what you can buy from GW!! Somoene was selling Necron army with box with starting price at exactly the amount for all of it from GW. I asked about this and he said it was his starting price and he would go no lower.

I wouldn't mind but the models were painted crap as well! Needless to say they didn't sell and he re-listed for exactly the same over inflated price.

I'm fine trading value for value - IE - a tactical squad for 2 guardsmen squads or so, as long as they're in relatively equal condition. If something's new in box I'm not averse to 20-30% off though, since it's not like it would be any different from my FLGS or Warstore.

aerethan wrote:Why do people on forums think that they can resell their used models for standard internet prices?

Probably because some morons actually pay full price.

Or they expect way over the odds for pieces of total garbage : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Necron-Sniper-/200509419793?pt=UK_Toys_Wargames_RL

Made my morning that did!

I concurr with thee, but I do not approve of you giving away the secrets of Ebay. If everyone knows about the ways of the swan then there won't be many deals left!

I have absolutely no luck with selling my painted stuff , almost makes me not want to paint at all lol.

Elmodiddly wrote:Or they expect way over the odds for pieces of total garbage : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Necron-Sniper-/200509419793?pt=UK_Toys_Wargames_RL

Made my morning that did!

£5 postage?!?

1 converted Necron Warrior. I intended it as a sniper, but often used it in games as a heavy destroyer.

Cannerus_The_Unbearable wrote:

1 converted Necron Warrior. I intended it as a sniper, but often used it in games as a heavy destroyer.

The ground he lays on is levitating!

LunaHound wrote:I have absolutely no luck with selling my painted stuff , almost makes me not want to paint at all lol.

If you do not convert and simply paint as generic Ultras, Dark Angels, Black Legion, Iron Warriors, etc. then your stuff will sell.

Is 5 GBP expensive or cheap?

You wouldn't belive the price to ship from Spain to UK... something like 20 GBP :(

£5 for shipping a small item that could be sent via a padded envelope with a 1st class stamp is expensive. Its when the seller has to use anything bigger than an envelope to send his stuff. Then it'd be a bargin for P&P