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I got an interesting, out-of-the-blue, message on facebook today. Someone asked, "What would it cost to take all four 40K CD armies off your hands?"



This was unsolicited, and unexpected, and made me think for a bit. (Well, more than a little bit).

I mean, doing some really basic math, just looking at the picture above, you can figure out that there's probably $1300 in Forgeworld models there, and at least nine GW greater daemons, at $50ish each, for another $450-500. 12 fiends, 16 crushers (the old metal ones), seven or eight chariot conversions (including Skulltakers, which is made out of two hellcannons and pulled by two metal juggernauts)... And a ton of the OOP sexy daemonettes as well. The replacement cost for the models alone is going to run over $4k. And they're all on resin bases, so that's probably another few hundred in materials right there.

And it doesn't even begin to go into the time and effort spent cleaning and assembling the parts, let alone the painting. (I've won multiple best appearance awards with these armies). 400 models painted to a winning tournament standard, that's going to run you at least $10/25mm base from any of the painting studios I've seen.

My response was something along the lines of more than you'd be willing to pay. And figured I'd let it drop. But I got an 'offer' in return, saying he'd be willing to pay $3k for it, not even what it would take to buy the models again.

My wife and I discussed this a bit. I'm not looking to sell the army. I don't have creditors knocking down my door, or a bookie looking to break my kneecaps. I still play this army. If you were going to make a cold-call offer to buy something from someone who isn't actively selling, I'd at least do some research into what you were offering to buy and not make a lowball offer.

In talking to my wife, I came to the following conclusions. I could probably replace the army, paying to have it painted, for $10k. Of course, that doesn't account for the emotional attachment (a project that I spend over a year on). If someone offered me $20k, I'd have to really consider the offer. If someone offered $30k, I'd sell in an instant. It seems like a big number, but remember, this is the amount that would get me to part with the army that I'm not actively trying to sell. If I were looking to sell it, I'd probably aim for somewhere in the $7500 range.

So, what about you? (Well, not you, mr I-play-with-unpainted-models guy ) What would it take to convince you to sell an army that you put countless hours of work into, and that you still enjoyed playing. (Also, don't respond that you'd never sell. This is toy soldiers, not some ethical quandary. If you're unwilling to part with your army for a cool million, you need your head examined).

Redbeard wrote:What would it take to convince you to sell an army that you still enjoyed playing.

An arbitrarily large sum of money.

Probaly about £7000, maybe more

it would take at a minimum 10k.. I mean, i havent been at this hobby for THAT long, and my painting skills are somewhere between average table top, and golden Daemon (this is at least, my own opinion.. and my painting DOES inspire the other guys in my gaming group to paint more minis) levels, so its not like you'd be getting crap models to run.

Of course, this is assuming that any of my armies are actually "done" ( i have 3 40k armies, and 2 WHFB armies, of which my marines are the most completed of them all) to a point where i would even consider selling the army (unless of course, the amount would pay off my truck or some ridiculous amount)

and ultimately, i think it would come down to WHO was wanting the models, what their perceived plans were, and what my "plans" are with said money for such an army.

There is no real figure for me, my models represent huge investments of time, lifestyle and nostalgia and I would not sell them for any reasonable amount. 8 figures GBP might be enough for the amount of things I would be able to influence in the world as a result, but I'd still not be too happy about it.

My most complete army is 3500 points of necrons, and I'd probably part with it for $1200-1500. I figure that's about the amount of money to rebuy everything and have it painted to it's current standard.

Hmmm.

I invested over $1,000.00 dollars into my Death Guard,and over a year in painting and modeling,lots of Forger World and OOP minis in there as well,plus it's my "primary" army..so I'd have to see at least 2.5K to part with it.

My Orks cost me just under $1000.00,huge undertaking painting them all up,and a fair amount of time spent on some pretty nifty conversions,but I'd most likely let them go for 1.5K or an equal dollar amount in Praetorians.

I'd be willing to part with my around 3K of beloved Dark Eldar (Containing the first wargame mini's I ever owned, from the 3rd ed starter box) for... Oh, maybe 600-800 USD or so. I enjoy the thrill of pursuing and planning of new projects, and after so long of playing them I get excited about change. Granted, I'd much rather trade in my Orks or Pretty Marines, but even the DE I'd part with for enough to plan out and purchase a new army with no out-of-pocket expenses.

I don't really add the time spent painting and modeling the entire army, twice, into the equation. I'd just want enough to get the models needed for a new project of relatively equal size. If someone offered me the 600 or so I'd need for 2K of one of the Daemon armies I've been eyeing for them, I'd be seriously tempted to take them up on it.

I dont think i could part with my models (my mother couldnt even get me to do it), too much sentiment and time gone into them to make them your own - i'd never buy pre-painted models either

but if you ever finding yourself tiring of the hobby etc. then hey make some space

1 googolol dollars (100 zeroes)

Id sell my armies if they were older models and use the cash to buy the new models.

See: DE
See: IG
See: CSM

Well, considering that all my armies are less than 500 points so far, and most of it was scored pretty cheap off ebay, Id say only a couple hundred dollars.

The cost of every model MSRP from GW, the price I would charge for commission painting every model, plus whatever exorbitant amount of money I felt was "right" that day. Painting minis is the one thing I really do that relaxes me anymore, so to lose hundreds of hours of time, effort, and love would take a lot. Even then, they'd have to get a nice home.

I remember selling some old Kenner Star Wars toys for way more than I payed for them, and was thrilled and I remember when I sold my Heroclix collection for half the price it cost me to collect it and was thrilled to be rid of them with something back in return. So I think it depends on my interest of the subject, I really started to loathe the Heroclixs and was moving headlong into SWM full speed and for the old Kenner Star Wars action figures it was an opportunity to get a return on something that had been sitting in my closet for 10 or 12 years, it was Power of the Force stuff that came out in the mid 90's, and my wife and I were able to take that money out of a hobby and put it somewhere else it was needed.

For 40k or my current SWM collection it would be based on my need for money. SO it's hard to say what I would ask for it. It's funny with SWM no longer being produced I know in a few years it might actually have value as full set, or like mage knight it will be completely worthless, its star wars so I doubt that, and for 40k, I'm a newbie with this, but I think it would again be based on how skilled has the paint been rated, they are very cartoony looking in my opinion, what being yellow marines and all. Also whats the demand for IF style marines, I see very auctions on ebay for them and they tend to be not super expensive even fully done, either as a closet cleaning sale or a lack of interest in the game sale, plenty of bits though, I should do that with all the Ultramarine bits I'm starting to collect....

Value is an questionable thing, it goes up and down. Maybe in a year I'll have a better answer.

This army(it has had a fair few additions since the pic) is on display in my store and i've been asked this question a few times recently.
It must have a nib rrp of around £2,000 so I think that i'd be sad to see it go for less than £5,000.
I'm not gonna sell it at this moment in time though as I don't need the money but £10,000 would get me thinking very hard about it!

Enough money to buy a new one. So a few hundred dollars, which is already more than I think I could reasonably hope to get.

I don't have much attachment to my models, especially since most of my collection is back from a time when I was learning to paint and wasn't very good. In fact, I've even thrown some of my 2nd edition tyrannids in the trash as the models were so ugly I figured they'd never sell and I had no interest in painting or storing them.

I agree with a few others here. Enough to allow me to replace what I have with a painted army of a similar point value. There are a few miniatures I'd not part with, some 1st / 2nd Ed ones that I like the look of and couldn't easily replace. But, the bulk of it I'd trade up even.

I'll come from a slightly different angle: unemployed. I've been unemployed since I finished college at the start of the summer. At the moment, I am not desperate for money but that may change with this damn recession dragging on. I have tried in the past to sell stuff and not had much luck; there was one offer to buy all my GW collection which dates back to 1982/83. £250 was offered which I laughed at as was an 'improved' offer of £350. When you consider that I have about 2000+ GW minis you can see why I didn't sell! I've got two 40k armies which I will never use and time to time I consider selling them.
Then I think of the hours I took to construct them and struggle to put a reasonable price on them. But if unemployment continues that may change.

If I was offered twice the original cost of my models + the cost of the carry cases, I could consider selling any of my three armies.

Great thread topic!

My main army for 40k is a Praetorian IG force. A lot of work went into tracking down the figures and parts to convert the army, and a lot of money went into commissioning the paint work. If I were put in Redbeard's position with an unsolicited offer to sell my army I wouldn't let the army go for less than $8000. There is roughly $3500 in painting fees alone put into the army and some of the conversions are one of a kind.* Some of the cooler conversions include Praetorian Rough Riders mounted on Rogue Trader era IG/Space Marine bikes. A Marbo conversion made from a Praetorian, converted female Praetorian troopers and plasma troopers. There are also Forge World pieces in the army along with the OOP nature of Praetorian figures that drove up the cost of creating the army in the first place.

That being said if I felt compelled to sell the army I don't think I would use the money generated from the sale to replace the army with similar models. I would either start an entirely new project or enjoy the money in another way and use the other, smaller, armies that I currently own.

Here is the army from back in May. It has since grown by about 40 troopers, a 10-man Kroot penal legion squad, and a half dozen tanks. It will soon also have an attached Warhound titan but I am not factoring that piece into my $8k price.






* I know that seems like an obvious statement but some of the conversions are simple gear add-ons to create Veterans which would easily be replicated. Other conversions involved wholesale sculpting or the inclusion of long OOP parts that would be more difficult if not impossible to fully replicate.

For me it's ca. 4500-6000 points Imperial Guard, I would part with it for maybe 1500-2500€. And that wouldn't get you my Malcador, Arvus, homebrew conversions or any of my RT Guard and Squats.

Im considering parting with my Sisters army now as ive lost interest in them and i want a new army. Not sure what sort of money i will want for them though.

I would require an equally or better painted army in return, consisting of the models I wanted. =D

To the OP, you, my friend, have an incredible army, and to part with it for less than 20k would be a crime, but I don't know that you would ever get that offer.

For myself, to part with my kan wall army, is an odd thing to think about. My gut reaction is there is no amount of money, but realistically if someone offered me enough, I might have to say yes. Honestly it would have to be a number so ridiculously higher than it could possibly be worth that it would be stupid to say no - but what would that number be? Well I have nine of the old metal kans, replacing them new would be about 150, a big mek for 20, a warboss at 20, ninety boyz for about 225, 15 lootas for 75 and a dred for 40. A grand total of around $530, give or take.

That being said, $1,000 is not enough for me to even consider selling them. I don't think that $2-3,000 would be enough - I feel the time I have spent on them is worth more than that. Realistically, the point I would begin considering offers is $4,000. The answer then is still probability no, unless I needed cash. $6,000 is a possible yes under any circumstances and +$8,000 would be a yes without thinking. weird that it would take more than 10x the new value of my army to get me to sell them, but I guess I am attached.

I think the flip side of this is an interesting issue. The potential buyer's low balling, imho, represents the majority of non-retail warhammer purchasers. People only make offers on things like that in the interests of getting something at a deal. By building the model, finishing and painting, they seem to feel that its value actually decreases, which is the opposite opinion of those who own the models, in most cases. I am sure this is not always the case, but it seems more prevalent than anyone buying something for what it is worth.

Desperation has a way of making things that were once important... well, unimportant. A car accident and 5500+ dollars in damages later, I sold my local-competition-painting-award-winning (we have low standards around here) IG army for probably half of what it was even worth. I miss them now, and consider rebuilding that army, but with GW's recent price hike (again) that isn't likely to happen any time soon.

Mine is worth more in emotional attachments then actual money. Ive had alot of fun building what I have so far, and plan on adding more to it over the years. I really couldnt throw a number out there, but itd have to be more then its actually worth

A disaster of some kind.

I have considered this idea several times in my head. I have 3 armies currenty, one being complete. The completed army is my ultramarines, and contain at least one of every type of unit available (or did, before i lost some things to a move) that you could have back in 3rd and 4th edition. I've calculated it up, and its at least 1500 US dollars worth of materials, plus the Sabol figure case, paint and conversions. They're painted above tabletop standard, and if I went back and quick shaded them it would make them look more appealing. There are also alot of OOP minis in the army too.

I actually really want to sell these guys for the extra pocket money, but haven't got around to it. I would take offers between 500- 1000 US dollars realistically, as I'm not expecting to make bank offf of these smurfs.

I would sell my entire Ork army for $500. And spend every penny on Warmachine stuff. It's painted to tabletop standard except for a couple of character models, and includes a plastic stompa, a battlefortress converted from a plastic Baneblade, six extensively converted/kitbashed battlewagons, 90 boyz, 16 all-plastic meganobz converted from AOBR nobs, 12 deffkoptas, 6 warbikers, 12 burnaboyz, 2 deffdreads, 10 kitbashed flash gitz plus the metal kaptin Badrukk and 5 trukks, one GW and 4 converted/scratch-built. And a plastic warboss in mega-armor, a plain AOBR warboss, two metal big meks with KFF and two kitbashed weirdboys. I've had inquiries through Dakka for them, but they either insist on pics, and the best I could do is some crappy stills from a cheap disposable camera or from my phone, which would be worse, or they want to use paypal, which I refuse to do because it gives me a migraine. Check with anybody I've traded with here on Dakka, I've never screwed anybody over. I'll even throw in the templates and a GW tape measure. I'm so done with 40K it's not even funny.

It has taken way too long for me to collect and paint my Dwarves for me to consider selling them unless I had no other choice.
I have an unpainted Orc army that is still in its blisters that I might consider selling if the price was right.