Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Like most of you, I've got a ton of stuff lying around. Thousands of dollars of painted and unpainted merchandise that I may never get to from a wide variety of product ranges. I'm planning on downsizing, but I just haven't figured out a way to do it that wont make me feel like crap.

Have any of you ever gotten rid of a good chunk of gaming gear efficiently without feeling ?

I think the general idea is to find the one or two armies from each system that you are most attached to and keep those.

Sell the rest.

Yes, don't kid yourself that you'll get round to painting it all. Ask yourself what are you most likely to use (i.e. what games do you actually play?) and then cut the rest adrift.

Somebody else will love them

For me, at one point I had like 9 different armies in various states of done-ness. And I rarely have time to play anything at all, so they were all just collecting dust. I started selling off whole armies, most recently my space marines because I haven't touched them in like 8 years. So now I'm down to 4. Lizardmen, Goblins, Tyranids and Imperial Guard. I'm going to be selling off most of my guard stuff too soon, as I'll be switching the troops over from carbon copy cadians to the Sedition Wars figures. I'm also gonna sell and swap out my tanks for something more high tech looking... maybe based on the 6-wheeler from Secret Weapon miniatures.

You might think you love everything in your game room right now, but once you start getting real cash for stuff that's been collecting dust, you won't feel so sad about parting with what you know you don't anymore. Then you'll start raiding your collection for stuff to sell just because.

I had the same issue. To ease the feeling that im selling off a piece of my childhood, i set up a paypal account with the explicit purpose of being nerd funding only. Effectively selling stuff you will never use, allowing you to spend money on new interests/priorities.

Interested in building a small FOW army for Wednesday gaming club -> paypal nerd fund

Borderlands 2 looks like the best thing since sliced bread -> paypal nerd fund

Paint brushes are looking sad, and the paint is dryer than the ghobi desert -> paypal nerd fund

Selling your old 40k army isnt like cutting off a finger, its merely changing your priorities in the "nerd world." Its the adult thing to do.

By having plans and goals that are achievable ("5 Terminators by the 15th!", etc) for the remaining stuff can help keep you going when getting rid of the other stuff you love, but can't keep stored anymore. With the emotional lift of getting something achieved, that can cancel out the low of losing something you wanted and may have not gotten the return you would have liked.

Be as constructive with the stuff you are getting rid of as possible, also. Sell what you can for as much as you can, whether it be to friends, eBay, or the FLGS. You can also make yourself feel better by helping out those buddies that have trouble investing/keeping up in the hobby. Getting rid of marines? Help your friend bulk out his army. Got a spare Khadoran warjack? Give it to that cousin that wants to start playing. You'll find that their happiness can be infectious.

Wipe the slate and start over with all new armies!

 scarletsquig wrote:
Wipe the slate and start over with all new armies!

Obvious GW plant is obvious.

OP: It is hard to part with some armies sometimes. I always serious contemplate selling my 40k Daemons for example but the one thing that keeps them with me is the unique conversions that would simply be impossible to replicate if I had the urge to use the army in the future. That's the main stickler for me. The conversions. If all the stuff is off the shelf then, no probs you can build it again, but all the armies I have had seller's remorse for are the ones that were truly unique. My LATD, my WHFB Nurgle Daemons, my Death Guard, my CoS Dark Elves (mainly as I could've sold the mounted Daemonettes alone for a small fortune. ). The key is to be decisive and not regret it.

Best way to downsize collections is by putting them on the hands of your wife for a week... when you get back to it you will have misteriously lost track of tons of models.

I am in the same boat. I am heading off to college next year, so I want to downsize the armies I have now. Of course I will keep my Blood Angels and my Imperial Guard, but those Tau in the corner might need a new home and I can live without those Grey Knight Purifiers.

I gave away 30 Harlequins back in 1995-96 to a mate with no "OMG, what-have-I-done?" feelings.

I've sold off my Eldar jetbikes with no tears or sorrow.
If I ever get tired of my SM company, I'll BIN it with no tears or regrets. It has bought me joys over the years, and I have got my "money's worth" from it. If by then it has no value to me (I don't have a lot of "sentimental" value things. We moved around a lot when I was a kid, and permanency is something I'm still learning to get a handle on).

Choose two armies you enjoy. Put the rest in unmark boxes and slap into the bottom of a closet...basement...attic...wherever. Out of Sight Out of Mind. You spent the money on your collection why take a hit for it.

edit
I still have my Clan Galaxy and IS Reinforced Mech Regiment along with books and manuals under my bed.

Rather than selling an army that you are attached to, maybe you should give it away to a good home. Not only could you end up giving some one new to the hobby a nice start, but you'll have just found someone new to play with!

I got started in 40k when I talked about it on mcarterbrown, a paintball website. Was selling paintball guns to fund the new hobby and got a pm from a guy in Canada. Talked and I paid shipping for a box of random stuff. He didn't remember what was in the box. But he said that he was gonna throw it away if I didn't take it. The box had 3k of tyranids. 3k of space marines. 1.5k of tau. Was amazing. So I plan to do the same in a few years. Gave 2/3 of the box away to my friends to help us all start. I kept Nids.

I did this in the last couple of months and recommend the following system.

Step 1:Sell everything you don't have a plan that you're excited about for right now.
Step 2: Regret selling 75% of the stuff you sold at the price you sold it for.
Step 3: Realise that three months later you've still barely touched the stuff you did keep.
Step 4: Deal with it.

I have a revolving door of armies, including ones that I form an attachment to. In order to not feel bad (especially when my wife is packing them up and asks me "are you sure?") I take one model that I really love from the army and keep it. I now have a nice collection of single models in different schemes from all the armies that I've sold. It reminds me of the army, and I get to have the one piece I like the most. It makes things MUCH better afterwards. Just an idea.

spackledgoat wrote:
I have a revolving door of armies, including ones that I form an attachment to. In order to not feel bad (especially when my wife is packing them up and asks me "are you sure?") I take one model that I really love from the army and keep it. I now have a nice collection of single models in different schemes from all the armies that I've sold. It reminds me of the army, and I get to have the one piece I like the most. It makes things MUCH better afterwards. Just an idea.

That's a given, I always do that. I still have my first model (Maugan Ra) and my first marine (Mephiston).

I sold my IG for way less than I should have with no remorse. I put the money back into my other armies (which may not be what you are doing) which helped a lot. Also, even though I sold them for a steal I sold them to someone that now plays in our gaming group. It's a good feeling to see your models every now and than, than know that not only do they have a better home than when they were with you but that they are still getting active use. My suggestion is that, try to sell them to someone you know and that you can play with.

Write a plan on a spreadsheet of all the models you have and how long it will take you to get them to a state that you are happy with.

Add up the total time and divide by the number of hours you spend a week hobbying. That gives you a total number of weeks before you finnish doing all the stuff you have bought.

Decide on a sensible level of projects in progress. Do you really want to keep models that you will not get round to painting before the next codex comes out?

Prioritse the list. Set some targets. Priority 1 may be to complete an 1850 list for a tournament, priority 2 may be to add a few units to the army for flexibility. priority 3 may be to develop an allied force for a second option, priority 4 may be to have an alternative ally. priority 5 may be to have one of a model, just because it is cool. Keep going until the work required hits your limit of projects in progress.

Go through your list of models and work out everything that doesn't fit in. You know you wouldn't have got round to it for at least X months, and there may be a new model out by then.

Go through your project list and work out all the other things that you haven't got but need for those projects.

Look to swap within your gaming club for the stuff you do need.

See if you could bundle up army lists or squads out of your surplus, and sell them to other members of your group. (e.g. I know you play Orks - I was going to make this squad of lootas with some gretchin for cover got a few spare boys so you can make up the burnas as well. I'm not going to get round to it - do you want to make me an offer)

Ebay the rest - keep the proceeds separate so that you have them to dip into for the extra stuff you need.

Ask yourself

do I need the money ?

do I need the space (boxed up and sealed away can make quite a difference) ?

If so things have to go,

Sell the generic non converted stuff that you're not using first then ask the 2 key questions again.

If the answer to the questions is NO, then keep it all

I still regret getting rid of stuff i did not HAVE to sell/get rid of 20 years ago,

but I'm OK with selling some quite important stuff when I had bills that needed paying

I have gotten rid of a few armies in my time.

My 4th Ed Daemon Hunters, 5th Ed Orks, and my Eldar. I haven't really regretted selling any of them. Now I have a policy of paint before buying more and its amazing how when you stick to the plan your armies get painted and you don't feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of grey minis laying around. Its almost freeing having that much less on your plate.

And think how much more of a bargaining position your in with the Mrs. when you can point to all the painted stuff and tell her your out of new things to work on.

The strongest emotional attachment is usualy to the minatures you have painted up and played with in games.
(larger personal investment too.)
Sooo...
All the stuff untouched still in boxes, sell.

All the stuff unpainted (thats NOT part of a main army ) sell.

Maximum of 2 armies per game system.(Main armies.)

Keep the ones you play the most...sell of the rest.

 scarletsquig wrote:
Wipe the slate and start over with all new armies!

Seconded. That's what I did, and I'm recollecting one model/squad at a time so I don't wind up with 4000 points of unpainted models that I feel like I can't paint. I'll order the next squad once I finish the one I'm working on, that way, I'll always have 100% painted models =)

I sympathize with the OP. I do not like getting rid of models. I'm more of a box it and store it kind of guy. You just never know when something may come in handy.

I tend to keep a lot of little used hobby items in storage, mostly because they don't take up too much space, re-sale often does not net much value (depending on what you are getting rid of of course), and I often run into situations where I go back to something I boxed up years earlier that suddenly has a fresh use.

If miniature boxes are piling up, you can always bits out the pieces, sort them into separate baggies, and toss the sprues and packaging. Virtually an entire platoon of IG can be crammed into a sandwich baggie this way.

Now, I also have a policy of cleaning house every so often. Once something has been boxed up and stored for a good number of years without ever being used, out it goes. By then, much of the attachment to the items is gone.

For example, I was working on a new Vampire Counts army a while ago, and I had the idea to base my ghouls in a swampy, blood-filled mire strewn with body parts. Fine idea, but it would take a lot of bits, especially with 60+ Ghouls. Then I remembered those IG Catachans I had packed up a few years earlier. Out they came to add their severed heads and arms to my Ghoul bases. The Ghouls look great, the Catachans got a new lease on "life," and everyone is happy.

A few more years down the line if I haven't touched those remaining Catachan bits again, they're sorted and ready for re-sale or donation to fellow gamers. For the mean time they're back in storage, out of sight and in the back of my mind.

 Bat Manuel wrote:
Like most of you, I've got a ton of stuff lying around. Thousands of dollars of painted and unpainted merchandise that I may never get to from a wide variety of product ranges. I'm planning on downsizing, but I just haven't figured out a way to do it that wont make me feel like crap.

Have any of you ever gotten rid of a good chunk of gaming gear efficiently without feeling ?

You always have that feeling. That is the issue with this thing of ours. WORST thing is when you get rid of stuff, and then later, find out that you NEED it for something else.


Consolation is the money that you get, or the trades that can always cushion the blow.

Hope it goes well.

You need to be ruthless!

I tend to just give excess stuff to gaming buddies unless its super valuable. What goes around comes around!

[quote=weeble1000 481414 4856692 nullIf miniature boxes are piling up, you can always bits out the pieces, sort them into separate baggies, and toss the sprues and packaging. Virtually an entire platoon of IG can be crammed into a sandwich baggie this way.

I just got rid of a bunch of my DnD books that have been collecting dust. I tell myself that it is much better that they get put to use by someone else instead of collecting dust in my cupboard. That and I'm trading them for minis. So that helps too.

Work on the deeper issue of emotional attachment to "stuff".

A little into 3rd edition I sold all my GW armies. CSMs, 2 massive painted IG, and BAs. All painted to a high table standard.

I took a good 10 year break, I have to be honest... I don't care about the money lost. But, the unbelievable effort and time commitment painting everything... I've never been the same since. I have a mental block for painting my armies now.

Not sure how this fits into your question but reading your post opened old wounds.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Debbin wrote:
I just got rid of a bunch of my DnD books that have been collecting dust. I tell myself that it is much better that they get put to use by someone else instead of collecting dust in my cupboard. That and I'm trading them for minis. So that helps too.

I've been lugging mine around the country forever(30 years or so). The same books and minis I had in grade school(plus additional loot along the way of course). I'm not sure I could get rid of them at this point.