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The harsh reality is that this hobby, specifically GW, is fast moving beyond any reasonable way for a teen to purchase on their own.

This is what I did.

Step 1. Buy minis for less than retail.
Step 2. Paint minis.
Step 3. Sell them on the internet for slightly more than retail.
Step 4. Repeat.

It took me about a year, but I had an eldar army for an initial start up cost of about $50. And the benefit is I became a better painter.

Another way is to post over on Bartertown or in the Dakka swap shop and say you've got whatever $ and are looking to buy an army and see if you get lucky.

Bat Manuel wrote:This is what I did.

Step 1. Buy minis for less than retail.
Step 2. Paint minis.
Step 3. Sell them on the internet for slightly more than retail.
Step 4. Repeat.

It took me about a year, but I had an eldar army for an initial start up cost of about $50. And the benefit is I became a better painter.

Another way is to post over on Bartertown or in the Dakka swap shop and say you've got whatever $ and are looking to buy an army and see if you get lucky.

This only works if you're a good painter, and if you're a preteen like the OP, I wouldn't assume him to be terribly good yet. My paint jobs when I was that age were an embarrassment compared to what I can paint now.

Better advice than anything else in this thread:

- Set up a quality website, on a subject that interests you and others.

- Put ads in the website, and earn a small, but decent amount of passive income each month.

You'll need something with more substance and content than a mere blog, though.

End result = a little pocket money and a highly useful new skill learned.

Washing cars or mowing lawns won't teach you jack that will actually be useful later in life.

The internet opens up a lot of possibilities for generating minor amounts of income if you are good at writing, art, music, computer programming or any other skill that can be displayed through a computer. This income is completely skill-based, age matters not one bit.

The only way this is a better idea than most is that it has a very high potential to earn money passively and you can market the world (rather than the neighbourhood). Sure he could freelance on an outsource site, but that's like $5 per article or perhaps $30 per youtube vid IF it's of decent quality, and then he's competing against everyone else who is probably a) more skilled and b) got more of a rep. If he doesn't have the skills he needs to learn them, therefore adding more time on top of his need to earn a quick buck.

Ads on websites generate zilch if you ain't getting traffic, and to get traffic you need to market and WORK (or outsource - which costs more money).

I agree the internet is amazing potential for his age (like the 16yr old selling birdcages makes $16,000 overnight). Point is internet marketing/freelance/outsourcer is the same as starting up any business, it's going to take work, and if the OP isn't ready to start a business it doesn't matter what he chooses.

In response to a later post, going to uni doesn't mean jack as far as income or status goes. Go to uni only if you want to learn specific job requisites. No matter what route the OP chooses he will learn from it. He will also amount to whatever he chooses to be regardless of study or uni.

Anyway, has the OP decided on anything yet? Keen to hear....