Auction/Sell/Trade a lot as a whole army or in pieces?

[TSidhe96]

Just looking for some general advice from some people with experience or knowledge of such things. I have a VERY large unpainted Warhammer Fantasy High Elf army that I've finally admitted to myself I'm never going to get to. I used to be a fanatical out of control buyer of miniatures. I'm older and wiser now and my wallet is thinner (lol).

Just wanted a guideline as to whether it's more likely to be worthwhile to see it off as a single large block (it's probably over 6-7,000 points worth) or as individual units, characters, etc. I should also mention I'm a realist. I'm not looking to recover anywhere near what was originally spent or what these are worth at current retail. I'm just looking to maximize what I actually CAN get for them.

Sadly, this isn't the only army that I will let go. There are a couple I will be stubborn about and hold onto until reality beats me thoroughly about the head and shoulders, but I have a couple of others in fantasy and 40k that will likely go (I said I was a fanatic collector). I started buying GW back in the day when it all came from ENgland and you bought what was on the shelves when it was on the shelves or you likely didn't see it again. That started a bad habit (wallet-wise). As I said, I'm older and wiser now and more realistic in seeing I can't possibly paint them all ao I have to narrow it down to those I really, really want to still paint, let alone play the game with.

Thanks in advance for any advice anyone gives.

[Adunaphel]

In my opinion, selling a large army (or even trying to trade it for another large army) will probably be very difficult. Even at 60% off of retail, your total for 6-7000 points is going to be pretty high. I know that there are some traders here that like those kinds of deals, but I think they are few and far between.

Yes, if you allow traders to pick and choose you will probably end up with some pieces here and there. But, you can always sell them on eBay or just have a fire sale here near the very end.

The other problem you might have is that you are a new trader (no offense, WELCOME to the site). Traders are going to be leary about sending a LOT of money to you without you having any reputation here. On the other hand, if you sell a big lot, YOU need to be careful of the buyer if he asks you to ship first (which a lot of experienced traders are going to ask you to do).

I personally see it as easier for you to sell them individually or in blocks. It can be a pain, but it might be your best bet.

I hope that helps.

Karl

[JohnHwangBT]

You will always make more selling in pieces than as a lot.

You will always make more selling with *GOOD* pictures than with mediocre pictures

[voodoopainter]

I agree- selling in lots nets better profit, but if you are like me you MUST have the discipline to dispose of those units that just did not sell. I made the mistake of holding on to my Eldar guardians and Striking Scorpions after selling everything else. Next thing you know, that little devil started whispering in my ear. " You already have the troop choices, why not just start another Eldar army"? That's happened twice now with the same Guardian squad! This hobby is evil I tell you...

[TSidhe96]

Oh, believe me. I understand the whispering entirely. There's only a certain amount of time, a certain amount of money. I have other past times and obligations as well (reading/PC/family, etc.). And having these things around, having paid for them once upon a time, occasionally I hear them quietly whispering, "Take us out of the box. Spend time with us, paint some of us, not those other guys."

And of course, this same whisper is being repeated by all the boxes of miniatures and software in the cabinet over my computer. It comes down to a case of them or me (lol). Soooooo.......some of them have got to go. Seriously, I have thousands (yes, plural) of miniatures. I can't possibly get to them all without a government grant allowing me to give them my full attention. Not that my wife would go for that either.

Thanks for the advice so far folks. I'm actually not new to this forum, just gone a fair while. Long enough to forget the ID and password I used to use. I did a fair amount of sales/trades back then for miniatures I was replacing with newer additions and editions. I welcome any others giving their opinion on this subject. I won't be disposinig of these guys for a week or so. I've been tracking various armies on ebay just to get a feel for how the whole lot selling works out vs the individual lot sales. I just want to wieght the opinions of others as well.

[Imaginos]

I've sold several armies on here, and invariably I made less than I would have by parting them out. That said, there is some convenience to getting rid of it at once, so decide if you want to pay for that convenience.

Regarding your previous trade history here, check references for your name. You should see your old user id there. Assuming you still have the same email, you could ask Adam (or someone) to reset your password and have the password sent to your old email address. Otherwise, it kind of gets a bit on the tricky side, as you would have a hard time convincing someone that "this_dude_with_high_rating" was you.

[TSidhe96]

Yeesh! Looked up 'check references' under my actual name and it came back with two items from 1996. Talk about losing track fo time, lol. Could swear the last ones weren't THAT long ago, 3-5 years I thought. Hmmmm, they do say memory starts to go with age (lol). In any case, it didn't dfind an old ID but I've contacted a moderator and I'll see if they can find something. Thanks for the advice.