Should I sell my Warhammer and get out?

[JxKxR]

Recently everyone at my local shop has stopped playing 40k and has instead switched over to playing warmachine. Who knows if anyone will ever come back to the game and there will be no new players since the store steers people away from 40k and into warmachine. Plus I really can't stand how Games Workshop does business. I know most people say to never sell your army, but maybe it's time to let go and let it die.

So should I sell the 2700 pts of Chaos Space Marines, 3000 pts of Tau, all of the 40k codex's and rule book, and all the GW terrain that I have? Is there light at the end of the tunnel that I'm not seeing?

P.S. I'm not interested in any other table top game.

[Chuck777]

If you're not going to get in on the Warmahordes action then its foolish to sell your 40k models - you need to become the greatest advocate for 40k in your area. Remind people why its a fun game, be there to play pick up games with everyone and anyone.

Having said that, you could easily sell off most of your 40k stuff and pocket the cash. I'd keep the Chaos Marines, the BRB and the Chaos Marine codex. Sell the rest, maybe to someone locally who's interested in playing 40k :)

[Dalleron]

Sure you could sell it all, but before you do, ask yourself "Is there any chance I will regret selling it?"

Also, is there no one else that you can game with. If there isn't, maybe you could start a new group. The internet does have its uses that aren't porn (hard to believe I know) or forum gripes.

[Deadlift]

If you don't need the money, then hang on to them. who knows GW games may make a resurgence in your store and you will have armies ready to go.

[chromedog]

How old are you?

Seriously. There aren't many under 21s that stay with the gaming hobby, period.
Generally, the scene loses 17-24s and only a small fraction that played at a younger age return to the hobby once things have stabilised.

If you got into the game more because your friends were playing it, and they are no longer doing it, and are unlikely to ever return to it, you'd probably be best selling up and getting out - unless there is some other factor that keeps you interested in the game.

[pauljc]

If you enjoy the game, why sell? Makes no sense to sell something that you put so much effort into, unless you like painting armies for profit.

Maybe change your focus and try to re-build the hobby in your area. As a store manager in a small city in Finland, I know all too well how hard it is to build hobbies. Also, your LGS manager will probably really, really appreciate having someone in their store trying to build up the gaming scene, because it takes a huge load of work off his shoulders.

I wouldn't get too caught up in business politics. GW will do whatever they need to remain profitable, and many times you won't like it.

The real question to ask yourself, is whether you enjoy the GW hobby. If you do, then keep playing, man. Become an advocate for the game, as someone else said, re-build it, and hang on for the ride, because there's still a long gaming journey to go.

[Farseer Uthiliesh]

Recently everyone at my local shop has stopped playing 40k and has instead switched over to playing warmachine. Who knows if anyone will ever come back to the game and there will be no new players since the store steers people away from 40k and into warmachine. Plus I really can't stand how Games Workshop does business. I know most people say to never sell your army, but maybe it's time to let go and let it die.

So should I sell the 2700 pts of Chaos Space Marines, 3000 pts of Tau, all of the 40k codex's and rule book, and all the GW terrain that I have? Is there light at the end of the tunnel that I'm not seeing?

P.S. I'm not interested in any other table top game.

I am in the process of selling my Warhammer and 40k armies (keeping my Dark Eldar, however). Just sold my Eldar army. Everyone in my gaming group dropped 40k two months ago and went over to Warmachine/Hordes.

[Wildeybeast]

Are you selling it beacuase no one plays any more or because you need to fund a new army. If it's the latter, your going to have to work out how much your current army will actually get you and whether this is enough to fund your new one. 2nd hand armies don't tend to have great re-sale value.
If it's the former then, I'd suggest keeping hold of it. I started playing Warhammer again about 3 months ago, having not played it for the best part of 10 years. I never got rid of any of it becuase I know I loved it, I just needed to find people to play with, which I have now done. So if you still want to play, keep it. If you've lost the love, then you might as well sell it.

[SMC]

War gamers are a fickle and petty bunch. Do what you think is right. Don't follow the herd because the herd tends to run around in circles.

[MaltonNecromancer]

If:

- "I play because it's a social activity; I have no strong connection to the hobby, it was about the people" - consider dumping the models.

- "I play because I love the painting and converting aspects; actually playing the game is secondary" - don't dump the models. You'll regret it ten years from now.

- "I play because I enjoy the game, don't really like the painting/converting, and I don't really feel that strong a connection to the people I played with" - consider getting rid.

Ultimately, you must ask what are you going to spend the money on, and is that worth more than the sentimental value you have attatched to your armies? In currency terms, you'll make back between 50%-70% of what you paid for them (unless they are totally unique conversions that people will pay more for, like AdMech or female guardsmen, in which case they'll make more. Of course, the converse is true if they've been ruined with heavy layers of paint and glue, in which case you'll make about a third of what you paid. Oh, and if they're painted to "a good tabletop standard" (which we all know is code for "I painted them myself and it's not dreadful, but it's not that good either") you can expect to make closer to the 50% mark - painted always makes less than unpainted; that's just how it is. If yopur models are badly painted, you can strip them with Dettol, then undercoat them so the buying won't notice - there's nothing wrong with a stripped-down model, and you may make a little more. I've been doing a lot of eBay selling over the last year, trust me on this one) less the 10% eBay takes. You'll probably make even less if you sell to friends.

Only you know how much you're into the hobby. I quit when I was 16, got back into the hobby at 28, and really regretted selling a lot of my stuff (especially the Epic Titan Legion of 12 Warlords I had :()

[Lockark]

I'd say reduce your collection, but not liquidate it. Sell the Tau or the CSM, but not both. Use the money to get into warmachine, but still have a army on hand for if 40k if need be.

That's my suggestion anyway.

[Lord Azaghul]

I was very close to doing this a few weeks ago...and my wife made a very valid point: but you already own the stuff, at worst it'll sit in your closet for 3 years - then you sell it.

I would say just wait. If you hold on to it you lose nothing. If you sell and regret it...well you're out quite a bit!

I'd sold a few things that I don't intent to build or paint, and even a few armies have gone, but I"m still hanging on to a few armies - mainly cause I've already bought them - they are painted, and I still like the models...and I might, just might get back into painting/playing with them some day.

[Atrocity]

Offhand I'd say no. Everyone has covered all the salient points for the most part. The info under your avatar says you live in Texas. Assuming you live in one of the bigger towns/cities, have you considered going to another game store? Breaking up is hard to do, but if your odds of getting a game in at that current store are 0 then maybe you can head across town. Doesn't mean that you can't go hang out there and still BS around.

Also, don't sell your terrain. If there's even the slightest glimmer that you could play again and/or play a different system (be it Warhammer Fantasy/WarmaHordes/FoW/etc.) it will be useful again.

[Lockark]

I just realized something I goof'd in my reply.


I'd say reduce your collection, but not liquidate it. Sell the Tau or the CSM, but not both. Use the money to get into warmachine, but still have a army on hand for if 40k if need be.

That's my suggestion anyway.


I miss read his OP and thought he was considering getting into War-machine. If no other game system interests you, you might as well keep your collection. With two armies and terrain collection, you could see about starting a private gaming club.



Offhand I'd say no. Everyone has covered all the salient points for the most part. The info under your avatar says you live in Texas. Assuming you live in one of the bigger towns/cities, have you considered going to another game store? Breaking up is hard to do, but if your odds of getting a game in at that current store are 0 then maybe you can head across town. Doesn't mean that you can't go hang out there and still BS around.



That is probably the best suggestion in all honesty.

[Brass Scorpion]

Should I sell my Warhammer and get out? Absolutely, you should do whatever a bunch of strangers on the Internet tell you to do with your expensive model collection. And why stop there? ;)

[JxKxR]

Thanks everyone (except Brass Scorpion :p) for your replies. I'll hold on to them as I'm not hard up for money and maybe I can save the warhammer over here. You've all saved me from something I would probable regret.

Has anyone else dealt with a decline in people to game with and if so how did you get them interested again or do you just have to wait?

[laestli]

Has anyone else dealt with a decline in people to game with and if so how did you get them interested again or do you just have to wait?

The death of whfb was a shot in the arm to the 40k group here, but it's still smaller then it was a year ago. I dealt with it by demo'ing wm/h to the whfb/40k crowd and running a battle box tournament, others did the same for FoW, Infinity, and Malifaux.

All in all, despite it being a smaller group and marine-on-marine most of the time, I think the 40k players are happier now because there are fewer regulars not having enough fun. I myself play 40k about once every two months now and really enjoy it. Most of my gaming time is spent with wm/h or malifaux and I think that is why I still enjoy 40k at all anymore. I found playing different systems was much better then playing different armies in the same system for my over all enjoyment level of the hobby.

My point is, some of them may or may not return to 40k as their main game, but I'd wager many of them will still fancy a game of it every so often, perhaps 40k being their secondary game. Make it known you are still interested and eager. I bet, once the "new game honeymoon" phase has worn off there will be interest again.

[Emerald Rose Widow]

Yeah, if you don't need the money, and people are just switching to another game, I would just keep the army were i you. gamers are a fickle folk and will flit back and fourth to anything that is new or neat, especially if there is some ire with the current system. eventually they will remember what they loved about 40k and come back, at least there is a good chance of it.

[wittdooley]

The death of whfb was a shot in the arm to the 40k group here, but it's still smaller then it was a year ago. I dealt with it by demo'ing wm/h to the whfb/40k crowd and running a battle box tournament, others did the same for FoW, Infinity, and Malifaux.


Death of WHFB?

What?

WHFB is better than its ever been...

To quote the great Mark Twain... methinks, "the reports of [WHFB's] death have been greatly exaggerated."

[magickbk]

Has anyone else dealt with a decline in people to game with and if so how did you get them interested again or do you just have to wait?

I'll bite on this one.

I started playing in 1990. A few friends got some old RTB01 marines from someone's older brother, and before long we were all playing. We would play at a few friends houses. The only models I had were hand-me-downs that other people gave me that had been repainted several times, as my family had very little money. The local hobby store carried a limited selection, and had no gaming space. 2nd Edition came along, and I got a starter set and a few other things: my first real, complete, army. By 1994 all my friends were out of it, and with no local players, I stuck everything under my bed and mostly forgot about it.

In 1996 I was walking down the street in a neighboring town and spotted the unmistakeable Imperial Eagle of the 2nd Edition logo shining from the back room of a store across the street. I went in, walked out with a shiny new Space Marine Apothecary, and headed straight home to dig my stuff out from under the bed. I had found my first FLGS. I entered tournaments and leagues, and had a ton of fun. By the end of 1998 the store had moved to a new location, and 40K was all but dead there, as 2nd Edition had grown stale. I still went for other games, but played no 40K for 8 months until a preorder sheet for 3rd Edition appeared on the counter.

By mid 1999, 3rd Edition was in full swing, and I had assembled a shiny new army, worked my painting skills up a few notches, and was running leagues and events at the store. It was a new Golden Age of Gaming in our area, but not not all was to last: the store went through a series of management and ownership changes, and the dynamic changed, leading me to a major life decision.

In 2000, I left the friendly confines of my gaming group, and went to work for GW. My personal hobby skills increased quickly, and I played much more than I ever had, but back home, the hobby slowly died in my old area, and the local stores closed.

In 2004, I quit GW burnt-out from the hobby, and stuck most of my many armies in my mom's basement and the rest in a spare closet in my apartment and moved on with life.

In 2008, I reconnected with an old friend, and we decided to break out our old armies and play a few games. This got us both into the hobby again, but our time at this stage was limited. Both of us were getting engaged, moving, getting married, etc.

A few weeks ago I stepped into a gaming store near my old town and played a game. One of the younger players who had participated in my leagues 10 years before was running the GW gaming at a store that has finally built an established player base, and carries a good selection of GW stuff.

More than 21 years later, I still have an old model from my first year in the hobby in one of my armies. I've gone through good times and bad in my GW hobby career, but in the end I loved it enough that it has stuck with me, and not always when I expected it to. It is what you make of it, and the time you put into it. There are battlefields out there somewhere, just waiting to be found if you really want to be on them...

[laestli]

Death of WHFB?

What?

WHFB is better than its ever been...

To quote the great Mark Twain... methinks, "the reports of [WHFB's] death have been greatly exaggerated."

Perhaps I didn't make the context clear enough? No one plays it at the local store in my neck of the woods anymore, no one. The manager gets interest in it every so often, but when people learn no one shows up to the game night when priority is still given to whfb, else tables are open to anything they lose interest fast.

Of the 19 people that used to play it, three are now full time 40k, five are wm/h, two are FoW, one is full time into chess, three are a mix of two or more games, one I know quit the hobby completely, one is into CCG's, and the last three I have no idea.

[Drunkencorgimaster]

I have to agree with most of these comments.

Actually I have another post up right now about getting back into historical wargaming -and of course took some heat for it (a bit of it deserved perhaps). Yet in no way do I intend to sell my 40k collection or stop playing it completely. Your interest in the game may very well ebb and flow over the years. For example I had not played WHFB in nearly a decade and have gotten back into it. Furthermore, think of the dinari you sank into that collection. You're not likely to get it back on Ebay and you'd have to start over again if you decide to start playing again in few years.

[Lockark]

It's kinda funny. I live in New Brunswick thier are three main FLGS people play at. 2 of them were mostly WHFB and the one I go to are mostly WH40k.

When 8th ed came out the other stores didn't like it, and the community has been shrinking.

The community I'm a part of?

"THIS IS THE MOST ****ING AWESOME THING EVER!"

Just kinda exploded here. Go figure.


I have to agree with most of these comments.

Actually I have another post up right now about getting back into historical wargaming -and of course took some heat for it (a bit of it deserved perhaps). Yet in no way do I intend to sell my 40k collection or stop playing it completely. Your interest in the game may very well ebb and flow over the years. For example I had not played WHFB in nearly a decade and have gotten back into it. Furthermore, think of the dinari you sank into that collection. You're not likely to get it back on Ebay and you'd have to start over again if you decide to start playing again in few years.

The problem alot of people mistake your snark as trolling/just another whiny post.

I personally found it funny.

*Shrugs*

[Emerald Rose Widow]

magickbk: That was pretty much what i wanted to get across, but you did so so much better than i ever could have with that story. That sounds like a nice life of fun with a wonderful hobby, thank you for telling us that bit of your past. That is just amazing.

laestli: I have heard that the game shops in my area (just move here so don't know for myself) have the same issue, people just don't play fantasy games. Luckilly i have a few friends who do, and with the new storm of magic that might change. I still have to get my Tomb Kings army together though before i can start to play those games.