Anyone bitten the bullet and cleared it all out??

[syrinx0]

The weirdo my father bought our second house from wrote weird stuff on the walls. My father (the cop) just shook his head and painted over it and would point out it's too small an area to fit a body which my brother and I accepted without question. Looking back on that...

Much like all the family clothes and furniture I have recycled lately, I must admit I don't get tossing stuff in the bin as opposed to ebay or giving it away at some event nearby. Sure it takes some effort, boxes, tape and perhaps some packing but whatever you get is greater than nothing and might bring some one joy. All things considered Ebay might make as much off it as me but that makes me feel better than just discarding it.

[eilif]

The stories of trashed hobby stuff do make me a bit sad.   At last resort a charity shop would take it (in which the proceeds would benefit some cause) and a bulk box almost anything hobby related will sell on a local sales forum (craigslist, facebook, etc) if the price is low enough.

I take care of sales of excess equipment and donations for my local model train club. I sell quite a bit and we get some real crap at various times. However, except for some rusty track (which I leave on top of the dumpster for the metal scrap guys) I can find a seller or reseller for virtually anything.  Almost nothing ends up in the landfill.

Not trying to guilt anyone (well, maybe I am a little...) but there's almost always a better end than the dumpster/trash/bin/skip.

[has.been]

Not trying to guilt anyone (well, maybe I am a little...) but there's almost always a better end than the dumpster/trash/bin/skip.

I agree.

[Wookington]

I can see why people become tempted by binning it, I've pretty much reached a point where I know I dislike painting enough that I'm never reasonably going to do even a fraction of my collection.  Now, I'm too bound up by sunk costs to actually throw anything away (that would be a waste and it also makes me slightly sad as well), but my experience of trying to sell miniatures on Ebay or at bring and buys has been fairly poor.  Usually seeing the one or two items of obvious good stuff getting picked out cheaply and the rest travelling home with you or relisting endlessly for week after week, price drop after price drop, until it's no longer economic to consider posting.

I could see someone who was time poor and frustrated just wanting to be rid of things.

[fred]

With eBay you don’t have to drop the price when re-listing. I’ve found with eBay nearly all the effort is at the start, in sorting stuff out, taking photos and listing it. Once that is done whether it sells in 1 week or 5 really doesn’t matter.

I’ve also done job lots on eBay to get rid of the odds and sods. But there has generally needed to be a fairly big driver to get me to do the listing - and its usually space. But after doing so seeing a good chunk of money in my Paypal account has always been pleasing too!

[Helen]

I'll hand out the tissues to anyone who feel peeved by such actions taken by folk who take to depositing their hobby collection in a matter that seems fit to them. There are stories behind decisions made by folk at the time. Respect their right to decide and not go on the merry go round of being 'holier than thou' and you will be much wiser for it!

[Oldben1]

I don't usually comment on this kind of stuff . .  .

My father was a hoarder.  He was a blacksmith in his retirement and filled my parent's home will all sorts of crazy and expensive hobby stuff.  My Mom was quite ill when he passed and it fell on me to clean up the house.  I sold many things at a crazy discount, I threw out things I should have kept, and I donated most of it to a worthy charity. My friends said I should keep it, or sell it, and that I could make a lot of money if I organized it better. 

The thing is, all the stuff has a weight.  It made me feel really overwhelmed.

In the case of my Dad's stuff, it wasn't mine so it was easy to donate.  It made a lot of people happy, and probably helped them become better smithys.

The joy is in the art of building and exploring little worlds.  I feel as my collection gets bigger, I'm often looking for that initial research/building/exploring phase.
I always try to remember that it's fun to make terrain, or paint miniatures. It's not always about the finished product.


Anyways .  . .

[Pattus Magnus]

I haven’t done a big clear out, but I can see the attraction. Just getting free of some of the older moribund projects and rule books I won’t play (or probably read again) would lift some of the ‘weight’ Oldben1 describes.

[NotifyGrout]

I can understand why someone might just get rid of an old collection if there's emotional baggage or trauma attached to it, or if storing it has too much of a cost (emotional or financial).

If not, I'd prefer to see it sold or given away. Let it bring someone else some happiness.

With that said, I've also seen people who are not experiencing any sort of pain or difficulty, who threw out perfectly decent miniatures just so they could brag about it online, when they could have easily given them away. That's just wasteful, and a missed opportunity to get someone new into the hobby.

[joe5mc]

I did, more or less, because I immigrated from the USA to Britain and just couldn't take it with me...

In truth, this probably resulted in one of my most enjoyed hobby periods. In Britain, I bought a brand new set of paints and a few figures. Since I only had a couple of figures, I painted them to the best of my ability and really enjoyed the process.  Then I got a few more, based specifically on the type of game that interested me right at that moment...  Strangely, this was probably aided by the fact that I was poor at the time and couldn't afford much, so I really had to enjoy and focus on what I had.

Eventually, I got a bit more money, and my buying overran may ability to paint or play with the things I had bought.  Quick dopamine hits, replaced the deeper satisfaction. 

I now make my living on wargames, but it is still an aspect I struggle with, knowing that less often is really more.

[modelwarrior]

I really like the idea of giving stuff away for free to good home. I have given up trying to sell stuff on fleabay simply from people offering a £5 for a £20 item just because it did not sell after 7 days. Might be an idea to open a thread on the site offering free stuff ? You just have to collect it or pay for postage? Perhaps only open the thread to users over a year old to stop the beggers or just have a collection of stuff given by people on here and give it all to charity via a raffle at a wargaming event or something ?  I would happily donate for free.

[AdmiralAndy]

Might be an idea to open a thread on the site offering free stuff ? You just have to collect it or pay for postage?

I'm not aware you couldn't just do that anyway with for Sale items, simply title *game system* or *period* books/models/dvds/terrain  free to a good home (add hometown as indicator for local arrangements). Then first come first served, could maybe add a sub entry on the  bazaar of obscurity for free/give away stuff?

I've been doing that with some books, that can't be bothered, for the 50p I'd make not worth my trouble to sell but don't want to bin a perfectly good item just because I don't want it and will still bring joy to someone else.

[Easy E]

I've been doing that with some books, that can't be bothered, for the 50p I'd make not worth my trouble to sell but don't want to bin a perfectly good item just because I don't want it and will still bring joy to someone else.

I pretty much leave any paperback I have read in a high traffic space like a bus stop, airport, train station, waiting area, etc. with a sticky note on the cover that says "Free, please read and/or pass on".   

[tikitang]

I'll hand out the tissues to anyone who feel peeved by such actions taken by folk who take to depositing their hobby collection in a matter that seems fit to them. There are stories behind decisions made by folk at the time. Respect their right to decide and not go on the merry go round of being 'holier than thou' and you will be much wiser for it!

Well said; I completely agree with this, except that I'd expect people to provide their own tissues.

[Dubbya]

It does rub me the wrong way a little seeing any hobby stuff thrown out... partly because I know I've binned 1/72 plastics knowing it's so cheap, only to be tempted to re-buy years later when I'm into the scale again!

I'm fully aware it's no worse than anything else thrown out - I'll be the first to admit I've thrown out food, clothing, toys etc. that could have gone to a good home. I did once donate a big collection of toy castles that I never got around to converting into a warhammer fortress.

Every hard waste collection where I see exercise bikes or gym set ups that were left to rust and now unusable, I think that's a a way bigger waste of resources than some toy soldiers or RPG books thrown out and yeah, you don't know another person's situation or mental state so I try and keep my trap shut.

The subject itself here I find interesting and the replies have given me much to think about - I might add my own when I get a chance. The Christmas break has been an eye opener for me (I had all these plans, but the time wasted tidying up and distractions from sheer number of projects on the go).