Places to sell older minis

Over the years (probably 25+) I have collected a fairly large quantity of various miniatures (I would guess in the hundreds), the majority of which I just don't get any real use out of any longer. They are stored away and have remained that way, primarily untouched for years. Are there places that any of you would recommend for selling these off? Obviously there is ebay, but I am not sure the effort is worth the payoff/hassle/risk. I have previously sold large lots of RPG stuff (books) to Noble Knight, but I am not sure how feasible that would be with miniatures.

I know many of the these probably have no real value as the quality isn't up to today's standards, but mixed in with those are a bunch of really cool old figs. Some of the larger ones, such as the Dragons & Giants from the Grenadier line and such still hold up fairly well. The bulk of the stuff I have fantasy, with some other odds and ends thrown in.

Just looking to see if anyone has some suggestions. My apologies in advance if this is the wrong forum or if there is a more appropriate place to ask.

Thanks in advance

www.bartertown.com/trading/
More of a trade site, but some people sell.
They take their reputation and history seriously though so really get a feel for the place first.

Thanks for the quick reply, I will check that out. I will also take your advice concerning the site. I was hesitant to even bring this up here as I don't really post, just lurk. I didn't want to come across as a new poster just trying to sell his crap to everyone!

gates_c wrote: Obviously there is ebay, but I am not sure the effort is worth the payoff/hassle/risk.

Well, in exchange for taking the extra time to take photos and make listings, you stand to make more money on eBay than you do selling in bulk to a reseller. Honestly, when it comes to selling on eBay, miniatures are one of the easiest things I've ever dealt with. They can ship in relatively small boxes for small shipping costs and if they're rare and desirable they practically sell themselves. If you don't want to mess with international shipping just restrict your auctions to N. America/Canada.

If you're concerned about getting ripped off, Parcel Select postage has free tracking, and I insure international packages or items that sell for a decent amount ($25 or higher, let's say) with Insurepost, through whom I can get $100 of coverage for $1.05. Between the insurance and the cost of a 6" x 6" x 6" box you're only adding a little less than $2 to the handling costs.

If it were my collection I'd inventory it (you'll need to do this step anyway, regardless of who you sell to) and check eBay completed auction prices. Then I'd list the most valuable ones singly and make thematic auction lots out of the rest. If you can identify everything that you have then you're starting out with a leg up and your auctions will do better, especially if most of them are vintage.

If you just want rid of everything with the least amount of hassle then I guess I'd just check Noble Knights want lists against your inventory and see what you can get for them.

Thanks for the extra info and tips, much appreciated. As you said, inventory is the obvious starting point. As much as I dread it, I may as well get started. I guess I now have weekend plans at least.

Noble Knight does do miniatures as well.

The Miniatures Page [TMP] has a marketplace.

Miniature Market has a buyback program that is down right now but supposed to be back up in March.

And if you need help id'ing something

www.miniatures-workshop.com/lostminiswik....php?title=Main_Page

www.dndlead.com/Catalogs.htm

Just wanted to second Ebay. It's the best place to sell miniatures IMO as they typically sell well and fast. If you have older GW metal sculpts they can sometimes be worth much more than you realize. Stuff like Necromunda and specific 40K models can sell for $10-$20 a piece depending on the rarity.

I second Bartertown. I've done a lot of things there. Also, there's a shitload of Facebook groups that are devoted to the buy/sell/trade of RPG, board games, and miniatures. Shit sells there quickly.

Thanks again to everyone for all the great suggestions. I have started going through my boxes of stuff and taking pictures, as mentioned previously inventory is the first step clearly, since I have no idea what all I have any more. I have found some cool items that I had no idea were still around, considering a lot of this stuff has been moved many times over the last 25 years or so.
I stumbled across several pieces that I was particularly fond of when I was younger, unfortunately my painting standards were much lower then, but they are still cool to look back on.
It did take a bit of internet searching to find the actual names of these as I sure couldn't recall.

Teronus the Ultimate Dragon, fairly large dragon figure
Ral the Lord of Balrogs
An old Orcus min, haven't Id'd this one for sure, but thats what it looks like to me.
The Grenadier dragons and giants mentioned earlier, many more painted than I recall. Some of these were painted by another individual and are really excellent.

Now I have to move on to tons of more man-sized figs, which is a daunting task!

If minis are painted to a lower standard and can't be listed as a selling point, you might be good to soak in Pine Sol (metal only!) and hit with a toothbrush to strip them. Save the buyer a step and you open up to more buyers and will get more value.

I used to hunt for painted MoW fleet with the intention of stripping because it'd save me 20-30%.

For some the paint would def not be a selling point. I haven't tried the pine sol method, but I may give it a shot. Some of this paint has been on there for 25 years or better, I am kinda of amazed its still there. There are others though that are painted very well, which I picked up from an accomplished mini-painter when I was in my teens.

In addition to bartertown.com the Oldhammer forum has a trading/selling section forum.oldhammer.org.uk/

Also there's a Facebook group called Oldhammer Trading Company.

I'd be interested if you have any Blood Bowl, Mordheim or Necromunda minis.

It's worth pointing out that people buy and sell stuff in this forum all the time and we wouldn't bat an eye if you wanted to try and sell some of your stuff here before you took it to eBay. I've sold twice on this forum and both times it went very smoothly with no hiccups.

Thanks for the heads up on the additional sites. I do have a fair amount of Mordheim. However, those I am still debating on keeping. I can't bring myself to get rid of everything, so I am considering keeping those for games that I still have an interest in. Such as Mordheim, Warmaster, modern stuff and things I can use for Strange Aeons.

If I decide to let those go as well I will be sure to mention it here for you.

This is a sample of one of the painted figs, just to show the quality on some of these. This one was not done by me, I purchased it this way many years ago from someone much more skilled at the time.

http://imgur.com/WTXW0k0