Put your Stash on Ebay, please.

I never thought of looking for lots on Ebay... I think you guys just made a budding addiction worse. Way to go!

NO WAY!

Although I have enough models for two life times I really enjoy walking into the modeling room and looking at all my options. I have most modern military jets in 1/72 (including a few exotic like the AMX, Ching Kuo  and Saeta) and my long term plan is to have most air forces represented (so far 19 countries have been represented).

Still, I have a few dozens of models I could do without and would be willing to sell or even donate. You just gave an idea for the next annual contest.

First offer to buy all takes them all.

You can't sell models here... FSM policy for advertising is that you buy ad space in the magazine or the web site and sell your kits through that...  Advertising in the forums is a no-no..

proximity

I read about all these guys with hundreds of kits in their stash. I buy and build, but the price of a good model is around $35 now. So my idea is for these guys to start selling off their

I have a "medium" sized stash of around 150 kits. But I do not think that there are kits in there worth $ 35. My stash is a combination of carefully selected bargains and limited editions/short run kits. All the expensive kits that I have are very specific and I would not sell them quickly. 

Some examples of bargains I have come found at sales and shows (vendor tables at show are the number hot spot for bargains: 

E 10 for 1/48 rafale,  E 5 for 1/48 P-69, E 1,50 for 1/48 CR. 32....these kind of bargains are out there if you look in the right places. If you do not mind a challenge them Airfix, Heller and eastern europeans brands linke kopro and ZTS Plastyk can be found for nearly nothing.

Furthermore there are very nice cheap kits to be found, like Revells 1/72 fighter (Hurricane, Thunderbolt, Fw-190, etc)

So, even on a limited budget you can buy models and have fun.

I try to think I'm not a collector because every model I buy I have the full intention of putting it together.  Looking at my stash I know that its kinda got out of control with just at 200 kits but I fully intend on clearing some of them out soon. As for Ebay it has changed so much that it seems like you can't even find a bargain. I have won more than my share but I don't go there as much as I used to.

To get more involved in the hobby you just have to find some like minded people in your area. Where I'm from I'd have to drive a long way just to go to a Hobby Shop. (2+ hr drive) Or just get more involved on this forum and others like it.

iraqiwildman

I read about all these guys with hundreds of kits in their stash. I buy and build, but the price of a good model is around $35 now. So my idea is for these guys to start selling off their stash on Ebay. This would help get more involved in modelling and have some good bargains for guys like me.

Might just be me, but I don't understand this idea.  So I put up my kits on ebay, to sell to you at less than I paid for them?  Why should I sell something for a loss just so you can get a "good bargain"?  I don't see how this would get more involved in modeling.  There are plenty of kits out there that already are for a low price.  Please explain how me buying a model for $35 and selling it to you (or anyone else) on Ebay would get more involved in the hobby.

I like to search on Ebay in the model building section by just typing in "lot" and hit search.

You get a lot of deceased estate stuff, with the kids just wanting to get rid of it, and these clearance houses where you take in your stuff and they sell it for you on Ebay.

I've got a few hundred "hits" on ebay with search parameters of "1/48th scale" kits with "0.99 to 5.99" as a price range... Just set up your ebay search to the parameters you want and have them notify you via email.. You can do it for different scales, prices-ranges, and subjects...

Woody

I have sold quite a few on forums too.

Another great resource.  I've got a ton a great deals on Armorama.  Swanny's site has a buy/sell/trade.  I think Missing-lynx and Hyperscale do as well (don't quote me on those).

Another thing is to keep an eye on the major on-line sites and the sales they have.  Squadron just had a sale.  I think Lucky Model just wrapped one up too.  Greatmodels is having one now.  Depending how you do it and what you buy, you can really stock up through their sales.

There are deals to be had out there, if you are persistent.

I have sold well over a thousand kits out of my stash on ebay. I'm not very happy with the way ebay is now treating it's sellers so I haven't sold any kits since last year on there. I have sold quite a few on forums too.

I just checked E-bay.  As of 1330 on 29 June, there were 129,155 listings under the 'Military' section of the Model Kit category on E-bay.  You should be able to build up a pretty nice stash from that... 

Also:

Automotive: 48,002

Sci-Fi: 12,476

That is only three of their categories.  There is a ton of model stuff for sale on E-Bay.

Actually, there are already many stashes up on eBay right now.  That's how I built a stash.

Not only does a stash sit in your closet, or on shelves in your work area, or in some other kind of storage, but stashes circulate.  One generation hands kits off to the next.  Kits are traded or sold between modelers, or they are donated to our clubs for raffles.

Or, more nobly, they are donated to be sent overseas to modelers in the service and deployed, or to groups for young modelers, to get kids interested in building models and all that goes with it.

So, I wouldn't lament, I'd spend more time on eBay .  Or go to shows, if you can, or join a modeling club, or hang out at the local hobby shop, if there is one, even if it's a chain store like HobbyTown, there might be other modelers in the area who are looking to share the hobby.

The bargains are out there, you just have to look a little closer.

Good luck!

Brad

Won't happen. A large stash is a symptom of "collectoritis". While a large portion of "modelers" fancy themselves as "builders first", the fact that they accumulate significant numbers of kits they know they will never build proves that they are in fact "Collectors".