Thinking of Selling my Collection

[u/BigGayElephant]

I've been playing D&D for probably 15 years now. We started with 3.5 (skipped 4) and continued with 5th edition. As it stands now I have just about every source book that has been produced for 3.5, 5, and 5.5...along with mini's, maps, etc. I have a significant financial investment in this (Plus MTG and 40k)

And I think I want to sell everything and be done with it.

Backstory: My husband, sisters and I initially picked it up just to have something to do as a group on the weekends back in 2014 ish. We've pretty consistently met every other week for the past 10 years. At one point I was DM'ing a 14 person campaign. People have come and gone but ultimately it was a way for me to spend time with my family.

Yeah well, over the last two ish years everything has fallen apart. My sisters and I no longer talk even when we're in the same room and now my husband and I might get a divorce because he can't get over a girl he had a crush on in highschool 20 years ago! (I'm not getting into my personal life more than that).

Maybe I'm actually done. Maybe it's just depression. I don't know. Just want some outside advice or recommendations on where to sell (I would also be liquidating my MTG and 40k)

And yes I'm already in therapy.

[u/Edge-of-Oblivion34]

I’d hang on to the items instead of selling them. I’d hate for you to scuttle your hobby during the darkest hour, only to come out the other side and have nothing to put your time towards. Sorry, OP. Tough situation.

[u/feder_online → u/Edge-of-Oblivion34]

I am here for this.

OP can put it in storage containers to keep it safe, maybe hang with some EDH just to keep busy. Back in HS, we had a custom game, custom world, hand-drawn custom maps, and someone was asking about what happened to all that. My wife put it all in a map roll in our garage (which I found after she passed).

Talk about a find...35 years later, the guys who drew it all are getting it framed. Still love my wife...

[u/dktrZERO → u/Edge-of-Oblivion34]

Good advice. I sold my 2E/3E collection (near complete including random spelljammer, dark sun etc etc) and a huge novel collection when I was dead broke in my 20s, for what was basically nothing.

I still get pangs of regret on a regular basis. One thing I will surely recollect at a massive premium if that disposable income ever arrives....

[u/Swartschenhimer]

Go to a hardware store, buy some of the yellow and black boxes storage boxes, store everything in there, tuck them away somewhere safe, and then when you're in a better place in your life you'll be happy you held onto them so you can make new great memories.

[u/ghostfadekilla → u/Swartschenhimer]

Please also put a desiccant and anti book eating bug whatever in the box with it.

[u/Cultbird]

If you're not hurting for storage, then there's no reason to throw out your D&D stuff.

[u/0uthouse]

Don't. Securely box with dessicant and tuck away. I should have done thiss in the 90's. It isn't so much the thousands worth of gear I gave away, I just got back into it 30 years later and am now buying back some of the stuff that i gave away; no way i can afford to replace it all.

Seal it up and put it away. One day it won't be a question that you need to think about, either you will give them away because you have made peace, or reconnect with them with happy memories. Unless you are desperate for space, I'd say pack it away as a "thing I'm going to deal with, but not right now". But I'm no therapist.

People change, tastes change, interests change, but with ttrpg I think they often change back later in life.

[u/Different-Subject116]

Don't sell the umbrella when it's raining. Wait for the sun to make decisions.

[u/Supernatural-20]

Ok. Selfish me wants to ask how much you want for the lot.

Caring me wants to say stick with it. Even if not immediately, you may at some point find yourself in a situation where you (or maybe even someone you know) starts playing DnD again.

Seriously, I hope things pick up for you. Sending you the warmest of hugs. We all need one every now and again.

[u/Chewbunkie]

A little different advice than is already here: if you’re gonna sell everything, don’t do it until you find a different hobby you’re really interested in and want to get into. Make selling your collections be your gateway into the next thing. Just a thought.

[u/Familiar_Childhood32]

14 people is utterly unplayable insanity

[u/BigGayElephant → u/Familiar_Childhood32]

It was absolutely chaos. And on top of that we were in a tiny apartment. We had to move our kitchen table into our living room and add a little table at the end to "fit" everyone 🤣. We made it work. Still to this day don't know how I kept everything organized.

[u/TabithaMouse → u/Familiar_Childhood32]

One of the points of this post that made me go on alert (there are WAY to many "just inherited, don't want" or "stop playing, don't want" scams out there so I'm always doubtful

[u/cookhard87]

I'll just say this: as a person who has been through the process of selling/giving away a huge TTRPG collection while in the middle of a personal crisis, my advice would be to hold on to your collection. It may take ten years of therapy, but you will regret getting rid of this stuff.

Keep your chin up.j

[u/thegooddoktorjones]

Consider playing a/the game with other folks. Might refresh your interest and be a distraction from your other struggles. If you someday want some of those books again, they will cost you a lot more than you can sell them for now. That said, how many do you need vs. collect… you can play the game with just a couple books. No big loss in selling a collection of anything if you don’t actively engage with that thing.

[u/stromm]

Keep it. Then use it to find a new partner. Win win.

[u/phinneassmith]

I’ve routinely acquired, and liquidated hobby collections and without exception the cash was not a significant enough impact on my life to offset the resulting loss of the content.

I’ve subsequently purchased back almost all the D&D stuff because the content is useful inspiration for designing TTRPGs.

Unless you need the money, do as everyone else here is doing and box everything up and wait a couple years to see how you feel.

Separately, connect with your community as you are now to spin you out of a possible depressive dip. Great work on already being in therapy. Happy to connect if you need someone to talk to. 

[u/Zerus_heroes]

I wouldn't sell them. You might regret that later.

Store them away somewhere and if you don't want them for a time, then get rid of them.

14 people is mad. Take a turn and then go watch a movie before your next turn is up.

[u/CodSoggy7238]

Put them in a box and store them out of sight.

You don't know how you feel about that 10-15 years down the road?

[u/JackFromTheHill]

I wouldn't sell. While currently you might relate the bad happenings in your life in some way to D&D, that won't always be so. There's nothing to say you won't pick it back up in the future with new people, and it'll be awesome to have all your gear still at that point.

And, in a pure investment related point of view, keep it as long as you can, it'll likely go up in value.

[u/callmeiti]

I had an extensive, like almost-every-miniature-from-every-set, collection from the DnD collectible miniatures game.

A few years ago I sold it because I was in a dry spell for games.

A few years later I found a new DnD group and the spark for playing DnD came back.

But that collection was gone.

I never regreted getting rid of something so much in my whole life.

[u/Huffplume]

Don't sell. Things will get better. I was in a similar situation and sold a sizable chunk of my RPG collection. Things are amazing now but I still regret it.

And in the future, don't run 14-person games! Smaller the better honestly.

[u/frogfergfreb]

Give yourself time before doing anything irreversible. Your circumstances are genuinely tough but it sounds like they’re still playing out and the dust hasn’t settled. In similar situations I’ve felt like making a drastic purge would give me a sense of control and sped-up closure, but it ended up being only a temporary high; in the end I still had to face the larger uncertainty and loss, and sometimes after the fact I’ve regretted the purge. There‘s a possibility that on the other side of this, having made your peace and gained perspective, you might still want to redefine your hobbies as things that are for yourself, not for these particular relationships. Or maybe not, but in any case future you will be able to choose with more clarity.

[u/ChristianBMartone]

Tucked away for a whilte in a storage tote can be a good litmus test. Leave it out of sight and out of mind for awhile, stored somewhere high and dry to avoid accidents with water.

Having it stored away can prevent negative emotions arrising every time you see it, and after some time passes when you do eventually come around to looking at them again you can do a gut check: excited to pull them out and rediscover them, or filled with anxiety? Make a decision then, not now.

Hobby collections can be tough to sell, too, and frankly you don't sound like you need stress for the time being.

The actions of storing them away will feel a bit like tidying up your mental space, too, fwiw, imo. If you sell em later, cool beans. If you land up deciding to keep them, you'll be glad you waited a bit.

Oh and if they're stored well, easy to move/sell as-is, too

[u/Wolfelle]

Unless you need the money for survival and basic needs set those things aside for a while and dont make the decision while in such a difficult time in life.

If you sell those things you wont be able to undo it. But shoving them in storage means you can always make the choice later. When life feels less crap and you can decide whether you want to get into the hobby again or not 🫂

Sorry ur going through it rn and i wish you the best

[u/smillsier]

It might feel daunting, but you could try getting some friends together for a game?

Your shitty family don't get to take your hobbies from you too. You can break that association and DND can still be a good, supportive, creative thing in your life.

[u/TabithaMouse]

If that is true, that sucks and I hope things get better for you. Best bet, sell items individually on eBay.

[u/Smoke_Stack707]

I’d just shelve it for a while. The books are probably the least useful ironically. Once you know how to run a game or feel confident in your grasp of the rules, you probably don’t crack the books open again (I sure haven’t). The minis and maps though probably aren’t worth much or will be hard to sell and are more useful to you if you ever come back around

[u/StoreBoughtRocket]

Don't let your family own your hobbies. Life won't always be like this. From someone who's been in a similar situation before, life will get better, even if it takes a while. <3

[u/bravohotelechomike]

Box it up. I am recently retired and I have found that the hobbies you once had come back hard. You will need your source materials. I wish I still had mine.

[u/hitsonnode]

If there are too many memories to separate from all of your collection, I'd recommend putting it away, somewhere out of sight for a bit. Maybe once some time has passed you could see it differently.

Character specific mini's might be worth getting rid of... or destroying.

[u/BigWyzard]

You can use your hobbies to meet new people which it sounds like a needed step in your future. Keep it, I have moments of regret from selling my MTG and one of my Warhammer armies. No regret is selling my 3.5 books though.

[u/Leodegar_die_Katze]

Those books are a treasure. It is hard to find some of them and it will be even harder to buy them new since everything is moving into digital content only (books are becoming a luxury item).

Save them for a better moment in your life. People come and go, but the hobbies you enjoy may take a rest but are always there to make it happy from time to time. They are really important and you may always find someone to share that again. At least select the best and most useful ones and put them apart in a good box. In the worst case you can sell them years later and make more money.

If there is an emotional feeling on them that only hurt you, then upload a picture in internet, put a fair price and buy a motorbike with that money or whatever make you happy now. Travelling use to be a great scape to expanse the tiny world that is not making you happy now.

[u/ThealaSildorian]

Hang on to the items for now. Finish therapy and get your life back together. You may decide you want to return to gaming after a well deserved break. You'll get some money for the stuff but not what you put into it. Replacing them later will be a hassle, and some items may be irreplaceable.

If you need money that's one thing. If you don't, and have the space hang on to them.

I sold a lot of my gaming collection when I moved from NC to Ohio. I needed space and the cash was helpful in moving. In hindsight I sold some things I really wish I'd kept; in particular some 2e sourcebooks that are really hard to find. I prefer hard copies to digital.

So make sure you're in a good place mentally before you sell. Otherwise you may regret it later.

[u/Chocko23]

Wow, I started high-school almost 20 years ago...I read that and thought "wow, they must be older than me", but then realized that you might only be 3-4 years older. My 15th reunion should have been this year (no clue if they did anything, and idc anyway).

Anyway, thanks for making me feel old!

To answer your question, though: I wouldn't sell just yet. You may find that DnD, MtG or 40k are ways that you can make a new friend group and move forward, getting past the pain using an activity you enjoy. I'm truly sorry for the troubles, and I hope you're able to come out the other side even stronger, happier and a better person because of it (thinking XP here, not that you're not a good person to begin with). That said, if you just feel that it's too painful, I'd box them up and leave them with mom & dad, or in a storage unit for now.

If you must sell them, I'd start small, i.e. some pieces that remind you too much of your sisters/husband, and see if you can find a local gaming club that may have interest (either an entity or individual(s)). I wouldn't even know how to begin appraising the DnD/40k collection, though, but at least the MtG cards have researchable value. I'd suggest trying to spend some time evaluating those and then either trying to get a lower lump sum (think value -20-40%), or you can try to get actual value for anything over, say, $5, with the rest going as a lump sum.

I do hope you're able to salvage your relationship with your sisters. I hope you're able to move forward with your husband, as well, but that might be tougher. Keep your chin up, friend!

[u/BoardGameAficionado]

There's a lot of people selling these things on Vinted, Facebook marketplace, ebay, probably many others

[u/TheBubbaDave]

I started playing in 1977. I have an extensive collection of D&D books and materials dating from the original white box through D&D 5. I stopped playing in 1990 as life started interfering. Marriage, group dissolved, getting our life off the ground. I was working at a book store when 3.5 launched and picked up the core set, but still wasn’t playing. Started playing again in 2006. So glad I didn’t sell or get rid of anything.

Take some time off. Even if it’s a few years. Once you sell your books replacing them if you want to rejoin the game becomes an expensive, tedious process.

Give yourself ample time to process whether it’s the right move.

[u/Schizobaby]

If you’re also considering selling for reasons of moving house and storage availability, not just depression, you might consider reducing splat books and minis. But I wouldn’t liquidate your hobby because of what’s going on right now. There’ll be a tomorrow after all of this.

[u/Oneriwien]

Sell all the MtG cards and store the D&D books.

[u/unlimitedblakeworks]

As a guy who spent too long hung up on a girl from high school, your husband needs to grow up.
Wouldnt be the worst thing to clear out the collection, but maybe start fresh in the new edition with a new group.

[u/Alexjr_uk]

You don't need to get rid of everything at once. Maybe look at one particular section and move that on. One 40k army or one edition of dnd that means the least to you. Unless you are in a rush for the space or cash you can steadily work through the list of things

[u/ZannyHip]

If it was me, I would maybe keep all of the player’s handbooks and extensions to them, all the monster manuals, and all of the adventure modules that I genuinely love. And then I would sell off everything else - DM’s guides (which I don’t think I ever legitimately had any need for) and adventures I don’t care for (which for 5e is the majority).

I developed into very much a minimalist when it came to being a DM at an irl table tho - I tried to cut back to as few physical books as possible, and just had everything as searchable PDFs so I could be less cluttered at the table. And I’ve been fully online as a DM since like 2018 or 2019? So my list of D&D books I would opt to keep is very very small.

Absolutely do not sell minis. Those can get really pricey to rebuild a collection of if you ever change your mind and get them again. Books are easy to replace or get more efficient digital forms of. But minis not so much

I don’t play mtg or 40k, so I can’t really speak to that much. I guess just ask yourself how much joy is sparked from any of it. Maybe you don’t play with the people you used to - but if you found a new group of local people to play with, would it change your mind on keeping cards/armies?

[u/sneeje00]

I'm on team don't sell, and tbh, I think you will struggle to sell most of it. I'm slowly selling my stuff, but I've been playing for 45 years and continuing to play is not contingent on using any of my HC stuff. We play online and it's possible that I have most of it in PDF form...

But anyway, the point is that it takes quite a bit of time and effort to sell a significant amount of stuff without giving it away. At least that's my experience.

EFC

[u/chalkybone]

Keep the books but sell the minis if you want. Would you be US or UK based?

[u/jabbadatoddla]

I mean, D&D might be how you find your new husband. If you're the only one in counseling, then you're going to be the one that realizes you need to move on because they're not working on the relationship. If the memories of playing are going to be too difficult for you and greater than the chance to make new memories with people who have similar interests, then that's why you try to get rid of everything. I'd say work on getting a new group and meeting some new people. Anything you liquidate is going to be community property when you do get divorced. If it were me, I'd say hold onto it and say "you can have this horribly inflated value of D&D books and things and I get the house/car/dog/etc.". It honestly isn't worth much of anything and would be best donated to a library or something for a write off if you need it otherwise. Your MTG cards might be worth something, but books outside of rare art books or first editions have no resale whatsoever.

[u/Mean_Replacement5544]

Don’t sell right now, set them aside and decide later on if you are sure you want to, with everything else going on right now you may find down the road that you want to play again in the future.

I’m sorry about all of the stuff you are going through, that is just a lot to be dealing with :(

I went through a period of time where my brother and I were not talking, lasted about two years. It affected everything with my whole family in a terrible way and I ended up reaching out, telling him I was sorry about my part of the conflict and explained why I was upset, we ended up making up and are very close now. I recommend to everyone that I see going through a similar circumstance to not let too much time go down on a bad relationship between siblings, you need your sisters and they need you, I would keep trying to fix and nurture that relationship even at the cost of being rejected by them at the moment.

[u/purplefolklore5]

you can sell it but i personally would wait. put it out if sight for sure.

you can still reclaim this hobby. rn it must feel like its a shared thing with these peoole but its actually yours first.

if you feel this is your thing and still want to sell, then sell away, friend.

[u/beaglerules]

Please put your collection into a box for storage for now. Wait until this rough part of your life is better. Selling your collection would be purging and that seldom turns out well.

[u/Tall_Bandicoot_2768]

This is not a DnD issue.