The purge (collection talk)

[Dyrnwyn]

I've long since purged almost all of my physical RPG books. I only had a few left a decade ago, and then sold off or donated those as I was able to replace them in PDF. The only one I still have is a 5E PHB due to using it regularly for a while, but I will eventually part with that one too.

I've moved twice in the past four years and may move again in the spring, so being almost exclusively electronic for my RPGs has helped things in that regard.

 

[Bunch]

You make your poor mother Bunch cry with your foul talk...

 

[Brander]

I've let a number of gamer friends pick over my collection and I still have way more I want to get rid of. I sold some stuff on ebay a long while back but I found it not worth the hassle even if I made a couple bucks. I have zero regrets and have had zero desire to replace any of it that has gone.

Now if my wife would let me give away some minis, but she's not having any of that since I'm her main opponent.

 

[PolarBlues]

We really need to do that Joyeurs Sans Frontiers (Gamers Without Borders) non-profit idea so we can fill a cargo shipping container with purged RPGs and visit our poor gaming relations in Oceania, like Australia (kangaroo not pastry), fabled Mu (plays The KLF), and lost New Zealand (if we can find it). It might even be a tax write-off, if we do it right.

Any other ports of call that need gamer largesse?

 

[Bunch]

I've let a number of gamer friends pick over my collection and I still have way more I want to get rid of. I sold some stuff on ebay a long while back but I found it not worth the hassle even if I made a couple bucks. I have zero regrets and have had zero desire to replace any of it that has gone.

Now if my wife would let me give away some minis, but she's not having any of that since I'm her main opponent.

I've expanded my collection that way. That is an acceptable option.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

You make your poor mother Bunch cry with your foul talk...

 

[Imaginos]

List what you put in the boxes.

Still culling and deciding. So far what left of my original Hell on Earth collection. May list the rest as a bulk lot on a Facebook group.

Rest of my Symbaroum and some other odds and ends.

Plan to load in:
D20 Modern
Wild Talents colection
Lots of Numenera/Cypher Sustem
Maybe my CP202x collection
Witcher
Bubblegum Crisis
Mutant Year Zero engine related games
Marvel Super Heroes
Marvel SAGA
V&V collection (think I have everything published at least by FGU)
Rest of my Unisystem games
Godsend Agenda (new one) plus other Khepera publishing games
DCC RPG assortment
Wrath & Glory
BRP gold book
legend from Mongoose
Mongoose Traveller and Judge Dredd
GURPS 4E books
Everlasting RPG
Black Hack and other derivatives
Cortex Supernatural
Pathfinder 2E collection
HeroQuest related
Savage WorldSavage Rifts
Some Palladium
Probably my AD&D collection

Oh, and the rest of my Shadowrun.

I’m sure there is more not coming to mind.

 

[TristramEvans]

Marvel Super Heroes

Rest of my Unisystem games

What MSH books and Unisystem games do you have?

 

[bleys21]

Ooh ooh! I wanna be a heretic too!

Some years ago, when I had a minor water pipe issue in my office, and had to move everything out, I realized that I had a problem. Way, way too many books (both RPG and fiction), boxed sets, games, etc. It took over our entire living room. So, I started going through everything I either: a) never used, or b) wouldn't use again, and started checking what they would sell for on eBay. If I could get $10 or more, with buyer paying shipping, they got posted. Many many items in my collection sold for more than $100 each. I would only post 2-3 items a week, to keep things manageable. Over a year of selling that stuff, I made $5000. Thankfully that was before eBay changed their tax reporting procedures here in the US. I've still got a few things to toss up there this year, and next I'm going to go through my 1000+ CD collection and purge out the shit I hate.

TL/DR version: if you've got old RPG's, they're worth gold to collectors that hunt that shit down on eBay. Toss them up there and make some money!

 

[spittingimage]

Am I really the only one that who simply chucks unwanted roleplaying game books in the recycliing bin (after checking if any of their gamer friends want it)?

*gasp*
I CAST THEE OUT, DEMON. Leave this place. THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS THEE.

We really need to do that Joyeurs Sans Frontiers (Gamers Without Borders) non-profit idea so we can fill a cargo shipping container with purged RPGs and visit our poor gaming relations in Oceania, like Australia (kangaroo not pastry), fabled Mu (plays The KLF), and lost New Zealand (if we can find it). It might even be a tax write-off, if we do it right.

We'd be easier to find if they didn't keep leaving us off world maps. Seriously, we're approximately the same size as Japan and the UK. They never get left off maps. The country's as long as the US West coast! Is that an insignificant tract of land?

Anyway, I have nothing to offer. Being at the arse-end of the world, buying any kind of gaming equipment is a significant expense. My physical RPGs have yet to overflow a single shelf of my bookcase.

 

[Imaginos]

What MSH books and Unisystem games do you have?

MSH: I'm down to Xmen box set and Advanced Rules box sets. Both top boxes have split corners.

Unisystem:
Witchcraft Hardcover
WItchcraft softcover
Witchcraft Chronicler's Shield (with book)
Armageddon the End Times Hardcover x2 (the second edition of it)
Armed Force Hardcover (by Misfit Studios for Armageddon)
Terra Primate Hardcover
Eden Studios Presents vols 1-3
Zombie Master Screen (no adventure)
Zombie Master Screen (with coffee break of the living dead)
Band of Zombies GM Screen

Con X 2nd edition
Conspiracy X 2nd edition core Hardcover x2
The Extraterrestrial Sourcebook for 2nd edition hardcover
The Paranormal Sourcebook for 2nd edition hardcover
The Conspiracies Sourcebook for 2nd edition hardcover
Con X 2E GM Screen
pad of 2E character sheets
pad of 2E cell record sheets
Classified pack (4 fold out pages in white envelope, maps, photos)

Con X 1st edition
Conspiracy X 1st edition core paperback x2
Bodyguard of Lies 3: Synergy paperback
Aegis Handbook paperback x2
Sub Rosa paperback x2
Atlantis Rising paperback x2
Nemesis The grey sourcebook paperback
Shadows of the Mind paperback
Cryptozoology paperback
Forsaken Rites paperback
The Hand Unseen paperback
Exodus paperback

Cinematic Unisystem:
BtVS Slayer's Handbook limited edition hardcover
Angel Core book standard edition hardcover
Angel core book limited edition hardcover
Angel Director's Screen
Ghosts of Albion hardcover

 

[Exploderwizard]

Still culling and deciding. So far what left of my original Hell on Earth collection. May list the rest as a bulk lot on a Facebook group.

Rest of my Symbaroum and some other odds and ends.

Plan to load in:
D20 Modern
Wild Talents colection
Lots of Numenera/Cypher Sustem
Maybe my CP202x collection
Witcher
Bubblegum Crisis
Mutant Year Zero engine related games
Marvel Super Heroes
Marvel SAGA
V&V collection (think I have everything published at least by FGU)
Rest of my Unisystem games
Godsend Agenda (new one) plus other Khepera publishing games
DCC RPG assortment
Wrath & Glory
BRP gold book
legend from Mongoose
Mongoose Traveller and Judge Dredd
GURPS 4E books
Everlasting RPG
Black Hack and other derivatives
Cortex Supernatural
Pathfinder 2E collection
HeroQuest related
Savage WorldSavage Rifts
Some Palladium
Probably my AD&D collection

I’m sure there is more not coming to mind.

AD&D collection? Please elaborate. I may make you an offer.

 

[Toadmaster]

Seeing threads like this I am reminded that I'm a relative lightweight in collecting games. Although not arranged this way, my games would basically fill a 3 foot wide by 12 foot high shelf. Electronically I have a lot more, but still pretty small compared to some here.

 

[Coplen]

Seeing threads like this I am reminded that I'm a relative lightweight in collecting games. Although not arranged this way, my games would basically fill a 3 foot wide by 12 foot high shelf. Electronically I have a lot more, but still pretty small compared to some here.

I might have half that amount left, if not a third. I went minimalist in my life and don't have crap for games anymore. This doesn't include pdfs, for which I have gigs of them). I'm left with some 1E AD&D and various clones like Hyperborea, Ars Magica, BRP (RQ 3, CoC, the new BRP book, Stormbringer....), EABA, and a few stragglers here and there.

I don't have the room (my place is 220 square feet) to still have a respectable (read as gloriously big - that's what she said!) collection taking over most of a room.

 

[Mankcam]

I'll tend to divide my sales into lots, otherwise your collection will be cherrypicked until you are just left with a bunch of stuff you can't sell.

Yep that's pretty much what I'll do, I'll sell them in bulk otherwise I'll just be left with scraps in my bookshelf.
The whole point of selling is to create more bookshelf space and to get rid of any mental stagnancy incurred by owning stuff that just doesn't inspire me anymore.

So yeah, this means a collection of GURPS corebooks hardcovers, followed by a big stash of Savage Wolrds, coming up on eBay soon if anyone down here in Australia wants to take a look (shipping costs makes it not viable for those further away)

Then if that goes well, I might consider selling my near-complete collection of 7th Sea 2E hardcover books in one big drop (I just don't think I will be getting 7S2E to the table)

If any Aussie down here wants Savage Worlds or GURPS, I'm up for being PM at some stage

 

[CRKrueger]

From my cold, dead hands.

 

[Bunch]

From my cold, dead hands.

I've never liked you more than I do right now!

 

[carpocratian]

I have been weeding my non-rpg books for a couple of years now. I sold off about 2,000 or so prior to COVID. I have around 1,500 print books still in the house, a little over half of which are rpg game books (mostly rules and supplements - not many adventures). I'm still working on the non-rpg stuff right now, but will eventually need to do at least a little weeding of the rpg books.

When that time comes, I will most likely focus on certain Facebook groups and (possibly) doing some selling at local conventions. There is one local independent bookstore that tends to pay decent prices, but they are very picky about what they take. In the past, eBay would have been my first stop, but changes to that platform in the past couple of years has made it more problematic to use, and less lucrative in general.

 

[chuckdee]

We need to have a thread where we give stuff away to help the heretics. They can give stuff away, and we can balance them out with our increasing collection. I mean, we have a sales thread, and I don't see any of this stuff on there, so they must want to give it away, right?

 

[Bunch]

We need to have a thread where we give stuff away to help the heretics. They can give stuff away, and we can balance them out with our increasing collection. I mean, we have a sales thread, and I don't see any of this stuff on there, so they must want to give it away, right?

I mean the clear solution is for the heretics to ship their books to the holy. I believe either of us are worthy of the task.

 

[ffilz]

In 2007 after I got engaged, I knew I had to thin out my hobby collection. I put huge chunks on my collection on the block, much of it an entire game run for $50 or $100. Huge bargains for those who purchased. There are a few things I regret, but more of my regrets are from older purges in the 1980s and 1990s. But really, most of it I'm glad to be done of. Almost all of my D20 stuff (I kept D&D 3.5, Arcana Evolved, and one or two other books), almost all of my GURPS and Hero stuff. 7th Sea and Deadlands eventually went. Tons of stuff that honestly I was never going to play, much I have never even used. And the few regrets, I probably wouldn't have done anything with any of it anyway. I still have several milk crates of stuff I need to get rid of, and I could probably do with another purge. I wonder if I really need Talislanta or Tekumel, and some other random games.

The truth is as I'm well into the 2nd half of my life, even my gaming life, I'm unlikely to try much of anything new. I like what I like.

 

[E-Rocker]

It won't help any of you who want to make money off your collections, but if you just wanna get stuff out of your hands & into the hands of others who will appreciate the books, Little Free Libraries can be a way to go.

There are a bunch in my neighborhood. The other day, I put 3 core rulebooks from pretty obscure minis games in there & they disappeared almost immediately.

 

[Mankcam]

Even if I trim down an entire large bookcase, I'll still have at least threeother large bookcases completely full with trpg stuff I could never part with

 

[opaopajr]

We'd be easier to find if they didn't keep leaving us off world maps. Seriously, we're approximately the same size as Japan and the UK. They never get left off maps. The country's as long as the US West coast! Is that an insignificant tract of land?

Anyway, I have nothing to offer. Being at the arse-end of the world, buying any kind of gaming equipment is a significant expense. My physical RPGs have yet to overflow a single shelf of my bookcase.

You know the way to Lost New Zealand? Hurray! We can add a confirmed stop on the Oceania RPG Relief Aid cruise.

Next we'll need pics of sad New Zealand gamers with flies walking on their faces and a license to a Sarah McLaghlan song. I'm thinking something off the "Fumbling Towards Ecstacy" album, like "Possession," "Plenty," or "Ice Cream." However I am open to other advertisement ideas.

 

[Neon]

The truth is as I'm well into the 2nd half of my life, even my gaming life, I'm unlikely to try much of anything new. I like what I like.

Truth be told, recently thinking about my own mortality and what I'm leaving behind (both physical and other) is partly behind my desire to cull my collection.

 

[Neon]

Even if I trim down an entire large bookcase, I'll still have at least threeother large bookcases completely full with trpg stuff I could never part with

We really should have a dedicated thread just for showing off rpg collections.

I know...how materialistic!

Doing so is kind of a thing in the board gaming and book spheres, yet I never really see rpg hobbyists doing so.

Probably because the vast majority of people who play rpgs have never bought a single rpg book in their life! *rim shot*.

 

[Mankcam]

We really should have a dedicated thread just for showing off rpg collections.
I know...how materialistic!
Doing so is kind of a thing in the board gaming and book spheres, yet I never really see rpg hobbyists doing so.

I'm part of a FB group that occasionally does this, and we have also done it here, it's a lot of fun and tends to lead to an outbreak of shelfie pics for a few weeks

Probably because the vast majority of people who play rpgs have never bought a single rpg book in their life! *rim shot*.

Probably not so much here, but yeah in some other forums that isn't all that uncommon


BTW I actually kicked off another Shelfie thread again last year. The thread kind ran out of fizz, so it's really just my shelves - but here's the link and feel free to resurrect the thread:

Playing with My Shelf

I remember there being a shelfie thread but I couldn't locate it - Mods feel free to move this over into that thread if you want to cut down on thread clutter. Otherwise, here's a place for everyone to throw some recent shelfie pics, because we all love seeing 'em! ***************************

www.rpgpub.com

 

[Neon]

I'm part of a FB group that occasionally does this, and we have also done it here, it's a lot of fun and tends to lead to an outbreak of shelfie pics for a few weeks

Probably not so much here, but yeah in some other forums that isn't all that uncommon


BTW I actually kicked off another Shelfie thread again in 2022, here's the link and feel free to resurrect the thread:

Playing with My Shelf

I remember there being a shelfie thread but I couldn't locate it - Mods feel free to move this over into that thread if you want to cut down on thread clutter. Otherwise, here's a place for everyone to throw some recent shelfie pics, because we all love seeing 'em! ***************************

www.rpgpub.com

Oh shit. I remember that thread (even replied to it..).

I'm actually in the midst of home renovations and will probably change my shelves. Once I'm done I'll contribute a couple of pics to help get the ball rolling.

 

[Neon]

Off topic, but there is a book youtuber by the name of Daniel Greene who does shelf roasts (in good fun) once in a while. Check it out if you are into shelves!

 

[TGryph]

Like most folks on this thread, I went through a Great Purge (albeit Gradual) over the last couple of years. I have pared down from around 25 systems to 10....two of which I keep for nostalgia, three of which I play, and four for their reading and ideas for current games (mainly Gurps). I do not miss any of them. In fact, I only make more RPG purchases using the funds I have accumulated from the sale of things I don't use. THAT is very satisfying to me...it's like my New Stuff (that I will actually use) is free!

Quite Liberating,

TGryph

 

[Gringnr]

In my experience, if you want to make a profit, sell it yourself. It can take a bit more patience, and there's the issue of packaging it (I package like a mf tho fr), but that's the most lucrative way. Wayne's/Noble are quick and easy if you have something good, but you won't make as much usually.

I'm hitting kind of a saturation point as well, a few rare items notwithstanding I have more or less what I want for now. My collection has exploded over the last few years (though it's prob small potatoes compared to some of you here), and I find myself far less likely these days to buy something out of "curiosity" or FOMO. These days, if I buy something I don't intend to keep, it's to sell for a profit (as I recently did with The One Ring: Adventures Over The Wild).

I hate getting rid of stuff, though. And, the stuff I'd be willing to get rid of is usually stuff that no one else wants either lol. Maybe I should list some on the swap shop here.

I do tend to give stuff away periodically, but that's usually stuff I think is cool, have extra copies of, and want to share, usually with friends and/or rellies.

 

[Armchair Gamer]

Probably because the vast majority of people who play rpgs have never bought a single rpg book in their life! *rim shot*.

They provide balance to those of us who buy plenty of books but rarely if ever play.

 

[CRKrueger]

We'd be easier to find if they didn't keep leaving us off world maps.

To be fair, world maps do tend to show places that exist.

Seriously, we're approximately the same size as Japan and the UK. They never get left off maps.

Empires. No one forgets Empires. Why do you think small islands started all that shit to begin with?

The country's as long as the US West coast! Is that an insignificant tract of land?

People live on the US West Coast.

Being at the arse-end of the world, buying any kind of gaming equipment is a significant expense.

If you did have anything to sell, it would be cheaper buying at Acaeum prices once shipping is calculated.

 

[Mosker]

I want to get rid of 90% of my board games. Don't care about profit. Do care about them not going into a landfill or to someone who will enjoy them at least once.

Care most about hassle.

(And then we can talk about the comics)

 

[CRKrueger]

Donate to…
A. Libraries
B. Old Folks’ Homes (board games at least, it’s still a tad early for RPGs)
C. Soldiers - talk to a recruitment office or look up online.
D. Schools
E. Shelters

Or, do what Bunch said and deliver the Blessed Instruments unto The Holy as penance for your Blasphemy.

 

[Neon]

I want to get rid of 90% of my board games. Don't care about profit. Do care about them not going into a landfill or to someone who will enjoy them at least once.

Care most about hassle.

(And then we can talk about the comics)

Boardgaming is pretty popular right now (relatively speaking). If you post them on local FB board gaming group there will be takers.

 

[spittingimage]

Empires. No one forgets Empires. Why do you think small islands started all that shit to begin with?

We were part of one. And we stuck with it 'til the end, quitter.

 

[SJB]

Am I really the only one that who simply chucks unwanted roleplaying game books in the recycliing bin (after checking if any of their gamer friends want it)?

Nope. Easiest way to get rid of stuff.

 

[Imaginos]

Am I really the only one that who simply chucks unwanted roleplaying game books in the recycliing bin (after checking if any of their gamer friends want it)?

I did that with a large amount of Games Workshop stuff when I got divorced. Multiple full armies in the trash.

 

[Bunch]

I did that with a large amount of Games Workshop stuff when I got divorced. Multiple full armies in the trash.

I know who's getting coal this Xmas....