Lately I've seen a lot of X-Wing collections for sale on the bay of e. We are talking large collections with 20, 30, 40+ ships also including the epics, playmats, AA cards, official acrylic etc. So these are obviously people that are into the game - or at least *were* into the game. They bought in and bought in big. Now they have chosen to sell their entire collection, and I am curious as to why.

Could be as simple as life happening (babies, spouses, and houses are not cheap), or maybe you bought everything and found no one to play with. But with multiple collections for sale being the new normal (go ahead and check ebay, I'll wait. There were at least five at the time of this posting) I think we can look for something more than unique/rare circumstance.

So what are these reasons for the (surprising to me at least) exodus of veteran players? The way I see it, the likeliest reasons are: a) No time, b) dissatisfaction with the game/direction of the game and/or c) greener pastures/new game.

So any enthusiastic gamer knows the constraint of only having 24 hours in a day. While I think that there are a few cases of people biting off more than they can chew time-wise, I think that most people would know if they can afford the time or not before making a large monetary investment in a miniatures game.

I can remember a few games that I was completely gung-ho about at the beginning, only to lose passion for it a few weeks/months later. And there was ALWAYS another game that looked cool, or interesting, or fun to play. So I can see a person buying some ships and saying "hey look at that! I gotta sell these to get that!" But a giant collection like the ones that are ubiquitous on the ol 'bay these days kinda require at least a little commitment, no? Seems like if you were going to get bored and move on that you would do so before amassing 20+ ships.

Which brings us to what I think is the main reason, player dissatisfaction. This is an admittedly vague descriptor, but it covers all the gripes that would cause someone to up and quit. The specifics are what I hope to unearth and discuss in this thread.

If your collection is for sale, why?

If you are close to bailing, why are you considering selling?

Did you already quit? Why?

Are you in it for the long haul no matter what?

A couple ground rules/suggestions:

Don't derail this thread with rants. Speak your piece and be done. You don't like fat falcons? Fine. Say it's why you quit or are quitting, but don't carry on for three pages about it. Same for phantoms, shuttles, hot dog buns, whatever.

Don't crap on your neighbor. We all love this game - that's why we are here. We can discuss this and disagree (or not!) without crapping on each other.

So what is the reason x-wingers? Why are people selling their fleets?

Obesity is becoming the new thing in X-wing, but obesity is unhealthy for the human.

EDIT: I'm not quitting if the OP thinks that I am, but that is probably one of the main reasons people quit.

Sometimes people lose interest, or they don't game as much anymore. That's my problem, I'm selling off all my Wings of War/Glory stuff on another website. and looks like I'll have some cash for more X-Wing. All good in my book. and I'm getting good prices for my old WWI planes, including repaints I did.

I don't think there's anything special happening there. The game is very popular. The attrition rate might be completely normal.

The shine is off, the meta is expanding, some people have grown tired of running against the rebel pancakes which is only going to get worse with the outrider, some people don't like the fact a third faction is coming out, some people are just moving on and selling while the game is still hot, some people are getting ready for Armada which is the type of game they way to play. Pick your poison. Games go through various life cycles.

The shine is off, the meta is expanding, some people have grown tired of running against the rebel pancakes which is only going to get worse with the outrider, some people don't like the fact a third faction is coming out, some people are just moving on and selling while the game is still hot, some people are getting ready for Armada which is the type of game they way to play. Pick your poison. Games go through various life cycles.

I'm looking for specific reasons from individuals who have quit/are quitting. Not generalizations from someone who is (apparently) still playing. But hey thanks anyway!

I'd be more surprised if people weren't selling off. There's a ton of reasons why someone might sell their collection, the fact that they're putting it up on ebay is actually a good sign.

This year the Worlds is all ready fully booked for one day and will likely fully book for the other, that means even more people are willing to travel to the Event Center this year then last. That's pretty clear evidence that the game itself isn't in decline.

When you have a large enough customer base you are bound to lose a certain percentage to dissatisfaction/job loss/angry spouse/stuff happens. It is one of those things that just happens. The fact that FFG has problems keeping product on the shelf speaks to the health of the game in general. Now if there were a bunch of stuff on Amazon for $5 or less, then I would be concerned.

Worlds is a 5 hour drive for me, and I can't make it because of a local con I have obligated time too.. sigh oh well, maybe next year. lol

I don't think there's anything special happening there. The game is very popular. The attrition rate might be completely normal.

I have no idea what the attrition rate for this game is. Do you have those numbers? I'd very much like to see them. (Not being snarky, I'd really like to see them.) Although I'm sure that you're right and it plays a part. But how much of a part? I guess I'm just looking for firsthand reasons from people that have left/are leaving.

I'd be more surprised if people weren't selling off. There's a ton of reasons why someone might sell their collection, the fact that they're putting it up on ebay is actually a good sign.

This year the Worlds is all ready fully booked for one day and will likely fully book for the other, that means even more people are willing to travel to the Event Center this year then last. That's pretty clear evidence that the game itself isn't in decline.

Never said it was in decline.

People selling off their rebels so they can dive into scum at 0 personal cost.

I guess I'm just looking for firsthand reasons from people that have left/are leaving.

I doubt you'd find any answers here. Anyone who's selling off his collection is unlikely to be posting here while they wait for it to sell.

When you have a large enough customer base you are bound to lose a certain percentage to dissatisfaction/job loss/angry spouse/stuff happens. It is one of those things that just happens. The fact that FFG has problems keeping product on the shelf speaks to the health of the game in general. Now if there were a bunch of stuff on Amazon for $5 or less, then I would be concerned.

I am just looking for firsthand accounts for quitting. I agree with everything that people have said here, I just want to know why from the 'horse's mouth' so to speak. Call it sociological curiosity.

I guess I'm just looking for firsthand reasons from people that have left/are leaving.

I doubt you'd find any answers here. Anyone who's selling off his collection is unlikely to be posting here while they wait for it to sell.

Maybe, but if people are on the fence and are invested in the game then I'd say there is a better than zero chance that we can find some accounts.

I don't think there's anything special happening there. The game is very popular. The attrition rate might be completely normal.

I have no idea what the attrition rate for this game is. Do you have those numbers? I'd very much like to see them. (Not being snarky, I'd really like to see them.) Although I'm sure that you're right and it plays a part. But how much of a part? I guess I'm just looking for firsthand reasons from people that have left/are leaving.

You used the word "exodus" which usually means a large group leaving. What I'm saying is that there's nothing indicating that large numbers of players are leaving. This game is popular. The attrition rate for this game might be no more or less than that of other games. Maybe you didn't mean "exodus" in that way.

It's also possible that it's easier to sell off a full collection of X-Wing because it's easier to acquire one. There might be a similar attrition rate for 40K or Warhammer Fantasy, but you probably wouldn't see full collections for sale because there's more stuff involved.

People selling off their rebels so they can dive into scum at 0 personal cost.

Great idea for those with less cash, but these are entire collections we are talking about here.

I took a look at the lots and most of them are selling their ships at mid retail you could pick up the ships for cheaper at a few different websites. I am not saying that all the lots are that way but there are also some that are way above retail too. I think its just people trying to make some money personally or buying and selling ships so that in the end they end up with a free collection.

I don't think there's anything special happening there. The game is very popular. The attrition rate might be completely normal.

I have no idea what the attrition rate for this game is. Do you have those numbers? I'd very much like to see them. (Not being snarky, I'd really like to see them.) Although I'm sure that you're right and it plays a part. But how much of a part? I guess I'm just looking for firsthand reasons from people that have left/are leaving.

You used the word "exodus" which usually means a large group leaving. What I'm saying is that there's nothing indicating that large numbers of players are leaving. This game is popular. The attrition rate for this game might be no more or less than that of other games. Maybe you didn't mean "exodus" in that way.

It's also possible that it's easier to sell off a full collection of X-Wing because it's easier to acquire one. There might be a similar attrition rate for 40K or Warhammer Fantasy, but you probably wouldn't see full collections for sale because there's more stuff involved.

I don't usually associate 'large' with 'exodus' but ok I can see it. What I meant is that there used to be zero collections - as in none - for sale. Maybe that means there weren't any collections. That's possible. But it seems to my (admittedly less than researched) eye over the last 4 months we went from zero for sale to many for sale each week because of the amount of people wanting out of the game that didn't want out ~4 months ago.

I took a look at the lots and most of them are selling their ships at mid retail you could pick up the ships for cheaper at a few different websites. I am not saying that all the lots are that way but there are also some that are way above retail too. I think its just people trying to make some money personally or buying and selling ships so that in the end they end up with a free collection.

It's not really about the cost, so much as the fact that people are selling at all. If you were selling yours at a mark up to finance a 'free' fleet for yourself then I'd be more likely to consider this a viable reason for the glut of collections.

Considering this size of the player base, I'm not sure 5 listings on eBay points to anything. People come and go in games all the time. Each circumstance would have to be examined individually as for finding a singular reason, i don't think you'll find the answer you're hoping for. It could by a few people moving from X-Wing to Armada, and don't feel the need to collect both games.

I would assume that any game system has a certain percentage of players that just leave due to life circumstances, and it has nothing to do with their opinion of the actual game. Or maybe it does, for example, 5% of any games system leaves it each year because they don't like it anymore, and that number goes for all game systems. So there isn't really a problem. And that is what I believe is happening here.

We don't have any actual statistical data on any game systems player retention rates. So this is all conjecture.

If I were to unload my collection, it would be due to diminished gaming time.

Considering this size of the player base, I'm not sure 5 listings on eBay points to anything. People come and go in games all the time. Each circumstance would have to be examined individually as for finding a singular reason, i don't think you'll find the answer you're hoping for. It could by a few people moving from X-Wing to Armada, and don't feel the need to collect both games.

It's not just these five this week. This has been a regular thing for ~4 months. It wasn't gradual either. It was like a desert and then -boom- collections for sale everywhere you look. And I'm not necessarily looking for a singular 'answer' just individual answers I suppose.

C'mon gents, read the OP. All of this was covered.