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

If someone is selling their collection....I doubt they would be hanging out in this forum. So they either needed the cash or moved on to another game/hobby.

very simple.

Quite so - if only those with first-hand knowledge of their own reasons were to respond to this thread, there would be very few responses.

However, as an online instructor, I do have some sympathy with the OP's exasperation. My forehead has callouses from the amount of times I either facepalm or bang my head on my desk at students' misunderstanding of the question. At the same time, being an OP does not make us his students, and many of the questions he's asking are unlikely to be answerable except by people who are not here. It begs the question of how he is hoping to get responses, except by second-hand account.

EDIT: Of course, above is the ninja post dojimaster, who can provide us with the rare first-hand account.

EDIT: Of course, above is the ninja post dojimaster, who can provide us with the rare first-hand account.

I promise, that post is the only thing Ninja about me.

My forehead has callouses from the amount of times I either facepalm or bang my head on my desk at students' misunderstanding of the question.

Coming from an educator, you realize that one solution is to write better questions, right?

Not planning on leaving, but the most obvious reasons I can think of are: Lack of supply of "required" ships (Falcon), greater influence of FotM lists, and less emphasis on maneuvering as turrets and high maneuverability ships with boost become prevalent.

Whelp I can speak on the behalf of my friend Ben who is selling off his collection however i'm not sure how relevant his story would be to you.
You see Ben has always been a very competitive person, he refuses to play Catan because he can never seem to win at it.
Similarly he just can't seem to win at X-wing.

Partially because he hasn't practiced and expects to me amazing immediately, but that's another discussion.
So I guess in the case of Ben he's leaving X-wing because he expected an easy game and although X-wing is not difficult it does require experience to play on a competitive level.

One guy sold all his stuff because of a moment of financial stress. Another guy (whom I bought a few ships from) was just getting into a different game.

I'm under financial stress at the moment, but I'd go hungry before selling any gaming gear. On the plus side, I've lost 10 kilograms in the last two months, so it's not a bad thing.

Alot of E-bay sales would be 'shop front' without the sales tax and all the other stuff.

So you work at a distributor and buy a pallet load of things at wholesale, put it on e-bay and with the simple law of supply and demand, you make more by selling less than retail than selling it with the 5% wholesale markup to the next in line. Whatever doesn't sell, still gets sold.

Sure, there are people with real reasons, but most of the sales traffic is through these other systems.

As an off topic example, one particular girl's toy only available through a single retailer, the store people buy it all up before it hits the shelf and then hock it on e-bay with the knowledge that we'll pay. I overheard the warehouse guy conversing with other staff about their personal profits.

This is the modern world and modern world retailing.

1. Financial cost - Some people are all or nothing players. I want everything, or I won't bother. If I can't afford to keep up with it, then nevermind. (this has happened to me before)

2. No active players in the area - Maybe you started collecting/playing in an active area, then moved to a different community that has little or no public scene for games (this has happened to me before)

3. Other more immediate interests (perhaps Armada or Imperial Assault is scratching that Star Wars itch better)

4. Financial need - College, growing family, medical bills, unemployment.

5. Significant other forcing you to grow up and stop playing with toys.

Could be any number of reasons.

One guy sold all his stuff because of a moment of financial stress. Another guy (whom I bought a few ships from) was just getting into a different game.

I'm under financial stress at the moment, but I'd go hungry before selling any gaming gear. On the plus side, I've lost 10 kilograms in the last two months, so it's not a bad thing.

Losing weight due to being hungry is just the best. I lost 6 kilograms in a week once. It was from this amazing new diet called 'The Third World Food Poisoning Diet". I don't recommend anyone tries it.

Another grand diet is the "OMG, I had a bad oyster" diet.

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.

What I was getting at was that most of the lots being sold are selling for more than $12 a model. I can pick up a model for $10 at several sites and if my purchase is over $100 it has free shipping. I can purchase models for $12 locally. If I was selling a collection to get out of the game I wouldn't be selling it for retail which is what alot of the lots on ebay are doing. One of the "collections" being sold is all new in box. So my point is that not all the x-wing lots are collections being sold even if they are advertised that way. and that only one of the 5 I looked at appeared to be anything more then to make a buck.

I hear you, but I wasn't talking about the retail lots, I mean the ones that are obviously somebody's personal collection complete with plano boxes et al.

1. Financial cost - Some people are all or nothing players. I want everything, or I won't bother. If I can't afford to keep up with it, then nevermind. (this has happened to me before)

2. No active players in the area - Maybe you started collecting/playing in an active area, then moved to a different community that has little or no public scene for games (this has happened to me before)

3. Other more immediate interests (perhaps Armada or Imperial Assault is scratching that Star Wars itch better)

4. Financial need - College, growing family, medical bills, unemployment.

5. Significant other forcing you to grow up and stop playing with toys.

Could be any number of reasons.

These are all the most common reasons.

OP, are you looking for a specific answer or something?

If anything, there aren't enough collections on eBay for this game.

When I look for almost any game, I can generally find pages and pages of listings.

This game, I can't even find 5 listings sometimes.

THAT is very strange.

I can tell you when I left Attack Wing it was the same scenario. At least 1 of everything including DS9, etc. I quit that game because my nephew wanted to play some X-Wing. Not to mention to be "competitive" in the other game would require me to be out gaming at least 1 night a week, not to mention buying all the new stuff every month. That was just one game, X-wing is also a 1 night a week thing. So something had to give. It was Attack Wing, and I listed my whole collection and de-favorite-d all the Attack wing forums I used to look up info on. I even stopped TO'ing across town.

5 collections on eBay is nothing. If I was remotely close to quitting X-Wing I'd do it right now, because collections are selling for more than retail. There's a guy around here that buys up or trades for collections then lists them on eBay for huge profit. If you can find a Falcon you can double your money. As popular as X-Wing is getting, if you're possibly thinking of selling, then right now is a phenominal time to do it. Especially if you have ships the stores are out of (which seems to be quite a few).

I'm one of those people that knows I'll always pick something up again so I don't sell things. Especially things like video games, I've still got all my old ones because I know one day I'll think "Man, I really wanna play P.N. 03." So yeah, I'll never be getting rid of my collection. There'll always be someone I can teach to play, even if i essentially stop playing regularly for myself.

Are we really trying to draw vast generalizations based on data points from a single online subset from a single timeframe and anecdotal forum posts?

Exactly what is remarkable about 5 X-Wing collections on eBay? Do you have weekly statistics for a substantial period of time showing that these numbers are statistically significant? As far as I can tell, 5 X-Wing collections on eBay is more the norm than the exception. Especially with tens of thousands of players.

Attrition is normal for any game.

If you want to draw some conclusions, I would recommend looking at some overall numbers.

• X-Wing is Fantasy Flights best selling game ever
• X-Wing accounts for 30% of Fantasy Flight’s sales
• X-Wing holds the number 2 spot for non-collectible miniatures game
• X-Wing tournament attendance has grown by leaps and bounds every year.

within my own community, there is also a recent spike in people quitting. Here are the reasons, ranked in order of frequency

1) lack of time to play the game / not playing as much as they want

2) frustration at game meta, specifically ACD phantoms & falcons

3) concentrating on other games. Most Xwing players tend to be playing at least 1 other game, be it 40k or netrunner or AGOT etcetc

4) family commitments, ie. new dads welcoming their firstborn

5) shifting interests, just simply got bored of Xwing. unable to give the exact reason why, but mostly tied to point 2

I have no motivation to quit. I only play at home though. I avoid tournament and venue play like the plague. A few of those people take the game way too seriously and tend to make the game not fun for others.

I have no motivation to quit. I only play at home though. I avoid tournament and venue play like the plague. A few of those people take the game way too seriously and tend to make the game not fun for others.

I agree with this and wonder / think it would be interesting to know the actual breakdown of casual vs competitive players. I think that sometimes these boards get a little myopic with a tendency towards the competitive subculture of the game and even saw some of that in responses to this topic (season ending, can't progress further in the game competitions so just quitting, etc...). Not complaining or crapping on people - just an observation. There certainly doesn't seem to be any sort of fire sale going on with X-Wing in terms of people jumping ship so this might just be futile effort at analyzing a statistical outlier, standard deviation, or even anomaly - also consider, the holiday season is upon us. It could just be financial. (shrug)

Good questions though and certainly the good people at FFG do everything they can to keep their finger on the pulse of the community (both sides) to ensure a positive and long lasting game experience.

I can tell you when I left Attack Wing it was the same scenario. At least 1 of everything including DS9, etc. I quit that game because my nephew wanted to play some X-Wing. Not to mention to be "competitive" in the other game would require me to be out gaming at least 1 night a week, not to mention buying all the new stuff every month. That was just one game, X-wing is also a 1 night a week thing. So something had to give. It was Attack Wing, and I listed my whole collection and de-favorite-d all the Attack wing forums I used to look up info on. I even stopped TO'ing across town.

5 collections on eBay is nothing. If I was remotely close to quitting X-Wing I'd do it right now, because collections are selling for more than retail. There's a guy around here that buys up or trades for collections then lists them on eBay for huge profit. If you can find a Falcon you can double your money. As popular as X-Wing is getting, if you're possibly thinking of selling, then right now is a phenominal time to do it. Especially if you have ships the stores are out of (which seems to be quite a few).

Are we really trying to draw vast generalizations based on data points from a single online subset from a single timeframe and anecdotal forum posts?

Exactly what is remarkable about 5 X-Wing collections on eBay? Do you have weekly statistics for a substantial period of time showing that these numbers are statistically significant? As far as I can tell, 5 X-Wing collections on eBay is more the norm than the exception. Especially with tens of thousands of players.

Attrition is normal for any game.

If you want to draw some conclusions, I would recommend looking at some overall numbers.

• X-Wing is Fantasy Flights best selling game ever
• X-Wing accounts for 30% of Fantasy Flight’s sales
• X-Wing holds the number 2 spot for non-collectible miniatures game
• X-Wing tournament attendance has grown by leaps and bounds every year.

1. Financial cost - Some people are all or nothing players. I want everything, or I won't bother. If I can't afford to keep up with it, then nevermind. (this has happened to me before)

2. No active players in the area - Maybe you started collecting/playing in an active area, then moved to a different community that has little or no public scene for games (this has happened to me before)

3. Other more immediate interests (perhaps Armada or Imperial Assault is scratching that Star Wars itch better)

4. Financial need - College, growing family, medical bills, unemployment.

5. Significant other forcing you to grow up and stop playing with toys.

Could be any number of reasons.

These are all the most common reasons.

OP, are you looking for a specific answer or something?

If anything, there aren't enough collections on eBay for this game.

When I look for almost any game, I can generally find pages and pages of listings.

This game, I can't even find 5 listings sometimes.

THAT is very strange.

Read the OP guys - a lot of this is covered. Specifically I am looking for firsthand accounts from the (admittedly small) group of people that post here and that a) are invested in the game and b) are quitting/ thinking of quitting.

Hi guys - there seems to be some confusion so I'll try to clarify. I'm looking to hear from people that are quitting or are thinking of quitting about their reasons for doing so. I am also looking to hear from folks that are in it for the long haul, no matter what and what their reasons are.

Don't really need guesses from people, as I can guess pretty well myself.

I appreciate the postings that offer second hand accounts from people that they know but don't post here. It helps to paint a picture of what is motivating people to quit.

I am not saying the game is in decline. I am not saying that the reasons posted here are why everyone quits, or that any one reason is responsible. I am simply asking why people are quitting and selling collections that are 20, 30, 40+ ships with all the accoutrements.

I understand attrition or 'churn'. I don't care that quitting a game is normal; I know it is. I am interested in knowing the motivations behind apparently veteran players quitting.

Sorry if the OP wasn't clear - I tried to be precise if not brief. Hope this clears some things up for people.

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So I played WH40K for 20 years. I hated the direction the game was taking. Then x-wing, and the rest is history as they say. I would say that while the design space in x-wing is shifting as the game grows it hasn't shifted the way WH40K has. Maybe it will in time, but can we say that it's direction has drastically changed since it's release? I agree with everything you said, I just don't know if I'm playing the same game that some of these folks are. To me it's still the same game just with more moving parts. When I left WH40K it wasn't even the same game I started playing in the 90's. Have you had anyone tell you that they quit/are quitting because of the direction the game is taking?

Actually, near where I live, I see many people switching from X-Wing to WH40K. No idea why this is the way it is. I plan to stay in the game though because my friend (see my other thread) is willing to learn the game and play with me.

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So I played WH40K for 20 years. I hated the direction the game was taking. Then x-wing, and the rest is history as they say. I would say that while the design space in x-wing is shifting as the game grows it hasn't shifted the way WH40K has. Maybe it will in time, but can we say that it's direction has drastically changed since it's release? I agree with everything you said, I just don't know if I'm playing the same game that some of these folks are. To me it's still the same game just with more moving parts. When I left WH40K it wasn't even the same game I started playing in the 90's. Have you had anyone tell you that they quit/are quitting because of the direction the game is taking?

Actually, near where I live, I see many people switching from X-Wing to WH40K. No idea why this is the way it is. I plan to stay in the game though because my friend (see my other thread) is willing to learn the game and play with me.

That is interesting and the first I've heard of this phenomenon. It'd be awesome if you could ask these players for their rationale and get back to us about it.

So the initial accounts are pretty much as expected, with the evil force of Time being the main reason that most veterans quit, even though most cite totally different reason for the lack of time to play.

So kids are a big deal and if you don't focus on your child you are not a great parent. Having said that, it's understandable that there are a lot of first time parents that had to let x-wing go.

A fair amount of folks want to focus on another game.

A few people don't want to keep up with the fast pace of the release schedule, and feel that they would need to in order to be competitive.

It's worth noting I think, that nobody has reported they are going to quit because the game is no longer fun for them.

Edit: I had missed Duraham's notes about meta frustration. I don't know if that equals not fun for everyone, but it would for me.

Also of note is that the few that have said that they are lifers haven't really cited exactly why they are. It seems to be an unconditional kind of thing.

Super interesting feedback everyone. Keep it coming.

If I were ever to quit this game it would be for the same reason I quit Star Wars Miniatures: Uber competitive players who can't see the forest for the trees, are the exact opposite of fun to play against, and view new players with derision, scorn, and a threat to the LEET good old boys club. This game is worse in that regard.

Competitive players tend to be the ones in it for the long haul and playing regularly. If you're casual, the competitive players in your area may be the only ones available on a regular basis to play games with...but then you have to deal with the stigma of a demographic that values different things from you. It is disconcerting to step into that environment with less than a Worlds-caliber squad and get dirty looks. It happens. They look at you like you're crazy.

That said, I agree with an earlier poster that the TC's entire topic is kind of moot here in that you're never going to get quality data on people who have already fled...they ain't comin' back to respond.

Case in point: My buddy made top 8 at World's last year and I asked him for advice. The longer the conversation went, the more my squad swung to a "competitive" build with all the usual suspects and I ended up hating it at the end. Some people are just incapable of switching off their meta mind.