Expanding an Army: What you can buy and where to get good deals.

What you can buy and where.

I touched on this in an earlier post, living in Australia limits where , how and how much you spend on your hobby/passion/addiction.

This simple breakdown is usually true regardless of where you live in our sun burnt country, and mostly applies to the GW range of products.

Buying

• GW direct or stores - You will pay the full retail price here, and whilst they can be good to have a look at the new pretties, I generally stay away from these unless i have a crazy impulse buy.
• Independant stores - Your local games stores. Most offer a discount on GW up to 20% off retail prices, these can be as good as GW for the tactile experience and these stores will stock more than just GW product which is a bonus if you are into multiple games systems. Some even stock a variety of second hand figures as well.
• Online stores - These are good as some have crazy specials and also offer up to 20% off.
• Ebay -   New or secondhand miniatures ebay is good if you remember to include postage costs before you bid, it is also buyer beware as you have to be careful , always check the feedback of your sellers, there can be rogues out there.
• Community websites- Such as http://www.wargamerau.com/ and http://www.westgamer.com/ as well as race specific sites such as http://www.asrai.org/ or http://www.vampirecounts.net/ , I tend to do most of my trades/selling /buying on wargamerau, again it is buyer beware as the onus is on the person buying to ask the right questions. I always ask for pictures if the goods are not as new as this lends clarity and is likely to reduce confusion. 

Trading

Your miniatures still have value once out of the shop/packaging, an impulse buy can be used to get something that you want/ need more.

Remember however you do it, online or in person trade like for like, what I use as a rule of thumb is GW retail prices as a base guide and modify that depending upon condition of the goods from both parties.

Non GW  Figures
I have not had much experience with this, but companies like Mantic and Crocodile games to name just two produce quality and inexpensive figures that can be substituted depending on playing location.

These options can make it a more affordable hobby and paying less than full retail is a win, which makes in my case my limited gaming dollars work harder for me.

Postage/Delivery charges
Always check the postage charge,I cannot stress this enough this should be factored into online purchase decisions, at least that is my opinion on it, if the postage is excessive you could end up paying more than GW retail if not careful.

Anyway I have rambled enough catch you all next time.
Cheers Lupus.

Duelling gamers: Pre-duelling purchases overview

Duelling Gamers is finally here, woot.

As part of my preparation for this challenge I made some purchases prior to the start so that I would have models to work on and not waste time waiting on delivery. Six months sounds a lot of time to put an army together it isn't really, when you consider I have at most five hours a week for actual painting, so an average 20 hours a month of painting time.

Disclaimer: Some perhaps most of these figures may or may not be used in the challenge, we will have to see how the next six months pan out.

To give an overview of the bargains you can pick up I have included them all here, even though any pre-painted figures will not count towards the final duel results I will be using them in my overall army, until I can repaint them of course, I have included the cost of postage , as if you are not careful you could find yourself actually paying more for something then it is for sale in the shop, and therefore cost yourself money.
Just so I am clear - Postage should be a factor in online purchase decisions, at least that is my opinion on it.

Ebay
Treeman bare metal un-assembled- allowed for the challenge
3 treekin bare metal un-assembled- allowed for the challenge
1 drycha bare metal un-assembled- allowed for the challenge
12 dryads painted- not allowed for the challenge
8 Glade riders on sprue - allowed for the challenge
16 Gladeguard painted - not allowed for the challenge

I picked up all this from one seller for $102.45 including postage. GW RRP is $366.00 so I paid 28% of retail, not bad at all, this is probably going to be the best deal of the duel.

Wargamerau
Purchases
22 Glade Guard on sprue- allowed for the challenge, I got this from one seller for $50.00 including postage. GW RRP is $75.63 so i paid 66% of retail.

11 Glade Riders on sprue- allowed for the challenge, I got this from one seller for $37.00 including postage. GW RRP is $75.63 so i paid 66% of retail.

Trades
2 Gamezone giant eagles bare metal un-assembled- allowed for the challenge
1 Gamezone giant eagle with rider bare metal un-assembled- allowed for the challenge
1 spellsinger bare metal un-assembled- allowed for the challenge
10 wildriders bare metal un-assembled- allowed for the challenge

All of these come from trading some existing Lizardmen and High Elves that were just collect dust, so whilst I did not save any money, I also didn't spend any money either trading is a great way of getting value from an impulse purchase.

I may not use all of the figures that are currently available for the challenge in the challenge itself, but as part of the it is to show other gamer's how to make your gaming dollars stretch i felt it important to share this in a post by itself.

Anyway I have rambled enough already, catch you all next time.
Lupus