When I was at Broadside on Sunday I heard possibly the funniest description of me ever. Ray called me "the Rich Reject"!!! I laughed out loud and then Fran chimed in and confirmed that was how I was described. I'm both highly amused and flabbergasted because I am anything but rich and certainly don't spend as much on my hobby as some of the other members of the group (naming no names!).
This got me thinking about conversations I have had over the last couple of years with lots of traders and gamers about the state of the industry. I always seem to get a bit of a mixed impression from conversations I have at shows with some traders saying business is steady and others predicting the end of the industry as we know it. This was the same last weekend at Broadside with some traders clearly taking a lot of money on the day and others less so.
My general impression from talking to gamers is that hobby expenditure is being squeezed but on the whole is remaining steady. Which leads to the point of this post - a pair of totally unscientific Polls!
- Thinking about your hobby expenditure over the last 12 months would you say you have spent More or Less than the previous 12 months?
- And looking towards the next 12 months do you see your hobby budget Shrinking, Remaining the Same or Increasing?
My hobby budget has remained about the same over the last couple of years but I expect things to get a lot tighter over the next year or two. As a family we have lost a significant portion of our income due to changes in the last couple of budgets (Thanks Dave & Nick!) and unless we can offset that with other income all areas of household expenditure - including money for hobbies - will have to be cut back. I don't feel like the "rich reject" and I expect to feel even less rich in the coming year. So what about you?
My expenditures have increased to some from nil. I suppose I should have a budget, or at least a plan. At the moment I have only vague notions.
ReplyDeleteI should state that when I refer to 'having a budget' I don't have a years expenditure planned out in advance. I have a small monthly hobby allowance which gets topped up with money from Birthdays, Christmas etc. and I dip into this 'Hobby Stash' when I need something or a show is coming around.
DeleteYeh Yeh!
ReplyDeleteOn the first question I answered more then previous 12 months. Although it is only a very small increase I would be better if I could answer with Same.
ReplyDeleteSecond question I answered with Same.
A few years a go I already put me on a monthly budget. Sometimes I spent a little more sometimes a little less.
I went with 'More/Increasing' - as for the first it was more only because I recently ordered some figures! Increasing budget - I remain tentatively hopeful for that.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a little tight this year. I am kind of hoping that things are going to change a little (for the better I hope)in the next year.
ReplyDeleteMost of the traders I talk to are not really noticing much difference. Certain parts of their anatomy are twitchy but no more than anyone else. Most are either worried about eBay or joining it. All of them are thinking about the future tho. They all want to squeeze out a little more revenue from somwhere.
I think 3D printers will change the way the world works and I can see them making a big change in minis over the next decade as the machines come down in price. Shapeways are already leading the way. I mean why scuplt a model when you can go to a re-enactment show (loonies in linen) and scan all the poses you will ever need in twenty minutes. Digital sculpting is already becoming a realistic alternative to messing about with greenstuff. It is possible, if expensive to do them in colour already.
I think that some stuff is still going to remain to difficult for machines such a 1:1200 Napoleonic Naval and people will always like to be creative in some way so it it is probably a long way from dead.
I also think the virtual tabletop is coming in the not to distant future. This will change things really dramaticaly.
I wonder if anyone will remember this in ten years time?
I agree about 3D printers being potentially the next big thing. I'm sure many laymen think our hobby - and by extension us wargamers - are old farts replaying long dead battles in dusty rooms. But if there is one thing I have realised in my 30 years gaming it is that this hobby of ours is much more cutting edge that those outside of it give us credit for.
DeleteMy husband doesn't paint but he does game. Last year I think he hit a grand in hobby costs, but I'm not totally sure.
ReplyDeleteThis year, we are both making huge efforts to spend less, save more and get a new place to live.
Cheers and Happy Gaming :-)
Any chance of a loan ? :-)
ReplyDeleteLoans incur far too high a rate of interest from SWMBO...
DeleteI'm self employed and that past two years have been particularly tight to say the least. I now bargain hunt on the like of ebay to try and get my fix of shiny, shiny .... even if it is sometimes second hand shiney shiny.
ReplyDeleteI think my expendature has peeked and is now dropping off. I'm rapidly approaching the limit the house can sensibly take.
ReplyDeleteLoL... yes space and time are probably greater limits to my hobby than the availability of disposable income.
DeleteBeen on a good run of spending the Mrs's monies as of late.. and I do not think it will stop int he meantime. Good luck on the richy rich status!
ReplyDeleteCertainly a conversation I'm making every effort not to have with Mrs Awdry!
ReplyDeleteLOL, I can sympethise... I wonder if you sneak new purchases into the house , as I do (hoping I find them in the mailbox before wifeypoos does), and only displaying the finished model once painted, with a " oh its another from the lead pile Ive had for ages'... shes none the wiser, so long as she doesnt notice the packaging ;-)
DeleteWell, I had to answer "more" for the first question - I only got back into the hobby about a year ago! My spending for the next 12 months will be about the same I expect - maybe a little more, maybe a little less.
ReplyDeleteI think my. Spending over the past 12 month (especially the later half of 2011) has gone up from the previous years. Right now I am looking towards, reducing my spending though (i am still buying more then I am painting) and getting rid of the stuff I do not need anymore.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the industry itself. I have a feeling that even in the historical sector we are seeing an ever stronger domination of the market by a few big companies at the expense, of some of the tiny ones. And I think it is a shame, since many of the small companies offer just as good or even better a product.
I'm in pretty good times regarding disposable income. This with spending less on other hobbies means this hobby is in a good place. What I don't have enough of is time!
ReplyDeleteThis is the state of affairs for the next year or two, but after tha I might have to cut down. No biggie, just the way of things.
I must say I have become more discerning with where I spend money. There are a lot of stands at shows where m not tempted to spend, whereas some of the really innovative new businesses I'm happy to spend at.
Yes space and time are more limiting that the availability of cash.
DeleteI agree about being discerning where I spend my cash. One man's meat is another man's poison as they say.
I'm like Tamsin, I'm a returner to the hobby, so my expenditure is steadily increasing year by year. Having said that I am far more selective with my purchases than in my previous wargaming life. A lot more thought is going into research (maybe too much) and impulse buying at shows has been tamed.
ReplyDeleteThere are going to be some big changes in the hobby however, Fred Jackson has hit upon one; 3D printing, which is already appearing here and there in the hobby. The second is the vast improvement in plastic figures over recent years, which may very well 'save' 28mm wargaming in terms of large armies etc.
Sculpting standards are getting ever higher too and I think some of the poorer sculpted figures, that have been the staple of the hobby in the past, will be squeezed out of the market. It's sad in a way, but progress is like that.
Interesting post.
ReplyDeleteI checked I spent more in the last 12 months, but within that I remodelled my hobby room which drove the cost up, but on miniatures I'd have to say I didn't go over board and spent a bit less. The next 12 months I'll spend a bit less, but not that much less. I guess hobby wise I'll spend roughly even, but less on miniatures if that makes sense.
Christopher
My spending on hobbies and gaming has definitely gone WAY down in the past three years, and I see it dropping further this year. It is hard to justify spending on what is essentially a luxury as the price of necessities goes up and up. On the plus side, I have accumulated SO much over the previous years, that even if I but nothing new for the next ten years I will not run out of projects. For example, I have close to 5000 points of German Panzergrenadiers and Afrika Korps troops, and maybe some 4000 points of American infantry, armor and paratroopers for FoW that I have yet to unbox, let alone paint. :)
ReplyDeleteDefinately down..I´m doing a lot more conversions than I used to and scratch building a lot more as well..brings out a bit more creativity IMHO, and there are other more important things that have priority..food for example.
ReplyDeleteCheers
paul
Definitely up. But that's only because I spent sod all in the previous 3 years.
ReplyDeleteI try and keep expenses down by painting figures for others. In fact its probably paid for most of my collection BUT I do find myself increasingly buying bits and pieces - even ordering large amounts of beautiful Napoleonic Poles from Roger Murrow! Just couldn't help it - & SWMBO needn't be consulted as long as the credit card doesn't plummet into the red (at least that's my working theory) Besides, maintaining your own bodyweight in unpainted lead ain't easy!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Doc
Must admit I dont really have a 'budget', I can be rather impulsive, and often if I get into a new game and really like it I can end up buying 'all' the armies for it, (though often from the cheapest sources first Trademe & Ebay)... often with only a portion getting painted and used (see my LOTR stash, and growing Flames of War horde though this is actively being painted at moment...I finally parted with my Warmaster forces when I found no-one played here really in NZ).
ReplyDeleteI' m also one to grab what I see as a bargain, especially with the pricing situation I find myself exposed to here in NZ; when I can buy stuff from Maelstrom and have it shipped here to NZ, cheaper than I can buy it in the stores here in NZ. Flames of War is getting roaring trade from me this way as did GW LOTR until GW shot themsleves in the foot with that decision to ban Maelstrom selling to customers outside the EU - I havent bought GW model since
(Actaully thats a lie, I bought the boxed set Assault on Black Reach from an online reseller here in NZ, though I tell myself that was actually for my son... his interest has dwindled recently, which thankfully has curtailed further purchases)
I am finding Plastic Soldier Company getting a lot of tank purchases for FoW gaming, again as I see these plastic kits a bargain compared to BF resin/metal ones. They take longer to make and put together which is annoying but at the end of the day they still 'save' me money... of course BF still wins out as I end up buying their stuff to add to my plastic tank formations...
I sometime find my only restriction is bouncing off my credit card rev limiter ;-)
RESULTS!
ReplyDeleteThe Poll's ran for a little under two weeks and received over 200 votes each. Thanks to everyone that took part. Here are the final results:
Thinking about your hobby expenditure over the last 12 months would you say you have spent More or Less than the previous 12 months?
A) More than previous 12 months 107 Votes (50.7%)
B) Less than previous 12 months 104 Votes (49.3%)
Total Votes 211
Looking towards the next 12 months do you see your hobby budget Shrinking, Remaining the Same or Increasing?
A) Shrinking 64 (30.5%)
B) Same 104 (49.5%)
C) Increasing 42 (20%)
Total Votes 210