I go through phases of getting rid of stuff I think I no longer want. Occassionally, I regret having got rid of it (like Warhammer 1st edition HB or Lords of Creation). Sometimes I don't miss it at all (Dogs in The Vineyard).

Got rid of almost all my D&D/AD&D stuff. I only kept a very few things like Basic D&D, Vikings, and A Mighty Fortress - Basic because I could imagine running it again sometime in the distant future, and the others for mining, because they are superb references, like my GURPS stuff. I don't regret anything, though. It was a relief, and freed up my shelves for new games I would use.

-clash

Quote from: The_ShadowAnyone else suffer any losses, stupidly self-inflicted or otherwise?

I wish I would have taken better care of some of my old 1E books.  I still have them, but they're in sorry shape, especially some of the modules.  

I don't give RPGs away.  They're too good a source of inspiration, whether writing adventures for your next session or writing something to be published.  

I've had several books stolen in the past that I'm not too pleased about. . .

Pete

No regret and no shame: I sold all my D&D 3.5 books for a nice price before 4e was a solid rumour. I spent it all on ale and whores.

I regret nothing. My policy is simple: before I sell off a book, I always give it a quick read to make sure it's as unwanted as I think it is. If I can't ever myself gaming with it, off it goes.

I've gotten rid of only a handful of items.  In high school and college, I had very little disposable income so I didn't buy much.  I don't miss those that I got rid of - mostly the lamer AD&D2e books.  However, I can relate to jeff37923 as I lost most of my comic book collection to a burst pipe when I was in junior high.
 
The one thing I wish I had was the very first adventure that I wrote when I was 13, when the basic box set was the only product I had.  It was written in pen on loose leaf paper with 3 levels plus a few extras.  I loaned it to someone - we swapped modules often within the larger group - and wound up not getting it back.  It's purely for nostalgia though, not because I think it was wonderful.

I should add that nostalgia has no separate appeal to me. Maybe that makes a difference.

-clash

After hearing about all the horror stories of burst water pipes or flooding, I began storing my games in plastic storage crates when not in use.

I've sold tons of stuff over the years.  I don't usually have any regrets, but I do regret selling off my Greyhawk collection for a pretty penny some years back.  I've sold all my 1st and 2nd Edition AD&D books (huge collection) and the only thing I miss are the Greyhawk books and modules.  

I sold off my complete collection of Shadowrun 2nd Edition and haven't had any remorse what-so-ever.

Less is more on gaming books, as far as I am concerned.  This is especially true when you move.

I never did get around to selling my books when I stopped playing after high school, so I still have loads of books stowed away back at my parents' place.

After getting back into gaming last year, the only books I'm glad I never sold are my Call of Cthulhu books.
Most of it is AD&D 2e and White Wolf material I'll never use and nostalgia doesn't hold much sway over me...

My first big purge was back in the mid-90s -- I unloaded a huge mass of Shadowrun and 1st edition World o' Darkness stuff.  Years later I found myself feeling nostalgic for Werewolf:the Apocalypse, and I bought up a couple of secondhand copies to restore the game to my shelf.  I got around to reading them again and remembered why I ditched them to begin with -- they were embarrassing.

I've learned to trust my instincts with unloading excess baggage.  About the only thing I've truly regretted selling off was my original copy of Palladium's Robotech RDF Field Manual during a move, which I've recently found in mint condition and re-bought. Things work out like that.

!i!

Quote from: grubmanFunny thing about game books is that I think they have more value, pound for pound, than an average box of stuff.

I mean, game books aren't printed in huge lots, and every one has some "value" for someone.  

Destroying a box of game books isn't like destroying a box of paperbacks, or a box of boardgames, or a box of dishes, ect.  I mean, all those things have value...but for some reason the game books seem to have more value becasue they aren't as common.

Anyone who has come accross a RPG book at a thrift store for $1 knows what I'm talking about.  You just can't understand why someone would get rid of book X...even though it is surrounded by hundreds of other "worthless" books*.  I mean, look at the books in the kids section.  That whole section could burst into flame and the world would never miss it.

ramble

*  I guess I should mention that I think books, in general, are probably the single most valuable thing in the world.

Sure, but I don't throw away, I sell.  That means they go from me to someone who wants them more, I think that's a good thing.  I like games to be played, most of the ones I sell probably go to collectors, but the odds on them getting played are raised since if I were going to play them I wouldn't be selling them.

Quote from: The_ShadowTwo incidents will forever haunt my memory...

Anyone else suffer any losses, stupidly self-inflicted or otherwise?

Ah yes... $1,000 worth of minis in 1984, my complete 1st ed. D&D collection, along with Traveller, GDW's Fifth Frontier War, Asteroid, Imperium, my entire early Dragon mag and White Dwarf collection from 1976-1983, about a couple thousand dollars worth of Avalon Hill and SPI wargames including amongst other things, SPI's Lord of the Rings, Gondor, Sauron, Squad Leader (All of it, the entire series.) Drang nach Osten, Unentschieden, Marita-Merkur, Case White, The Fall of France, Narvik, from SJG, Car Wars, Ogre, GEV, from SPI... Korea, Acre, Agincourt, The Art of Siege, Barbarossa, Cobra, Creature that ate Sheboygan, Dreadnaught, Fifth Corps, Hof Gap, Firefight, Thirty years war Quad, Fulda Gap, Westwall Quad, Oil War, Outreach, Plot to Assassinate Hitler, Red Star / White Star, Star Force Alpha Centauri, and Timetripper. From Avalon Hill, Air Assault on Crete, Alexander the Great, Submarine, Starshiptroopers, The Third Reich, Tobruk, Arab-Israeli Wars, Panzer Leader, Panzerblitz, Luftwaffe, The Russian Campaign, Tactics II, War at Sea, a stack of General magazines, a Stack of S&T mags... Avalon Hill's Runequest, and like two or three Thieves Guild modules from Gamelords.

One word here: Ex-wife

My sister sold my original 0d&d collection in the mid-90's when she was strapped for cash. I had left it in storage at my parents house.

I subsequently sold one white bookset, later acquired, to a private buyer in 2001, and another white bookset, complete with Chainmail, Greyhawk, Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry, Gods, Demi-gods & Heroes, and Swords & Spells to Marcus King at Titan Games around 2003.

Those last two are the only two times I have voluntarily parted with any of my gaming collection. I'm sure the 0D&D books were adopted by gamers that appreciate them, so have no regrets in letting them go. Still have one complete 0D&D set I use for play.

Another thing, and perhaps my only concession to nostalgia: I'll never ditch the core rules (and the frequently-used supplements) for a game I played in or ran. You don't get many physical artefacts of RPGs - character sheets, GM notes, perhaps a few handouts - so being able to go to the rulebook and flip back and forth remembering campaigns past is nice.

I think I freed up half a shelf just getting rid of my comparably small Rifts collection.  I gave it to a friend who thought he may give it a whirl again someday.  I don't regret the decision one bit because I still have Heroes Unlimited, Robotech, and Palladium Fantasy and could hobble together something resembling Rifts easily.

Here´s mine: