Exciting times.

The rebranding of the site is almost complete. The Wargamesmarket.com domain will still point to this site, but the main logo and domain will now be games2trains.com to reflect its new cross-hobby appeal.

We start the contact and marketing stage for the new inclusions from today, so hopefully we should start seeing a trickle of railway modellers, diecast collectors, trading card enthusiasts and traditional toy soldier collectors on the site soon - benefitting from the fast customer service and free listings that wargamers have enjoyed for the past 20 months alone.

Welcome to anyone and everyone - ebay is squeezing sellers dry in a time of global credit issues - so ditch them and lets make all of our hobbies future proof.

Best Regards

Jason

MD, Wargamers Market (UK) Ltd

Hi

As we are changing the site over from wargamesmarket.com to games2trains.com today please be aware that this may cause some downtime as we tweak things and allow them tp propagate around the net.

One the day we formally start inviting members of other hobby communities to participate on this site and enjoy the benefits of free auction and bartering tools, we thought it was time to reiterate why we are banging on like a broken record about what ebay is doing.

The bottom line is that they have changed the way they operate and will continue to do so in order to reposition themselves closer to Amazon marketplace. This is going to cause the fragmentation of the hobby seller and send them bouncing around the internet in search of a new home. If you continue buying and selling on ebay you are supporting a status quo that will ultimately smash the communities that have been build up in the ebay categories. Ebay have struck a deal with buy.com where buy.com have been given free reign to flood ebay with nearly a million items for sale - thats items you are all potentially competing against and it will not be the last deal. Ultimately a FEW big hobby power sellers will be invited in by ebay and given the tools and fee-breaks to destroy everyone elses presence on their site.

It is time for change and we are going to remain here, operating at a loss and shouting, until people start to see that the writing is on the wall.

The new fully-featured marketplace is here for you, so moving NOW and bringing your customers with you is something to seriously consider. Doing nothing will leave you looking for a home and a buying pool within the next twelve months. The smart people are already on the move to other venues like a growing refugee train. We are waiting at the border with warm blankets, food and shelter, all for free and indefinitely supplied.

A comment from an ebay forum that helps to convey the reality of the juggernaut that is speeding silently towards all of our hobbies:

"I think it's been pretty obvious for a while now that eBay don't want the small sellers. From what their CEO has been saying (in contemptuous tones about the 'flea market' image) it would appear that eBay is taking a change in direction to the new goods retail market, hence the up and coming partnership with Buy.com. If you read the business press, and the blogs such as eBayInk then it's plain what is happening, and that the process has been well thought out.

I think it's really sad, but there it is, that's where eBay are headed and the small volume sellers are just regarded, not only as collateral damage, but active nuisances to be jettisoned. eBay's main income will be from a few very large partners, much easier to manage than millions of small sellers each with their own ideas about how to operate.

What is even more sad are the eBay forums that are full of sellers venting their spleens, but very very few of them (the ones of the forums that is) are using their brains to see what is happening and making contingency plans to move or at least find other places. Talk about heads in the sand."

So please, consider your stance in the rest of 2008. For the smaller sellers (the people hobby buyers get around 90% of their ebay items from!), ebay is no longer what it was and never will be again. They are moving on - will you? For the buyers, if you see stuff you would like on ebay, ask if they would consider listing it on this site instead. Tell them about how much they could save and perhaps ask if a small discount could be made on your first purchase from them on the new site.

It really is very simple. Use this site in droves and tell everyone you are doing it. If everyone does that then 2009 will see the worries of margins disappear for the hobby sellers.

Its been an interesting month here. First of all we decided on extending the scope of the site. Wargames Market now has categories for model railways, trading cards, collectable lead toy soldiers and and Die Cast models. This change of scope has also prompted a name change. We are now formally known as 'Games2Trains' reachable via www.games2trains.com although the original wargamesmarket.com name allows access to the site as usual.

So if you have friends who are into any of the above hobbies then please tell them how they can benefit form using Games2Trains.

The change of name has not prompted a change in our free auction policy. You can still list for free and sell for free, it is a no-risk auction option. For buyers we still offfer the possibility of getting a lower price than on ebay - if you see something you like on ebay tell them you will buy it from games2trains and ask for a discount for the money they will save listing items here.

The old newsletter 'advance guard' has been put to bed as its strictly gaming theme is no longer appropriate. We will release a new monthly newsletter format in the near future.

In the meantime thank you for your continuing support and please spread the word about how everyone can benefit from lower prices by using alternative auction venues.

Finally don't forget that the latest issue of Battlegames magazine is out, and is packed full of interesting articles. My favourite was the plastic 1/72nd soldiers article and having just visited my local toy shop I am now seriously considering plastic - have you seen the ranges they do nowadays - amazing! Visit http://www.battlegames.co.uk to order your copy.

Best Regards

The G2T Team

It has been a long summer, well for me anyway as I got married!

It is a traditionally quiet time for shops online and offline so things have been quite quiet around the site. Next stop however is Christmas (Sorry but someone had to mention it!). If you have items to sell, then now is the time to put them on. If they are new stock then use our longer term listing options to keep them visible for the rest of this year. We start our autumn advertising campaign at the end of September to remind hobbyists around the world that we are out there.

There is also a site upgrade due at the same time, which will include some nice new features as well as improving existing ones. More on that nearer the time.

Happy hobbying, whether its trains, wargaming, or collecting!

Wargames Market (Games2Trains) has been taken over by Modartis Limited (Bangladesh) who own the "Reinforcements by Post" miniatures painting service.

My name is Neil Kenneally. I am the owner of Modartis Limited. I'm a British Wargamer with numerous other hobbies (I've even been known to dress up for English Civil War re-enactment.)

Like many of you I have sold items on ebay in the past but find that it is too expensive. I wanted to have an alternative to ebay and have sold on some "bring & buy" sections on Wargaming sites. These sites are useful but auction sites have more utility. When Jason opened this site in 2006 I was happy to see an alternative to ebay. Shamefully I never got organised and put any auctions up myself. When Jason announced that he was selling the site I snapped it up. Hopefully I will be able to make up for my tardiness with future effort.

I am going to hire someone to work with me on the site full time. Right now I'm doing everything myself and have been able to answer people questions quite quickly while I learn about the site.

I am asking Hobbyists to tell their friends and their club mates about the site. I am also asking you to list your hobby items on the site and to browse the site to see if anything catches your eye. If you sell on ebay try selling some items on this site and link from each of your ebay items to your items on this site. Selling with a basic listing under $300 is free. Most people pay nothing but a one time $3 ID verification fee to use the site. You can put a reserve on your games2trains items for free.

If you have a Wargames web site please put a link on it to games2trains.com which is the main landing spot for the site.

The utility of an auction site comes from having a large base of buyers and sellers. If you have complained about ebay fees or if you want a cheap (mainly free) auction site please support this site and allow it to grow into a useful site for gamers and hobbyists.

There will always be Nay sayers who will respond to every announcement 'Sorry, but... blah, blah, blah.' and want to say that the site will not gain momentum. The site will be successful if hobbyists want to support it. Over to you!

Sincerely,

Neil Kenneally

People have contacted me to say that some members, or prospective members, are concerned about the $3 ID verification fee. Some people wonder if the fee is necessary or whether there is any reason to pay it.

It is possible to list auctions without being ID verified. You can bid on auctions which sellers have setup without requiring ID verification.

ID verification is a $3 fee paid to Games2Trains.com through PayPal. When you pay the ID verification fee you receive a $3 credit with Games2Trains.com towards listing fees that can be used, for example, to "featured" listing. By receiving money through PayPal we are using that companies ID verification. PayPal link each individual with ID verification to a bank account.

Some sellers require ID verification from buyers to be confident that buyers will follow through with payment. Without ID verification buyers can create accounts and bid on auctions with no intention of actually paying for an item. A buyer who hasn't been ID verified who feels that he has bid too high on an auction, can abandon his account and start another.

If you decide to become ID verified you can make the $3 back in savings, compared to ebay auction fees, on your first auctions.

Neil (Games2Trains.com, WargamesMarket.com owner)