Hi everyone,
I know it’s been a while since I’ve been able to make a content update. I know it’s frustrating, but it’s made me realize something that’s been a long time in coming, and I wanted to address it here.
But first, a little background:
When I originally built this site, it was meant as a way to track my own collection of prepainted miniatures and sharpen my web development skills in the process. At the time, there was really only the original D&D Miniatures Game, Star Wars, and a small prepainted line from Reaper. It felt like a large enough database to be useful, but not so large that I’d lose track of anything. It felt manageable.
Then the first Pathfinder prepainted miniatures arrived, and it only felt natural to include them, too. The same went for the Icons of the Realms line a few years later. The workload grew. And grew. Fast forward to today and it’s all but impossible to keep up with the outpouring of product from WizKids in the shrinking time I have available to maintain this site, let alone devote time to the creation of new features.
In addition to this time expenditure, my enthusiasm for collecting has been on a steep decline for several years. Rising costs and the declining quality of WizKids’ products have been a major factor in this.
It’s rare that I buy a case that doesn’t contain broken miniatures, and the process for replacing them has become more and more difficult, with customer service taking weeks to respond to emails and, more recently, not responding at all. I currently have two requests that have been waiting for over seven months, and all follow-up emails have been ignored.
It’s been incredibly frustrating, and when coupled with the breakneck pace of releases, the recent inclusion of high-priced collector boxes, scarce promos, and surcharges on the WizKids retail site, it paints a picture of a company that’s less interested in fostering the long-term goodwill of its customers than it is in squeezing every short-term dollar out of them that it can.
The recent leak of the OGL 1.1 from Wizards of the Coast took my already ailing relationship with the hobby and killed it dead. WotC has since backtracked, but it hasn’t helped. Their intentions are clear.
Both companies, in my estimation, care only about the bottom line and little for the fans who have made them successful. I no longer feel able, in good conscience, to continue maintaining a site that has been a consistent cheerleader for both of these companies for over a decade.
So, with a heavy heart, I’ve decided to shut it down.
I know how many of you have relied on this site to track your own collections. You’ve been a constant source of support and enthusiasm and I am incredibly grateful. I want to make sure that, in winding down MinisCollector, I provide you all with every opportunity to preserve that data and (perhaps, eventually) move it onto another system.
To that end, my next (and really only) priority will be to create an export system by which you will be able to download your collection data. I will also make sure that the site stays available through at least the end of this calendar year, or six months beyond the point when exports become available, whichever is longer. I want to make sure that everyone has plenty of time to save their work. It’s only after everyone has a reasonable chance to do that, that I’ll finally turn off the lights for good.
Thank you all for the love and support you’ve expressed for this site over the years. It means so much to me, and I’m sad to see it all come to an end.
I’ll leave comments open on this thread. Feel free to ask any questions you might have, and I’ll do my best to answer.
Thanks and best wishes,
Chris
I hope the export feature becomes a reality. While my time invested in this site is nowhere near yours, I have many, many hours invested in tracking my collection and using the site to help me decide on future purchases.
Personally, I think you should have migrated to Patreon and setup a tiered system of free use and payment plans. I for one find a value in this site that would be worth paying for continued, up-to-date support. A n income stream may have also kept you inspired to continue.
Alas, you have instead chosen to close the doors and I respect that and your commitment to provide an export feature so that the time spent here does not go wasted.
Thank you for your service to the community and good luck in your future endeavors.
Nate
Oh no! That is terrible news indeed.
Like Nate, I would be happy to contribute to keeping the site open for the sake of the fans, whether through Patreon or some other mechanism.
Thank you for all of your hard work over the years.
- Also Chris
Chris:
Sorry to hear how you're feeling but I completely understand how circumstances can get you down.
I would definitely contribute to keeping this site open, if that's an option.
All the best,
Tom
Hi Chris, I'm sorry to hear that you are retiring MinisCollector. I have sent you an e-mail regarding the collection database. Please let me know if you don't receive it.
Thank you,
Kor (Terry)
www.minisgallery.com
I'm sorry to hear that. I do have a dedicated server, ample experience with Linux, databases, and web development that I would be interested in offering my services to continue allowing the server to run and grow.
I think everyone totally understands how this labor of love grew into a burden. Thank you for all these years of dilligent work! While I cannot offer technical help, I can offer to contribute to whatever comes next - perhaps some kind of preservation or evolution of this site.
Hi Chris,
I'm very sorry to hear you're retiring this site, but I totally understand and agree with the reasons you mention. The same reasons have brought me to the decision to stop extending my own collection of D&D- and Pathfinder-mini's.
I always used your site for information on new mini's and to direct people from my (primitive) hobby-site to your site for pictures. Now I will have to find some solution for that problem to get rid of my surplus mini's.
Thank you for all your efforts and I wish you all the best,
John
dndminis.jouwweb.nl
Just wanted to say thank you. your hard work and dedication is appreciated. My collection is so large it has it's own room and I really think I would never have gone that far without this site. My wife is also grateful that your shutting down for a completely different reason. :-) Good luck with your future endeavors.
Thanks for your hard work in putting together this site. I certainly enjoyed having this around to replace my notebooks of printed set lists (going forward, an excel spreadsheet of sorts will have to do), but I understand the reasons for stopping the site. Yeah, I used to collect all the minis through Lords of Madness and the 1st few pathfinder sets, but endless sets with ultra rares and increase in prices really put a stop to that, but I still would get many singles that added to the variety. And nowadays the mini train is on full afterburn and the prices...completely outta sight....So thanks again for your sharing of the excellent site and best of luck in the future! e.
I understand and respect the decision you have made. I have come to rely on your site and always looked forward to your updates and your passion. Thank-you for making my collecting life so much easier. All the best in whatever catches your eye next. J.
Thanks for all the hard work over the years. Sad to see you go, but I completely understand and support your decision.
Totally understandable. I personally don't collect the new stuff, unless it is something specific that I need for a session. I like the old DND minis and this is the most complete catalog I could find.
Thanks for your work and if you decide to create a Patreon or something, I will be glad to spend some money on this useful tool.
Thanks so much for your work. I use this site heavily as a way of organizing my collection and goals.
Anyone committing to keeping this site going/updating it into the future?
Thank you for what you've done for all of us!
Sincerely,
Eric F. Malave
Guess I found this site too late, darn. Should I enter my collection for exportation or pass?
Hi Chris,
I just wanted to follow up on a message I sent you about keeping the collection database alive and updated. I have also sent you an e-mail today to the last known e-mail addresses I have for you. Please contact me so that we can discuss further.
Thank you,
Terry (Kor)
www.minisgallery.com
Anyone heard back from him?
Aw jeez, this reminds me of when I JUST discovered Chainmail and bought a buncha stuff only to later learn it was replaced by DDM, and it was just after Anglefire released :(
[quote=Remnant]Anyone heard back from him?[/quote]
Not yet. I have tried all available means to contact him. Hopefully he takes me up on my offer to take over the hosting of the site. It would be unfortunate if collectors lost their collection data.
Hmm…now what?
Any updates on when the exporting feature will be available? Also, will it include any metadata like tags and such?
Any word on being able to export?
Sad to read this. been awhile since I logged in. I also would love a way to export.
Any other sites with similar capabilities for these collections? I use this all the time
My guess is we have been ghosted. He was offered a means to negotiate having another party take over the site and couldn't be bothered to respond to them. I'm irritated that the time ive put into entering and tracking my collection is now wasted without even the ability to export as was stated in his message.
Chris, any update as we approach the end of the year?
Thanks for the hard work you put into this. It was really good.
Really sorry to hear that, but I appreciate all of the work you put into this site. It's truly amazing and one of a kind from what I was able to find elsewhere online.
Has there been any further word on either getting the site ownership transferred or implementing some export feature? Not sure it's worth adding my whole collection here if it's going to be lost at some point. Regardless, thank you for all that you put into this site over the years!
Thank you so much for this service.
Thank you so much for this service. Your effort will always be appreciated.
Is it plausible to somehow have a copy that we can download to our own computer a form of the database that we can upgrade ourselves, including the option for our own pictures.
If this was, it would be appreciated.
Thank you again
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