Nickle is more brittle and splits more often than bare brass cases (presuming this is why the fella didn't want nickle). Autoloader cartridges aren't too bad, but the .45Colt I load makes nickle pretty much pointless since it splits after just a few reloads. I've been reloading some of the bare brass cases I have for almost 10 years.
If you have a significant amount (>100), you can probably sell it here in the classifieds section. I've got plenty or I'd offer to buy it from ya.