So many of us have accumulated collections of great value (financial and/or emotional), and yet -- someday -- we may need to downsize for whatever reason. And some of this downsizing might be done by our families who might not fully appreciate the value of our collections. What do you plan to do so that your collections don't get disposed of in a liquidation sale? Or worse yet, just tossed in the trash? How do you plan to protect the integrity and legacy of your collection?
Props: The Next Generation?
- Thread starter dbrussee
- Start date
Uridium
Sr Member
It may be worth documenting all your pieces with photos and desciption/value. Not only prop collections but anything of value that you own. Possibly in conjuction with your will.
Removes lot of work for those close to you if the unfortunate would happen and you died.
This would also be extreamly useful if you needed to make an insurance claim against some of those pieces.
Removes lot of work for those close to you if the unfortunate would happen and you died.
This would also be extreamly useful if you needed to make an insurance claim against some of those pieces.
I'm in the process of downsizing now while these things still have some market value. While the child in me does crave to be surrounding by all of my favorite pieces and to be able to recreate any scene from my favorite movies whenever I want, not only do I not have the space to display or properly enjoy them all, I'm also to the point where my priorities have shifted away from collecting. I still have quite a bit of stuff, but a lot of those things are directly related to having examples for my business, but at some point those will likely be liquidated in time too. The older I get the less this stuff means to me.
I do mean to complete a list of values, descriptions and places to offload my collection for my wife and other family members in the unlikely event of my early demise. I've seen thousands of dollars in items given away for free or for pennies both with my late stepfather as well as late father in law and I'd at least want my wife to have the money and get the value from it rather than give away what could potentially be worth something. Props and collectibles are cool and all, but ultimately they're just things and won't matter at all when I'm gone. My rationale is that if the funds from their sale can help my family, then all the better.
The other thing to consider is to sell off pieces while they still retain any value as well. I mean if we're being honest about it, none of us are getting any younger here and the IP's that we cherish so much will die off with us, no matter how many times we hear arguments about how our kids love this stuff, they don't love it the same way and with the same intensity that we do. My father loved the Lone Ranger growing up. I enjoyed a few action figures of the Lone Ranger I had as a kid but I haven't thought about the character all that much since then. The same goes for any of my favorite films and shows. I don't expect or even plan that my potential future children will even like, much less love, what I do and why should they? With that comes the desirablity of the props from said IP. Star Wars for example doesn't sell like it used to. So if you're hoping that your massive collection will be worth a fortune by the time you're dead, even the best measures for you to document your collection for your family to offload for cash, may not necessarily yield the net worth of what you paid for it.
I think it's wise to plan for the future of your collection. As much as these things are a treasure to us personally in our lives, they mean nothing to those around us who aren't interested and at worst become a burden for our family who is left to get rid of it when we're gone. So plan, plan ahead!
I do mean to complete a list of values, descriptions and places to offload my collection for my wife and other family members in the unlikely event of my early demise. I've seen thousands of dollars in items given away for free or for pennies both with my late stepfather as well as late father in law and I'd at least want my wife to have the money and get the value from it rather than give away what could potentially be worth something. Props and collectibles are cool and all, but ultimately they're just things and won't matter at all when I'm gone. My rationale is that if the funds from their sale can help my family, then all the better.
The other thing to consider is to sell off pieces while they still retain any value as well. I mean if we're being honest about it, none of us are getting any younger here and the IP's that we cherish so much will die off with us, no matter how many times we hear arguments about how our kids love this stuff, they don't love it the same way and with the same intensity that we do. My father loved the Lone Ranger growing up. I enjoyed a few action figures of the Lone Ranger I had as a kid but I haven't thought about the character all that much since then. The same goes for any of my favorite films and shows. I don't expect or even plan that my potential future children will even like, much less love, what I do and why should they? With that comes the desirablity of the props from said IP. Star Wars for example doesn't sell like it used to. So if you're hoping that your massive collection will be worth a fortune by the time you're dead, even the best measures for you to document your collection for your family to offload for cash, may not necessarily yield the net worth of what you paid for it.
I think it's wise to plan for the future of your collection. As much as these things are a treasure to us personally in our lives, they mean nothing to those around us who aren't interested and at worst become a burden for our family who is left to get rid of it when we're gone. So plan, plan ahead!
Great point about pieces retaining value and your example of The Lone Ranger. I suspect IP like Star Wars, Disney, Superman, Batman and Lord of the Rings will have a long life, kind of like items from the Wizard of Oz. But I do wonder about many other properties that are still popular now, but might not be for the next generation (ALIEN(s), Star Trek TOS, and Gerry Anderson/Irwin Allen.... I am attempting to document my collection and realized prices from auctions to guide value, but at the end of the day an item is worth exactly what a collector is willing to pay.
I suspect very few people in these communities get into collecting for the value aspect of it, but do so for the passion about the property that inspired the items, but value is intrinsic to a lot of this stuff, especially when we're talking about potentially offloading it. No one in my family or friend circle is into this stuff, so they wouldn't want it. I can only think of one item that I would want to go to a childhood friend but everything else would be moot and even he could use the money before he would really use the item.
Even passing it to friends I've made online means my loved ones having to contact them and sell/ ship the item, which they won't do because they don't know my online friends, nor do they have the time or interest to put that much effort into it. I'm not involved in any local collecting/ prop groups either so that's out of the question for me personally.
So my option is to offload them myself and to create a list of values, contacts, potential places to sell, etc and basically lay it all out for my wife so she could easily sell it off and also hope those will still be relevant/ in existence by then. In fact if I ever became terminally ill I'd start reaching out to people to ask if they wanted to buy stuff I normally wouldn't sell, just to move it before I left.
I've been tasked many times in my life to have to clear things out from either my own home, having moved, having moved friends, having moved loved ones, and clearing out the belongings of my deceased relatives to know the burden it can leave on the living. If I can help it, I don't want to leave too much of that burden to my family.
Even passing it to friends I've made online means my loved ones having to contact them and sell/ ship the item, which they won't do because they don't know my online friends, nor do they have the time or interest to put that much effort into it. I'm not involved in any local collecting/ prop groups either so that's out of the question for me personally.
So my option is to offload them myself and to create a list of values, contacts, potential places to sell, etc and basically lay it all out for my wife so she could easily sell it off and also hope those will still be relevant/ in existence by then. In fact if I ever became terminally ill I'd start reaching out to people to ask if they wanted to buy stuff I normally wouldn't sell, just to move it before I left.
I've been tasked many times in my life to have to clear things out from either my own home, having moved, having moved friends, having moved loved ones, and clearing out the belongings of my deceased relatives to know the burden it can leave on the living. If I can help it, I don't want to leave too much of that burden to my family.
For those that know me know that I have a LOT of props. I am very fortunate to have a loving wife of 20 years is heavily involved in my…OUR prop hobby. Hell, I’d say 25% of our collection is hers that she sought out and paid for with her money. She is truly my partner in crime. I involve her in all my prop deals: sales, trade buys, everything.
What’s my point? She can tell you in a second what every single thing is worth and where she can sell it to get the most bang for her buck. Trust me, when ol’ Funky kicks the bucket she can sell it all and retire.
What’s my point? She can tell you in a second what every single thing is worth and where she can sell it to get the most bang for her buck. Trust me, when ol’ Funky kicks the bucket she can sell it all and retire.
I see a yard sale in the future, once I pass on, with my doodads and thingamabobs being sold for shockingly low prices. Whatever doesn’t sell will find its way to a donation center.
Either way, these items will go back into The Great Material Continuum.
Being a dead person, I’m not thinking that I’ll be all too worried about what has become of my precious phasers, blasters, lightsabers, etc. They will have served their purpose with me and will go on to serve a purpose for someone else.
Either way, these items will go back into The Great Material Continuum.
Being a dead person, I’m not thinking that I’ll be all too worried about what has become of my precious phasers, blasters, lightsabers, etc. They will have served their purpose with me and will go on to serve a purpose for someone else.
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TazMan2000
Master Member
I would document all your pieces and their suspected, or perhaps proven, worth. I'm certain, in the past, that when people pass away, that most of their collections go to the trash or the second hand store, by unknowing family members, where someone with the eye of a collector, scores the pick of a lifetime.
If possible, and if the family can handle the storage space, they could take the time to sell your collection and get some of the value back.
Perhaps share your logon ID and password with a trusted family member, or even in your will, so that a family member can come on here and ask the value of items. I'm certain they would be treated fairly. (Or shall I say, "I hope they will be treated fairly")
TazMan2000
If possible, and if the family can handle the storage space, they could take the time to sell your collection and get some of the value back.
Perhaps share your logon ID and password with a trusted family member, or even in your will, so that a family member can come on here and ask the value of items. I'm certain they would be treated fairly. (Or shall I say, "I hope they will be treated fairly")
TazMan2000
I don't have any kids yet, so if worst comes to worst, I'll leave my stuff to my nephew who also loves SW. If you don't have anyone, I'd try to get rid of most of it while you're still here. I've been dealing with my dad's US Civil War collection for the past two years and it's a lot. He only has a smaller collection too, but it's still a lot to deal with.
The way I see it, no one cares about my belongings like I do, so if I do hold onto something I better enjoy it while I'm here so there's no sense in owning something if I don't use it. I'm actually longing for the day when I've got just a handful of pieces. I started cataloging things but I have to really sit down and break down everything in depth so that I've got plans in place that hopefully my stuff can be cleared once I'm gone.
See that's just it, even with a small collection you're working on two years now of having to move his stuff. My family is in the process of clearing out decades worth of stuff packed into every nook of their house and I dread the day when my father is gone and I have to pour through all of his belongings. It will be hard enough losing him, but then having to figure out what to do with everything will be one more responsibility left for us to handle. I get that it's part of life and part of the grieving process, but I don't want to add that burden to my family when I go. Hopefully I can figure something out that would help.
See that's just it, even with a small collection you're working on two years now of having to move his stuff. My family is in the process of clearing out decades worth of stuff packed into every nook of their house and I dread the day when my father is gone and I have to pour through all of his belongings. It will be hard enough losing him, but then having to figure out what to do with everything will be one more responsibility left for us to handle. I get that it's part of life and part of the grieving process, but I don't want to add that burden to my family when I go. Hopefully I can figure something out that would help.
Well to be fair this came out of nowhere so he thought he had more time and was going to start selling it off. He documented a lot of it, had printouts of the auctions he bought the items in, etc. So that helps. It's just a lot of time. It would be WAY worse if it was something I absolutely hated. This stuff is at least interesting.
For my Back to the future collection, I’d probably have them auctioned and have them to send the money to the Jfox foundation. Wouldn’t know the logistics behind that but I’m hoping it’s what will happen
Even the best land plans can go awry. I'm glad your father gave you a head start on it but this is why I think it's important that we really get prepared as best we can. The toughest part for me right now is that there are rare items currently being offered that are tempting me but I'm trying to get into the habit of making the conscious choice to refrain from buying in the first place and the resale value (if I change my mind and decide to sell later) is just not as reliable as it once was and I'm almost always losing money on it.
My prop replicas bring me joy, and I hope that when I'm dead I won't care what happens to them. I'm the only one in my family that cares about props so I expect it will all go in a landfill. I won't know, so I don't worry about it.
Then you are clearly doing it wrong.
I sell my stuff all the time. I ALWAYS make a profit, more times than not double or triple what I paid. I can honestly say that my entire prop collection has paid for itself. For example: I bout five Nerf Aliens Pulse Rifles for 99.00 each. I kept one for myself. I have a physical toy store where I sell props, high end toys, etc. I've already sold three Pulse Rifles for 250.00 each.
TazMan2000
Master Member
Care to share any pointers? Because I've been doing it wrong for years then. I'd gladly take a PM if you're willing to elaborate so as to not bog down the thread.
It's quite simple really.
Rule #1, no impulse buys. I never buy anything immediately. As a result, I've missed out of plenty of things I wanted. You have to suck it up and not stew about it. It's the price of doing business.
Rule #2, know your market. I buy stuff I don't like or want all the time because I know that there is a market for it and what it sells for. If I just bought stuff I like then I might as well keep it because many times I'm the only one who likes it.
Rule #1, no impulse buys. I never buy anything immediately. As a result, I've missed out of plenty of things I wanted. You have to suck it up and not stew about it. It's the price of doing business.
Rule #2, know your market. I buy stuff I don't like or want all the time because I know that there is a market for it and what it sells for. If I just bought stuff I like then I might as well keep it because many times I'm the only one who likes it.
