[Al C.risafulli]

I speak to people who are in various stages of making this decision - or planning for it - every week.

I can tell you that, with very few exceptions, making the decision to do it is much more difficult than actually doing it. When I'm asked for guidance, my guidance is always the same:

1) Selling off a collection doesn't mean you can no longer collect. I have sold collections for people who have continued buying - lifelong collectors who liquidated very large collections often take some of the funds from the sale and plow it right back into the hobby, focusing either on things that will be easier for the family to sell, or less valuable so that it doesn't matter as much. Selling your collection doesn't mean you have to turn off your passion for the hobby.

2) Making the decision to do it is much more difficult than actually doing it. In most cases, collectors who I've worked with were very much at peace with the idea of selling - it was getting to the point where they actually do it that's difficult.

3) If the plan is to sell after you're gone, be sure that your plan is as ironclad as possible. I've seen several examples of a person's wishes not being honored, even when they're written in a will. I know of one case where a safe deposit box of great cards simply vanished (either nobody knows what bank it's in, or someone removed them). I know of several cases where a person asked someone to help a family dispose of a collection - or they plainly specified what auction house to go with—only to find a family making a different decision.

4) Don't leave notes in your collection with instructions. Don't leave verbal instructions with a loved one. Put it in a will, make it plain as day what is to be done with your collection, and don't leave it to your loved ones to fight over it.

5) Really - especially for people who are part of a message board community like this one - there's something to be said for consigning your collection while you're still here to experience people's joy in winning one of your prized pieces. Remember the enthusiasm over the sale of Leon's collection, or the Dreier collection (or much smaller ones that have played out here on the board) - it's a lot of fun to be able to see people posting about the white whales they picked up, and being able to share the stories of how YOU got that item.

A lot of folks take a lot of time talking about which auction house will break the less valuable stuff into the smallest parts. The reality is that the most valuable stuff is going to bring you the most money, and its much more important to know how your BEST stuff will be presented than it is to know that your $20 commons will be listed individually. One extra bid on a $50,000 piece is the equivalent of 125 $20 commons. If those 125 cards are sold in one giant lot that averages less than $20 per card, but the auction house gets you two extra bids on a $50,000 item, you're far ahead of the game.

I'm not suggesting that the auction house should lump all your stuff into one big lot, but I am suggesting that sticking your collection in an auction house that's going to take your best pieces and bury them in the middle of a catalog with 25 other examples of the same thing might not be the best choice. Focus on the auction house that's going to treat your material right.

When choosing an auction house to sell your collection, trustworthiness is important - especially if the sale is going to happen when you're gone. Pick someone you know is going to be honest with your family.

-Al