What if you were to sell your entire collection

[theshowandme]

Have never understood the “I’ll never sell” mentality

Forcing your family to deal with it after you die just doesn’t make sense

[Exhibitman]

Don, depending on your tax situation, having your heirs liquidate a collection may save a ton in capital gains and state income taxes due to the basis step-up on death. Everyone with a valuable collection needs to assess their tax circumstances carefully before selling any valuable and highly appreciated asset, assuming that there is no need for the money during your life. Why lay out as much as a third in Federal capital gains and state income taxes if you don't have to? Unless things change radically for me, I plan to leave my daughter with a package of cards that she can sell with little or no taxes owed.

I wrote an article on what it is like to sell and how to do it; might be of interest to the OP:

https://adamstevenwarshaw.substack.c...ing-it?r=ff7k7

[robw1959]

I've recently given it some thought. Earlier this year I was scammed by someone who had misrepresented themselves as a Citibank financial advisor. At first I just pushed her away thinking she was trying to sell me stocks or crypto or something else I wasn't interested in. I've only been interested in baseball cards. But she persisted, and I thought what the heck; it was kind of like having a pen pall, right? Well, she eventually confided to me how she had a little secret way of earning money through short-term cryptocurrency trades and that her nodes formulations & calculations could earn her big money regardless of which direction the crypto went. That should have alarmed me right there, but those hand-written derivatives formulas were pretty convincing. So I traded with her, and it looked like I had earned over $40,000 in just two sessions. However, I believe she was able to manipulate the app in a way that made it look like money was moving around, but it was just numbers, not money or actual crypto.

Anyway, it was a very sophisticated scam, and in the end I wound up with my life savings snatched away. I actually found out when a third party contacted me out of the blue, and when I mentioned what was going on she told me it sounded eerily similar to what one of her friends had experienced with a netizen who had created a bogus crypto app and then made it disappear along with a ton of his money! In my case, I believe the app was legitimate, but was hacked.

So then I became suspicious. But my next move made things worse - with a Google search, I contacted a person who had misrepresented himself as a fraud specialist, and this guy also defrauded me through dummy transactions.

So in all, I wound up losing $130,000. It was enough to make me weep and think about selling my collection, as I went from just over $100,000 in the bank and $25,000 in debt (zero percent credit cards) to very little in the bank and $50,000 in debt, with higher interest bearing debt. But instead I opted for a personal loan, and thankfully still have my collection, although I did sell some graded cards I thought were pretty ugly and planned on selling eventually anyway.

I'm not sure why I am sharing all of this in the context of replying to another member's deliberation about selling, except that I do feel a kinship toward this community overall and have dealt with many of you guys over the years. Maybe it's good to make stuff like this known just to reduce the potential for it happening to someone else here. And if you're in the middle of something like this, get out before you start trading. A local detective whom I know personally told me that my money would never be recovered, and to stay away from crypto!

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Rob, that's awful. Everyone always thinks "I'm too smart, I'd never fall for that" When, as you've shown, it can happen to anyone. Thanks for sharing something that must be painful, for our benefit.

[Exhibitman]

Wow, that's horrible, Rob. No one is too smart for a scam. I had to pull my father's @$$ out of the fire a few times when he was in his 80s, then I took over his finances to prevent more "I think I f***ed up" panicked calls. I have had many clients cheated out of lots of money over the years, even including a judge.

I am a Reagan fan when it comes to anyone asking for money: "doveryay, no proveryay" (Trust But Verify). I do my legwork before I deal with anyone. Years of investigating schemes and scumbags as a plaintiffs' attorney has made me paranoid. That, and I assume that anyone offering me an investment is selling garbage because anything worth doing the salesman would be doing with their own money and not cold-calling me to buy into it.

[jingram058]

Awful. No criminals are "good" criminals, but these folks are among the worst, IMO.

[Casey2296]

So sorry to hear that Rob and thanks for posting as a reminder to stay vigilant with our finances.

[robw1959]

Thank you, friends. I don't mean to hijack the thread, but the threat of fraud is definitely out there and becoming more cunning, sophisticated, and widespread than every before, especially with the access of social media.

[bnorth]

That sucks Rob, sorry to hear it. I have a friend since we were little kids have something very similar happen. He figured out a couple months ago that his entire life savings was gone.

[Fred]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

...I assume that anyone offering me an investment is selling garbage because anything worth doing the salesman would be doing with their own money and not cold-calling me to buy into it.

ding, ding, ding!

To answer OP question about selling my entire collection. I've considered selling it all but it's been a part of my life for over half a century so I don't think it's possible. However, I have been thinking about keeping certain parts of the collection and selling off the rest. The only reason for doing so is that I don't want my family to be stuck with trying to figure out what to do with ALL of it when the day comes I'm not here to enjoy it.

[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

[unamuzd1]

I've been pondering this lately as well. My t206 cards would be easy to move, I assume. It's the thousands and thousands of other cards that start where OP starts and wrap up around 2010 or so that make my head spin. This has been a useful thread to read.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

Have never understood the “I’ll never sell” mentality

Forcing your family to deal with it after you die just doesn’t make sense

Couldn't agree more. I know a lot of people that one of the couple hoarded/collected stuff and the living one almost always hates having to get rid of all their spouses junk/fine collectables. Then to make it more fun you almost always have kids and others fighting over their "fair share".

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Then to make it more fun you almost always have kids and others fighting over their "fair share".

If they don't love/appreciate the cards/stuff, their "fair share" is zero.

[BioCRN]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

If they don't love/appreciate the cards/stuff, their "fair share" is zero.

This may be hard to grasp, but some people consider their wife/partner and kids to be equals or at least worth consideration in their life...especially once their life is over and they have ownership of things they have little idea about.

My wife knows what to do with my cards if I should check out early even if it means only getting 70-80% of the return if she would do it in a more attentive way. I know we don't need the money, so I've told her the best way to get rid of them with the least amount of hassle and which card(s) mean the absolutely most to me if she wants to keep that part of my memory around for herself.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by BioCRN

This may be hard to grasp, but some people consider their wife/partner and kids to be equals or at least worth consideration in their life....

Hmmmm. Yes, it is indeed tough to grasp. That's something at which I suppose I could work, but I've always been more into subjects such as Math, History, Geography, Chemistry, Economics, Latin, etc. The Psychology stuff I've always left to others.

[ALBB]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

Hmmmm. That's something I suppose I could work at trying to grasp, but I've always been more into subjects such as Math, History, Geography, Chemistry, Economics, Latin, etc. The Psychology stuff I've always left to others.

I never knew you enjoyed Latin LOL

[Balticfox]

Oh, absolutely! It was one of my strong subjects between ninth and twelfth grades. And I still have a very keen interest in Roman and ancient history in general.

[bmattioli]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

Have never understood the “I’ll never sell” mentality

Forcing your family to deal with it after you die just doesn’t make sense

A. You do not know everyone's situation..

B. Some people are collectors and their collections make them happy

C. Some folks don't need the money

D. Detailed lists are kept

E. MYOB

[gonefishin]

What auction houses could specialize on properly liquidating an entire collection that consists of so much more than just cards; ephemera, memorabilia, autographs, bats, game used, original art pieces, tickets, score cards, etc. I ask because I'm guessing that everyone's collection has also evolved to include complementary/sports related items.

If someone's collection consisted of let's say 50% cards and 50% other, how would one approach selling that? I think about it sometimes and if I made a decision to sell, it would include everything! In reality, there is a substantial amount of value in things other than cards. Cards always take center stage, but a type 1 autographed photo of a pre-war player can bring pretty big money also.

[BioCRN]

I know I'm operating on a different level than many here. Some people spend in a single auction what my entire collection is worth.

I have no 5-figure cards, a slew of 4-figure cards, and a lot of 3-figure cards.

I've kept it simple for my wife (or other survivors) if I check out early.

I have a list of "auction house" cards and which ones to contact. I have a list of "send this stuff off to an Ebay cosigner" cards and which ones to contact. The rest of the stuff isn't worth worrying about and should be given away or sold for whatever they can get whether it's a good deal or not.

Those 3 tiers (especially the first 2) are rather trouble-free for survivors that aren't part of the hobby and easy to navagate. It's only 3 auction houses and 2 main Ebay cosigners that do good volume and can handle a $500 card as easily as a $15 card.

From where I'm at, maximizing the money return isn't the point, it's getting a fair value for the least amount of trouble for the person dealing some dead person's valuable junk.