Estate Planning - Sell or Donate?

[hawaiian bam bam]

Lately I've been thinking whats the point of collecting since we can't take it with us! As I get older, I prefer to have the cash than cards. Great topic!

[murphusa]

I sold it all and purchased a beach house

[clydepepper]

I recently sold (almost all of ) my Topps sets in order to finance a new body part. (hip)

But I'm still too addicted to 'the chase' to consider the final deposition / destination of the rest of my collection.
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[hawaiian bam bam]

The dilemma i face is this. after selling some of my collection, i was finally able to get my debt under control! not that. that is settled, i often think, should i sell EVERYTHING in my collection after over 40 years in the hobby and buy my dream car (a 1960's muscle car)/ part of me says sell everything, walk away from the hobby and purchase my dream car and enjoy it and enjoy life! another part of me says, i have put 40+ years into my collection and too just sell everything..i have attachment issues! another side of the coin is, i think i would get more enjoyment in a classic sports muscle car than cards/autographs sitting in a box collecting dust! but then baseball cards/autographs have been my passion for 40+ years, but then thoughts of driving that car are awesome..i would enjoy both equally but can only do one....see my dilemma! what to do? what to do?

[toyman55]

At one time I had over 150 baseball board and bagatelle games in addition to all my autographed balls. As I reached my 60's I didn't want to leave my wife or kids to have to get rid of them so I started selling them on eBay about 6 years ago. Letting things go was tough but I am now down to only about 40 games plus my autographs and I only but old Dodger memorabilia now.

Here is what I had before I started to sell;
http://keymancollectibles.com/showcase/showcase13.htm

[Leon]

I just sold off most all of my collection because I needed to fund college for my daughter AND it was time to take the proverbial chips off of the table. I had the piles of chips too high for my tastes.
I had only collected for around 20 yrs though. I am still collecting but in a different manner. And now, I will have college paid for, the house paid for and a lot more savings......and I am still doing the same thing I was. Every time I miss a card I scroll over to my bank account.

Originally Posted by hawaiian bam bam

The dilemma i face is this. after selling some of my collection, i was finally able to get my debt under control! not that. that is settled, i often think, should i sell EVERYTHING in my collection after over 40 years in the hobby and buy my dream car (a 1960's muscle car)/ part of me says sell everything, walk away from the hobby and purchase my dream car and enjoy it and enjoy life! another part of me says, i have put 40+ years into my collection and too just sell everything..i have attachment issues! another side of the coin is, i think i would get more enjoyment in a classic sports muscle car than cards/autographs sitting in a box collecting dust! but then baseball cards/autographs have been my passion for 40+ years, but then thoughts of driving that car are awesome..i would enjoy both equally but can only do one....see my dilemma! what to do? what to do?

[hawaiian bam bam]

ive also thought alot lately, that what if i could have back every single penny i spent on my hobby the past 40+ years! its mind blowing if you think about how much we spend on this hobby over the years.

[Frank A]

I'm in that situation now. At 70 years old, I feel its time to start letting it go. I have already put some at auction and plan to get rid of a lot of it in the Spring auctions. I plan to keep about 30 items and sell the rest. All kinds of stuff, not just cards. Have been collecting for about 35 years and enjoyed it very much. Nobody in my family has any interest in it, so I figure since I know a little about this stuff its better that I sell it. Frank

[hawaiian bam bam]

This thread has seriously opened my eyes for the better! My fear has always been that I'll be too old to enjoy my collection one day. I mean what am I going to do one day when I am in a nursing home, sit in my room and stare at a box of my autographs? I enjoy them now off course but I always think how will I enjoy then in keys say 30 years from now ? Maybe it's better to sell it all now and use that money to enjoy life now! Thank you for this thread as I thought I was the only one with this dilemma. They always say life is short and enjoy life today and live in the now! An example is, awhile back I sold a Roy Campanella autograph for $500. I paid $500 for it so I broke even on it. I didn't make a profit , just got back what I paid for it . I did miss the signed card a lot but to be honest it sure was nice to have five Benjamin's in my pocket instead!