My Collection Year In review 2021

@john3976 Could not agree with you more as far as the right person is concerned. The more I think about it the more I think that person does not exist for most of my models - let alone the ones I modified.

Let's face it - there may be a few people out there who share your passion for ramp trucks but the market is going to be non-existent for someone interested in my Cobra collection.

What I'm more interested in doing is giving some of them away to fellow collectors who have shown some interest in them over the years. I have a list with names and addresses of collectors that I want cars sent to - the rest will likely just get dumped

@franklemire - I think if your models were placed on eBay and advertised to a worldwide audience, there would likely be more interest than you might imagine.  I don't need to tell you that the automotive racing taste in Europe is quite different than in the USA.  Your collection, which is primarily comprised of endurance sports cars and is a popular genre in Europe.  Endurance racing is far more popular there than in the USA.  I think that's where your primary market lies, and that's where I think your collection would generate the most significant interest. 

For me, this is a fascinating question and discussion.  It's an issue shared by ALL of us model car collectors.  We all are faced with the question of what happens to our collections after we're gone?   For us who have modified models, it's even a bigger question!  My wife has begged me not to leave her with the burden of trying to sell my collection.  I've estimated it to be worth approximately $75,000.  She wants me to liquidate it now as I have a better perspective of how and who to sell it to.  I've considered her request but have rejected it because it still brings me so much joy.  Still, she has a point.  

@marty-johnson Excellent points! The value of my collection based on what I paid for it is about $59,000.00 But given the fact that 92 0f those cars are Exoto's that are now selling at way above the price I paid for most of them I expect that I'm north of $100K at this point. I also think that since I have very few 'budget' cars in my collection my family will be able to do a bulk sale to a reseller. They won't get near as much as they could but it will be found money to them and I never bought them as an investment so it really doesn't bother me.

It all comes down to what the buyer is willing to pay, people have Harley Davidsons for sale all the time and with big asking prices, and I have seen them sit for years before they are sold and by the time they are sold the owner is tired of them taking up garage space and having to move it out of the way all the time so most end up selling for far less than the owners original asking price. 

Diecast are no different, clearly the decasts with greater detail will always bring more money than the cheap $40 dollar diecast that is not as detailed and in many cases has less moving/opening parts and will have a more plastic look and feel to them. 

No disrespect intended but I think Marty is being overly optimistic on his estimated value of his car hauler while he may have created a one off from an inexpensive diecast I don't see the value raising into the thousands of dollars for it so I would not be a target customer to sell it to, I might pony up as much as $150 dollars for it but that is where I would put my limit on it. 

What will drive up the price some is that one person who is looking for that one car that he wants for his/her collection but is no longer produced and the person is left trying to find one on the open market, example the Exoto Ford GT40 MKII X-1 Ken Miles/Lloyd Ruby Sebring car, they are long ago out of production and sold out so you are left trying to find one on the open market that someone is willing to sell. I found three of these cars when I was looking, one here in the United States but it was damaged with broken parts on it, one was in Britain and the other one was in Ireland, I crossed off the one in America because it was damaged and the seller still wanted around $400 dollars for it, The one in Britain was priced at $500 Euros before shipping and Euro taxes but the description and photos were not very good and it was listed as used. The third one was in Ireland and was listed as New in box and had a good description and photos so I got a good look at the car, it was listed for $499 Euros plus shipping and Euro tax had to be paid, converted to American dollars by eBay it shipped for $743 dollars after Euro tax and shipping. It is my most expensive purchase of my collection but it is a hard to find piece and upon receipt it was as advertised and in excellent condition. 

One piece I would like to obtain but so far have been unable to find one is the 1/18 scale Exoto 1966 Ford GT40 MKII Ken Miles/Denny Hulme LeMans car, I have the Shelby Collectibles version but it has a lot of detail wrong and the over all detail is not nearly as good as the Exoto diecast then again you can buy the Shelby Collectibles version for as low as $59 dollars on the internet. 

The important thing is that everyone enjoys the collections they have because you can't put a price tag on your own enjoyment and the memories they bring from your past. 

@john3976 - Wow, you're right about the rarity of the 1:18 scale Ken Miles #1 Exoto GT40!  I couldn't find one on eBay.  However, I did find a 1:10 scale version.  It sold for $3,399.00.