[Closed] Here's more to ponder. Have any of you guys recently though of selling your whole collection?

Frank I understand what your saying but ......

i know very well what my cars are worth even in todays market. Please keep in mind that I bought my cars "right" By that I mean that i'd dare say 60-70% of my FM cars were aquired at a time when you could buy 3-5 models of a given type, they'd sell out and you could resell them each for a profit. The majority of my FM models were aquired this way and many were netted FREE some even FREE with a profit! Even quite afew of my DM models were added that way, buying 1-2 "extra" then selling them when they were at a premium. I call this collecting smart. This is how I come up with what I did. Also, I dont have all the common cars, many are CURRENTLY selling for retail or 2-3 times retail. In the end if I sell soon I could do well. THIS is the reason I'm pondering selling!

I would not like to have my estate................

to deal with my collection no matter the potential value. My son is not interested at all and my wife doesn't care of my toys.....she has hers.....collectible books.

It is a disservice for those who will be in pain of a lost one to have to liquidate these kind of assets

I now understand.......................

so, sell everything and keep the few you like the most.

You definitely have a net value after cost. Really make sense.

if i sell all of my good cars i should be able to get a nice used pedal car

B-)

It appears that you have done your homework. Good luck to you.

Phil I don't want to dispute your logic but I have to ask: What does what you paid for a model yesterday have to do with its value today? If you inherited your entire collection so there was no acquisition cost, zero dollars, it would have no bearing on what it's worth. It's market driven. Purchase price really has no influence on selling price. Your average cost may be lower but that reduces your loss or increases your gain, but does not affect selling price.

I am contemplating selling quite a number of mine.

Since we moved last summer, over 90% of my Corvettes have remained boxed. I also do not want to saddle my daughters or my wife with trying to sell them.

Interestingly, I was buying 1:18th cars when they were commanding some bucks -- Ertl especially was bringing good money as was UT, AutoArt and even some Maisto cars. Now, the going prices have really taken a hit. I also think that model car collecting along with many other things have lost their luster to the electronic madness that seems to have grabbed those younger than us.

If you think about it, those of us who have reached 50 or 60 really had some great car years while we were kids. Now all the teens have is sameness and unexciting cars for the most part. Also back then detailed models were really attention grabbers! Once you were hooked, you remained hooked!

Anyway, back to the question at hand. I will definitely keep some of my favorite Corvettes but sell off multiple colors, same cars made by alternate makers and some that I just haven't cared too much for. Hopefully, I will garner some kind of price for them.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Phil always kept this pattern about collecting....

as far as I recall being a member here back from the end of the 90's.

He may have a net value the way he built up his collection. Most of us have not gone the same way as buying multiple models of a same LE to resell and at the end have a free model from the profit of the sale of others.

It is easy to understand his point of view at present time and he is spot on, on the net value of his collection.

Great for him because in this case, it is real plus value asset.

He has nothing to lose but just bring money in, already cleared of his original investment plus profits he made on the long run.

You are missing the point........

He has a net value covered with his previous sales of the same models he bought with outstanding profits. He covered up all his cost, expenses and substantial profit.

We share the same opinion..........

we love the hobby but at some point we become saturated.

Selling My Collection

Yes, Phil I am doing that slowly now. I am keeping only one Corvette, one Buick, the 1949 Olds and one 1958 Pontiac with the conti kit removed....oh and the big 1930 Cadillac V16....and the 3 Paul's Model Art 1954 MBs. Maybe a few more. I need the room and the money for the big ones....

No, here's part of his statement:

"If I sold my 220+ cars and I averaged $120 each thats a minimum of about $27,000. I could easily finish up house hold projects, or buy a new or late model car!"

He is talking about selling price not his cost. Now go back and again read what I said. Maybe my point won't get past you the second time around.

Selling My Collection

Phil, what you did, I did....I have collected for 20 years and no longer display what I have in "cabinets". Just a few in individual cases in my home "office". (I could never get a room to look nice with multiple cabinets full of cars. It always looked like a junk store no matter how hard I searched for nice cabinets to display the models in. Then, "car creep" would set in ...when you add just one more model....then presto....my wife, who is a decorator would come in and make a wisecrack! Over time, I could see what she saw.... a junky looking room.)
So the rest of my collection (about 90), sits in the closet in boxes. I update my values weekly (from eBay) and have sold all the common ones that go for under $50. I have 3 1941 Cadillac LEs left whch I have been selling at fixed prices on eBay. They go slowly, but i am getting top dollar. I am selling others as I get time to list them on eBay. What I have to sell is going for good prices....only the more common stuff is going cheaply (some FM cars that used to be hot are losing value, but other DM cars are very hot....i.e; Desotos, Chrysler 300B, 1955 LE Olds, woody wagons.)
I have a couple of old Firebirds (1:1s), one of which needs attention. That is where the $ will go.... and I will build up my collection with new DM offerings that I think will have staying power.
I enjoy this hobby better this way.

Aso you know, I sold 66% of my collection

I had about 45 FM DM GMP in total. Small to many of you. However I felt it was getting out of hand. I'm just being very selective now. Just buying what I really like. The new Olds do not do much for me (sorry George). Just sticking to muscle and hot rods. But not every one.

I sold most of a large collection back in 2002 for big bucks.

....and used the money to buy a car. Many of those cars where Nascar 1:24 diecast from Action Performance's RCCA club (Elites). I was VERY fortunate to sell a huge Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jr., Jeff Gordon collection for TOP dollar when the market was at a peak. If I sold the sale cars today I'd be lucky to get 10% of what I got back then. I now have a much smaller collection of 13 muscle cars (10 DM and 2 FM), two Action Performance NHRA top fuel dragsters, and 10 1:43 muscle cars from Franklin Mint and Matchbox. So I'm well beyond the point where selling my collection would net me enough money to make it worthwhile. I just enjoy my meager collection and when I ever feel like selling one or two, I do.