Insane MOC Prices

@nickies 

When you sold all those models in bulk, did you sell them to a reseller or to a private individual?

@nickies 

Thank you for the information Nickies. Have been trying to locate someone who might take many all at once. If you don't mind letting me know, who did you use? Several?

@stewil 

Steve, I'll be happy to help you get started on eBay if you like. I was dreading it too, but I ended up enjoying it so much that it turned into a business! Reach out via email or pm if you are interested!

@stewil 

Are you familiar with Diecast Direct? They are located in Kentucky. Besides selling a wide range of diecast models, they also buy collections. Several years ago I sold my First Gear 1/34 scale trucks to them. Just another option for you.

@daveg 

Will contact you and thank you Dave.

Steve

@ed-davis 

Will check them out and Thank You Ed.

Steve

@stewil

Steve,

Selling all to a private collector would be ideal, but that is unfortunately the most difficult. If someone already collects what you have, the chances are that they already have at least some of the models in their collection, and may only want certain items from your collection. Even a private collector will probably not give you full value if they are offering to buy the entire collection.

If you have the time, eBay will get you the most money. The (potential) downside is that it does take a lot of time and effort. I say "potential" downside because you may actually enjoy it. Again, I will be happy to offer tips and tricks from my own experience to help get you started. Maybe you have a friend or family member that would find this fun to tackle?

Selling to a dealer is the easiest way to go, but a dealer cannot give you anywhere retail value, because it IS so much work. There are expenses involved in getting your collection physically moved to the dealer's premises safely, and then the dealer must inspect, photograph, list and pack each car. Often, items will need minor repairs and/or cleaning to sell for top dollar, and as Nickies mentioned, there are often multiple inquiries from prospective buyers to deal with. Additionally, the dealer has to safely warehouse and insure the models until they sell, and there is always the risk that they may not sell for a lonnnng time, or may sell for significantly less than anticipated. In a nutshell, the dealer is taking on quite a bit of financial risk when purchasing collections. A dealer also has overhead, must pay transaction fees to their payment acquisition provider (if they deal with any form of payment other than cash), and if they are legit, will need to pay income tax on the sale. After all of that, they still need to turn a profit to stay in business. 

The value of our models is VERY subjective, so if you take offers from 10 different dealers, you will get 10 radically different offers. 

There is another route, but it is also a lot of work. You can list your collection with HobbyDB, and when you (or your family) decide to sell, HobbyDB will contact dealers in your area who can bid for the collection. Great idea, but it requires you to completely document each item.

If you do decide to sell to a dealer, try to get as many quotes as you can before you commit. While some dealers may try and lowball you, most dealers will probably offer a fair price based on what it will take for them to make a decent profit. Just brace yourself; the offers will probably be far below your expectations!

Best of luck, and please reach out if I can be of assistance!

Dave

@ed-davis I sold both time to the same reseller and all my models were mint from dust free cabinets with boxes and full documentation. As explained by Dave, this is a lot of risk for them and it is a dormant inventory that may take years to sell. They cannot offer a lot with all the time and fees that are involved no matter what a few models may worth.

I never collected for investment and I was aware that one day I would have to sell and take a big hit. Unfortunately, I am not alone and it will happen to absolutely all of us so be prepared for a big shock.

As for private collectors, there are none who will invest big money in collections just to keep for enjoyment because one day, they will also have to sell.  This not even an option.

@daveg 

Thank you for the comprehensive answer Dave. Basically you confirmed my expectations. I estimate this to take about 10 yrs should I live that long and maintain my health. I do have a comprehensive inventory of each model in my collection. Methinks will explore selling to a dealer for the less expensive models (large group of F1 for instance or sports cars) and sell the more expensive models on eBay once I get the pieces in place such as - how to actually post an item. Need to break the ice and sell that 1st one and then maybe I'll be swimming. For example I finally got comfortable posting on this site, no photoshop anymore, Yea!  

@stewil 

My pleasure, Steve! Sounds like a good plan! Once I got rolling on eBay, the constant "cha-ching" kept me motivated! 🤑

@stewil Steve, maybe you have thousands of models......... you will need to have a complete inventory of everyone, the overall condition,  original box and documentation if any and submit to a reseller to have an idea of what he can offer. When you will get one you will be shocked so get ready that the figures will be very low.

Resellers are not experts and some manufacturers of the past may mean nothing to them if you have some unusual models.  They may not be interested in some part of your collection at all.

Those who have 5K - 10K+ models collections also  have to go through this process and it maybe painful either for them or their estate when they pass away. For the big collectors, they better have plans to give to charities and the collections disappear from the market because they are too big to handle and most go to the dumpster. Museums are not interested by scale models.

It's also a fact that a model without original packaging is mostly worth nothing. This become a big challenge and the overall ratio of your investment VS actual value is extremely favorable to the reseller and never to us as collectors to get a decent residual value. 

Posted by: @nickies

For the big collectors, they better have plans to give to charities and the collections disappear from the market because they are too big to handle and most go to the dumpster. Museums are not interested by scale models.

Agreed. The very first collection I purchased was headed for the dumpster. That happens more than any of us would like to believe! In addition to all of the fine resin car models, this gentleman also had a number of vintage UNBUILT balsa wood ship models from the 1950s, still in their original boxes. I can't even think about all of that being trashed or donated to Goodwill!!!

@nickies 

Just saw your post. Thank you for the information. My ~1500 models seems huge, but cannot even imagine several thousand models.

Fortunately I have every box, the models with few exceptions have been displayed in dust free spaces, or in the case of eMc, Illario, Heco and a few others have stayed in their original display cases. Other advice I received when I started collecting was to inventory every model including $$$, date and who purchased from, which I have done. 

Now I just need to jump over my mental hurdle of setting up a PayPal account and making my first post on eBay. Might even try and sell some complete dioramas - buildings, backgrounds, little people, and all. Well,   it might work?

@daveg You are at the front line to see the reality of when the hobby becomes a burden. Some here  may suffer in silence. 

@stewil I wish you Good Luck. Selling on Ebay is time consuming.  1500 models is a large collection you must be very proud. From your previous posts, i saw you have outstanding models. 

I have absolutely no interest in any of your models or collection trends but I  can share  my personal experience how I went through selling a 600 models collection over a 3 years period back in 2014.

JK may authorize to be in touch by email. I wish it may help in the decision you will make from my own experience.