Large collection. What to do with it!?
Discussion
Hi all,
Baiscally, since I was about 6 (am now 21) I've been collecting model cars/bikes. I stopped about 3 years ago when moved to University and other things gradually took priority
I have about 200-400 models (have a spreadsheet back home) and they are a massive range of stuff. I bought what I liked rather than collecting certain series or investing in something that'd make money etc.
I have about 90 1/8 scale Minichamps helmets. Inc rare chrome Schumacher 1998 etc.
About 40 1/18 Minichamps F1
About 20-30 other 1/18 F1 incliding Grand Prix Legends "club 100" converted Marlboro Schumacher Ferrari's etc.
About 25 1/12 Minichamps bikes. "Club 100" converted Rossi Yamaha's, signed GPL Lavilla BSB Duke, Stoner LCR, Sheene Suzuki etc etc
Loads of 1/43 minichamps F1 inc a few Schumacher Collections
Some random stuff like Webber race suit Williams special, Redline F2005 1/24 Schumacher, Redline LeMans F430's.
1/18 AutoArt Lotus Cortina, Merc CL63, etc
1/18 Minichamps Jagermister M3, Carrera GT...
And a million other things.....
Baiscally want to free up some cash and space. Where is the best place to get rid of everything for good money.
Cheers, EM177
Baiscally, since I was about 6 (am now 21) I've been collecting model cars/bikes. I stopped about 3 years ago when moved to University and other things gradually took priority
I have about 200-400 models (have a spreadsheet back home) and they are a massive range of stuff. I bought what I liked rather than collecting certain series or investing in something that'd make money etc.
I have about 90 1/8 scale Minichamps helmets. Inc rare chrome Schumacher 1998 etc.
About 40 1/18 Minichamps F1
About 20-30 other 1/18 F1 incliding Grand Prix Legends "club 100" converted Marlboro Schumacher Ferrari's etc.
About 25 1/12 Minichamps bikes. "Club 100" converted Rossi Yamaha's, signed GPL Lavilla BSB Duke, Stoner LCR, Sheene Suzuki etc etc
Loads of 1/43 minichamps F1 inc a few Schumacher Collections
Some random stuff like Webber race suit Williams special, Redline F2005 1/24 Schumacher, Redline LeMans F430's.
1/18 AutoArt Lotus Cortina, Merc CL63, etc
1/18 Minichamps Jagermister M3, Carrera GT...
And a million other things.....
Baiscally want to free up some cash and space. Where is the best place to get rid of everything for good money.
Cheers, EM177
eBay them or take them to a collector's fair/swapmeet.
However - word of warning. Even once you've offloaded them, have a big wad of cash in your pocket and are feeling pretty good about yourself, you'll soon start to miss them. There's a reason why you bought them, you're a petrolhead, and in getting shot of them you'll be getting rid of part of that, especially if you've had some of them since you were six.
Earmark some of them that you can get rid of without really caring. The others, put them in a box, put the box in the garage, then when you've got the storage space for them in future, get them all out again.
Trust me on this. I have a friend who was in a similar situation to you in a similar moment in his life. He sold off most of his collection, and now he has room and money for them again he scours eBay trying to buy them back, only to find that they're all now worth a lot more than they were when he bought them.
That said, before I headed off to university I sold my collection of Star Wars toys to raise some cash. I'd bought them all second-hand as a kid in the late '80s and early '90s when there'd been no Star Wars films for years and no-one wanted them any more. When I sold them, we were in the middle of the prequel releases and the interest in them had gone mental. Think I got about £500 for them in the end, bearing in mind that I got most of them for cursory amounts - 50p here, a quid there, might have paid a fiver for an AT-AT Walker but that was about it. These things never really go down in value.
Come to think of it you could possibly group some of those into themed collections and offload them as lots at a 'proper' automobilia auction. You'd be surprised what some bloke, flush with cash, will pay for Schumacher memorabilia to go with the 456GT he's just successfully bid on.
However - word of warning. Even once you've offloaded them, have a big wad of cash in your pocket and are feeling pretty good about yourself, you'll soon start to miss them. There's a reason why you bought them, you're a petrolhead, and in getting shot of them you'll be getting rid of part of that, especially if you've had some of them since you were six.
Earmark some of them that you can get rid of without really caring. The others, put them in a box, put the box in the garage, then when you've got the storage space for them in future, get them all out again.
Trust me on this. I have a friend who was in a similar situation to you in a similar moment in his life. He sold off most of his collection, and now he has room and money for them again he scours eBay trying to buy them back, only to find that they're all now worth a lot more than they were when he bought them.
That said, before I headed off to university I sold my collection of Star Wars toys to raise some cash. I'd bought them all second-hand as a kid in the late '80s and early '90s when there'd been no Star Wars films for years and no-one wanted them any more. When I sold them, we were in the middle of the prequel releases and the interest in them had gone mental. Think I got about £500 for them in the end, bearing in mind that I got most of them for cursory amounts - 50p here, a quid there, might have paid a fiver for an AT-AT Walker but that was about it. These things never really go down in value.
Come to think of it you could possibly group some of those into themed collections and offload them as lots at a 'proper' automobilia auction. You'd be surprised what some bloke, flush with cash, will pay for Schumacher memorabilia to go with the 456GT he's just successfully bid on.
I have got over 2000 models in my collection, all stored in the loft & the garage. They are of no use to me & I should get rid of them becausen don't have the space to display them.
However I just cannot bring myself to sell them.
Just like I can't get rid of all of the car magazines that I have bought & kept over the years. Hundreds of the bloody things, all kept neat & tidy in date order & in separate piles so that I know exactly where a particular issue of a particular magazine will be stored.
These are of even less use than the models however I cannot let them go.
Stupid isn't it? Because I know that as soon as they are gone & I have the money in my pocket I'll be back on fleabay within minutes......
However I just cannot bring myself to sell them.
Just like I can't get rid of all of the car magazines that I have bought & kept over the years. Hundreds of the bloody things, all kept neat & tidy in date order & in separate piles so that I know exactly where a particular issue of a particular magazine will be stored.
These are of even less use than the models however I cannot let them go.
Stupid isn't it? Because I know that as soon as they are gone & I have the money in my pocket I'll be back on fleabay within minutes......
fatboy69 said:
I have got over 2000 models in my collection, all stored in the loft & the garage. They are of no use to me & I should get rid of them becausen don't have the space to display them.
However I just cannot bring myself to sell them.
Just like I can't get rid of all of the car magazines that I have bought & kept over the years. Hundreds of the bloody things, all kept neat & tidy in date order & in separate piles so that I know exactly where a particular issue of a particular magazine will be stored.
These are of even less use than the models however I cannot let them go.
Stupid isn't it? Because I know that as soon as they are gone & I have the money in my pocket I'll be back on fleabay within minutes......
Same here - need help I think However I just cannot bring myself to sell them.
Just like I can't get rid of all of the car magazines that I have bought & kept over the years. Hundreds of the bloody things, all kept neat & tidy in date order & in separate piles so that I know exactly where a particular issue of a particular magazine will be stored.
These are of even less use than the models however I cannot let them go.
Stupid isn't it? Because I know that as soon as they are gone & I have the money in my pocket I'll be back on fleabay within minutes......
Do a search on eBay to see what they're going for - and by that I mean click on 'Completed Listings' on the left so that you can see whether they sold or not, and if so how much they actually went for. (You can only do this if you're a registered eBay seller.)
I was surprised how much some of the Minichamps Michael Schumacher Collection models were fetching for example, even the 1/43 scale ones. So much so, I decided to keep mine a bit longer (probably until I retire).
ETA - the above advice about making sure you really want to sell before doing anything, makes good sense. I speak from experience!
I was surprised how much some of the Minichamps Michael Schumacher Collection models were fetching for example, even the 1/43 scale ones. So much so, I decided to keep mine a bit longer (probably until I retire).
ETA - the above advice about making sure you really want to sell before doing anything, makes good sense. I speak from experience!
Ebay will be a real pain, packing and posting everything
A table at a collectors fair may sell some of it (mainly the good stuff)
Or how about a specialist auction house like www.vectis.co.uk ? These guys can advise on value and whether best to sell individually or in selected lots.
A table at a collectors fair may sell some of it (mainly the good stuff)
Or how about a specialist auction house like www.vectis.co.uk ? These guys can advise on value and whether best to sell individually or in selected lots.
phillpot said:
Ebay will be a real pain, packing and posting everything
A table at a collectors fair may sell some of it (mainly the good stuff)
Or how about a specialist auction house like www.vectis.co.uk ? These guys can advise on value and whether best to sell individually or in selected lots.
Err..... No.A table at a collectors fair may sell some of it (mainly the good stuff)
Or how about a specialist auction house like www.vectis.co.uk ? These guys can advise on value and whether best to sell individually or in selected lots.
I contacted this mob a couple of years ago to see what my collection was valued at.
They told me that to get a valuation i would have to take all my models to them on the Isle Of Wight, leave them for a couple of weeks, wait for the valuation & then go & collect the models from them until they decided where & when to auction them.
It would then be up to me to get the models to the auction venue....
They refused to give me even a rough estimate from photo's or a comprehensive list of the models which took me hours to complete.
In my experience they were very unhelpful, rude, surly & totally dis-interested. Avoid like the plague tbh.
eBay packing may be a hassle but it's a worldwide market which a table at a local collectors fair isn't. A few years ago I sold of my 1/43 collection, all on eBay, not really a hassle as some buyers bought several items making the packaging easier.
Regarding car magazines, it's actually quite therapeutic to get rid of them. I sold about 4000 about 10 years ago, and now only keep magazines for about a month before passing them on. In the old days we had no Internet and they were a valuable source of information, but now information on nearly everything is online, a lot less hassle to type something into Google than search through several thousand magazines!!!!
Doesn't stop me from buying them in the first place though!!!!
Regarding car magazines, it's actually quite therapeutic to get rid of them. I sold about 4000 about 10 years ago, and now only keep magazines for about a month before passing them on. In the old days we had no Internet and they were a valuable source of information, but now information on nearly everything is online, a lot less hassle to type something into Google than search through several thousand magazines!!!!
Doesn't stop me from buying them in the first place though!!!!
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