How to avoid being someone else's "nice find"?

[mrmopar]

It is a real issue for anyone who cares about what might become of the things they have accumulated and thoroughly enjoyed (or loved) and although the odds are in the favor of living a decent amount of time, you just never know. Over the years I have seen a few members of boards like this die much younger than you'd expect. Sometimes it is a disease or sickness, but sometimes it is just a major stroke of bad luck. I saw recently that one of those killed in the Aurora, IL shooting several weeks back was an active hobbyist and frequented at least one board like this, maybe more. He was in his early 30s if I recall correctly. You just never know and unless you are extremely organized or have others who share the same concern and are willing to help, many of us will probably not be ready to direct someone properly when that time comes.

[Volod]

Originally Posted by mrmopar

It is a real issue for anyone who cares about what might become of the things they have accumulated and thoroughly enjoyed (or loved) and although the odds are in the favor of living a decent amount of time, you just never know. Over the years I have seen a few members of boards like this die much younger than you'd expect. Sometimes it is a disease or sickness, but sometimes it is just a major stroke of bad luck. I saw recently that one of those killed in the Aurora, IL shooting several weeks back was an active hobbyist and frequented at least one board like this, maybe more. He was in his early 30s if I recall correctly. You just never know and unless you are extremely organized or have others who share the same concern and are willing to help, many of us will probably not be ready to direct someone properly when that time comes.

Reminded me of something that made an impression many years ago. In the 70's, I managed a retail electronics store that catered to hobbyists of many different stripes. One of my best customers was a guy in his late forties who was an avid model train enthusiast. As a fairly flush individual, he had probably tens of thousands invested in his hobby, and he was in the store placing an order for several hundred bucks worth of new supplies one day and spoke expansively of working with his young son on the new stuff. After his order arrived and had sat in will-call for a couple of weeks, I called his home and was told that he had died suddenly the week before. Massive coronary obstruction. It's hard to get that kind of thing out of your head when you're inclined to believe in your own immortality.

[50sBaseball]

First, a response to Tim's response to my hypothetical question as to whether or not it makes sense to buy a card for $100 now knowing it may only sell for $30-40 in the future. Maybe I should have said in the "probable near" future, not suggesting that I intend to pass on soon, but meaning that I am close to selling most of my collection. Knowing that, I do not think I would get much enjoyment with a card over the short term.
Second, the initial purpose of this thread was to brainstorm how we are thinking about divesting our collections ourselves or what steps we are taking to assist our families. Personally, I plan to start selling off my collection soon, and hopefully it will help to pay for one year of a granddaughter's college education. I will sell the most valuable first, and I will eventually keep maybe 50-100 cards to pass on to our sons, not necessarily based only on value, but based on memories. I also plan to scan and print out as many cards as possible so that one day I can enjoy looking at binders of paper copies of my cards and not worry about their value. I also agree with the comment about sorting out one's collection and getting rid of less valuable (or worthless) cards. All will help the family in the long run.
Good thread.

[Exhibitman]

The best way to avoid having your collection be a 'find' is to have friends in the hobby who are able and willing to help your family dispose of the collection. It may be as little as steering them to the right AH.

Also have to tout the benefits of TPG on the 'best' cards: it packages the information right with the card. No one is going to mistake a PSA 4 T206 Cobb for something else if it is in a PSA holder.

The best 'finds' are the products of ignorance on the part of the seller and on the part of the auctioneer. I love some AHs because I know they do not take the time to properly lot or index non-mainstream consignments. I've made really good money on that ignorance over the years. The only way to avoid that is to sell while you are alive. Otherwise, stuff will inevitably fall through the cracks. As I tell my wife, if I drop dead you will get a seven-figure life insurance payout, so don't worry about my crappy little card collection.

[Promethius88]

Originally Posted by 50sBaseball

First, a response to Tim's response to my hypothetical question as to whether or not it makes sense to buy a card for $100 now knowing it may only sell for $30-40 in the future. Maybe I should have said in the "probable near" future, not suggesting that I intend to pass on soon, but meaning that I am close to selling most of my collection. Knowing that, I do not think I would get much enjoyment with a card over the short term.
Second, the initial purpose of this thread was to brainstorm how we are thinking about divesting our collections ourselves or what steps we are taking to assist our families. Personally, I plan to start selling off my collection soon, and hopefully it will help to pay for one year of a granddaughter's college education. I will sell the most valuable first, and I will eventually keep maybe 50-100 cards to pass on to our sons, not necessarily based only on value, but based on memories. I also plan to scan and print out as many cards as possible so that one day I can enjoy looking at binders of paper copies of my cards and not worry about their value. I also agree with the comment about sorting out one's collection and getting rid of less valuable (or worthless) cards. All will help the family in the long run.
Good thread.

Love the idea about scanning the cards that you have/had so you can at least enjoy what you have now. I didn't realize that you were at the point of selling your cards now. It's a tough call but a good decision. When my father passed a year and a half ago, we had to go thru all of the stuff left from his shop that he closed a few years ago that he wouldn't part with. It was basically a lot of stuff that was valuable in bulk but would take forever to sell individually. I wish he would have gotten rid of it before but he didn't need the money and my mom doesn't now so it's not a huge deal.