Selling/passing on a collection

[troy titans douglas]

It's not something a lot of people would like to talk about but IF, and I mean IF! You had to sell a collection of cards whether it be because
1) you inherited the cards
2) you were selling on behalf of someone
3) couldn't afford to collect
Or
4) gave up on the hobby

How would you go about selling the collection if it were:
A) a master set/s
B) a team collectors complete or near complete set/s
C) a player specific set/s
D) an IP signed set/s
Or
E) bits and pieces

Would you try sell them individually or as a group or would it depend on what you are selling.

Now it's obviously not fun talking about death but how many of you have considered what happens to your cards if you die?
Does a collector inherit them, do you encourage your kids or grandkids to continue your collection, does someone knowledgeable on collectibles sell them for your loved ones or do you leave instructions and expected values in your Will?

I would suspect a lot of collections have just been binned or auctioned or left in storage containers...

What's everyones thoughts and what will you guys do?

 

[batboy]

I have a spreadsheet with every card and team set I have and it's approximate worth for my wife...
I know a lot of other collectors have the same sort of thing...

 

[troy titans douglas]

I have all my cards on a spreedsheet but I haven't done values as of yet, do you go right down to every last card or just the the inserts or what?

 

[joeyhonson]

I only started collecting in 2010 (2010 Champions was my first set). I started to collect Master sets of all the NRL releases and completed all of them. In 2013 I had to make a decision based on the amount of releases coming out at the time and the affordability of continuing my new obsession. The end decision was to focus exclusively on a Knights PC.

As a result I sold off all my existing sets and used the funds to get hold of everything I have today. I broke all the releases up into complete subsets initially (silver parallels, gems etc etc) but received little interest. It seems to me that selling off large collections in one lot is difficult unless you lower the price significantly. If you want to recoup some of the money you outlayed, then I would suggest taking the time and breaking them up a bit. One thing I noticed pretty quickly was that a lot of people wanted only certain cards for their own PC's. Moving the cards in bulk just wasn't going to happen. Eventually I broke down everything into team subsets and most of the inserts into individual lots. The cards moved on much quicker that way. The only down side to that was that I still have quite a few common and parallel team sets still sitting here.

Just like Batboy (and many others), I have a spreadsheet that contains every Knights card I have, and also indicates by colour if the card is signed, and has a comment inserted for each of the high end cards or harder to find cards to tell me what the card is, it's number/how many made etc etc. I also have a folder containing all the pics of each card (or common/parallel team set). I have added a hyperlink to each card in the spreadsheet so when you click on the name of the card a picture of that card comes up.

My eldest son is 11 and this year has really started to show an interest in card collecting and NRL in general. He gets real excited when I bring home a new box. As we all knew where the signature cards were located in the 2014 Elite boxes, I made sure he got to open some of the packs with the Sig cards in them. You should have seen his face. He can't wait to attend a few more Knights games this year too.

I honestly had never given any thought as to what I would do with my cards in the future, but based on my son's current interest it's a no brainer for me.

 

[troy titans douglas]

I only started collecting in 2010 (2010 Champions was my first set). I started to collect Master sets of all the NRL releases and completed all of them. In 2013 I had to make a decision based on the amount of releases coming out at the time and the affordability of continuing my new obsession. The end decision was to focus exclusively on a Knights PC.

As a result I sold off all my existing sets and used the funds to get hold of everything I have today. I broke all the releases up into complete subsets initially (silver parallels, gems etc etc) but received little interest. It seems to me that selling off large collections in one lot is difficult unless you lower the price significantly. If you want to recoup some of the money you outlayed, then I would suggest taking the time and breaking them up a bit. One thing I noticed pretty quickly was that a lot of people wanted only certain cards for their own PC's. Moving the cards in bulk just wasn't going to happen. Eventually I broke down everything into team subsets and most of the inserts into individual lots. The cards moved on much quicker that way. The only down side to that was that I still have quite a few common and parallel team sets still sitting here.

Just like Batboy (and many others), I have a spreadsheet that contains every Knights card I have, and also indicates by colour if the card is signed, and has a comment inserted for each of the high end cards or harder to find cards to tell me what the card is, it's number/how many made etc etc. I also have a folder containing all the pics of each card (or common/parallel team set). I have added a hyperlink to each card in the spreadsheet so when you click on the name of the card a picture of that card comes up.

My eldest son is 11 and this year has really started to show an interest in card collecting and NRL in general. He gets real excited when I bring home a new box. As we all knew where the signature cards were located in the 2014 Elite boxes, I made sure he got to open some of the packs with the Sig cards in them. You should have seen his face. He can't wait to attend a few more Knights games this year too.

I honestly had never given any thought as to what I would do with my cards in the future, but based on my son's current interest it's a no brainer for me.

Very interesting, your spreedsheet sounds a lot more impressive than mine too!!

 

[League Hub]

I have two main collections, the first and most important being a collection from everything 1995 and earlier. The second is my Warriors collection.

Both collections detailed are in the same excel spreadsheet and each team set, parallel set and base set are documented separately, with inserts listed individually. This is for insurance purposes mainly but keeps a track of what I have/don't have. All cards have been valued and to keep it consistent I run it off ASCC Magazine values. There is a separate column for $AUD values and $NZD values, the NZD values change automatically based on the AUD value & one cell in the spreadsheet which is the current exchange rate. I'm not sure many collectors realise the importance of valuing their collection and having the supporting documents & photos, as well as selecting the best insurance company for their needs. Many insurance companies (in NZ) cap collections at $2,000 unless specified separately and even then only payout on 50% of collections value. Some refuse to insure, period.

I have a separate Warriors document in word that lists every card including commons. Its a master list of all Warrior cards produced and the list is colour-coded based on if they are in my PC or not. Thirdly, I have a Warriors wantlist in word, makes it quicker to identify cards rather than scrawling through the master list. Wife has access to all excel & word documents should she need too!

Whatever I needed to sell, it would be broken down as much as possible for the same reasons pointed out by joeyhonson. This would be a dark day and I doubt would ever happen...if I gave up or couldn't afford to collect I would still keep them, just like I kept my 1990-1995 stuff from back in the day.

 

[Cobretti]

My collection collection is in a spreadsheet mainly to keep track of what I still need for the sets lol.

All singles are just in boxes without recollection of what it is lol.

When I die the cards come with me lol.

 

[thenamesgould]

Having bought a house recently and no longer having the disposable income I used to ... and with the huge amount of cards that come out these days (mainly the endless parallels), I have lost quite a bit of interest and thought about selling up for the first time. League also isn't what it used to be, the exciting expansive game it was when I was a kid. Take a risk in attack these days and you'll probably spend the rest of the year in NSW Cup.

Or maybe I'm just depressed about my Knights collection forcing me to own a Darius Boyd signature.

I don't have a spreadsheet or anything ... but if I kick the bucket then I have a family member who'd know how best to sell them and what they are worth.

 

[batboy]

Having bought a house recently and no longer having the disposable income I used to ... and with the huge amount of cards that come out these days (mainly the endless parallels), I have lost quite a bit of interest and thought about selling up for the first time. League also isn't what it used to be, the exciting expansive game it was when I was a kid. Take a risk in attack these days and you'll probably spend the rest of the year in NSW Cup.

Or maybe I'm just depressed about my Knights collection forcing me to own a Darius Boyd signature.

I don't have a spreadsheet or anything ... but if I kick the bucket then I have a family member who'd know how best to sell them and what they are worth.

Or trade them for his team cards

 

[Ben Tone]

My collection is for my boys currently aged 6 and 5.

They know what dad gets for them but are only able to see and not touch until they are older.

I have thought a few times about what would happen to the collection if something did happen to me and have tried to educate them and get them interested in collecting so i also have the ASCC price guide as a reference for them.

I have told them they can do whatever they want with them when they are older and if they need to sell the collection to have a bit of extra dollars in their pocket then that is up to them.

I have been thinking about getting out of collecting recently due to a couple of factors and maybe just selling up and putting the funds into their bank accounts.

Just can't get that last bit of addiction out of my system though at the moment.

 

[Jaede]

I have a question what do you guys do with pricing in regards to ip cards

 

[Noark-99]

I have a friend who is a cowboys collector. When I die, it is left to him. Although he doesn't know it. My family have no real interest in cards, so it's a waste to leave it to them. My friend on the other hand, is a fan, appreciates everything I have, and understands my need to collect impulsively. And really is the only person I could imagine who would appreciate it. Prefer that, than ending up with someone who has no idea.

The remainder of my collection. Will be shipped to my mate batboy. He can keep what he wants, and sell the rest for $$ for my mrs, and by then, hopefully, my kid.

My mrs knows the protocol. Quite well. Its like a fire drill in my house. She has no interest in the cards or the money she can get for them.

With some luck, we'll have a kid I can brainwash into being a cowboys supporter!

M

 

[Wizzle]

Does everyone have their cards insured? Looks like I need to catalog all my cards and their serial numbers, prob a good idea in case of theft

 

[batboy]

I have a friend who is a cowboys collector. When I die, it is left to him. Although he doesn't know it. My family have no real interest in cards, so it's a waste to leave it to them. My friend on the other hand, is a fan, appreciates everything I have, and understands my need to collect impulsively. And really is the only person I could imagine who would appreciate it. Prefer that, than ending up with someone who has no idea.

The remainder of my collection. Will be shipped to my mate batboy. He can keep what he wants, and sell the rest for $$ for my mrs, and by then, hopefully, my kid.

My mrs knows the protocol. Quite well. Its like a fire drill in my house. She has no interest in the cards or the money she can get for them.

With some luck, we'll have a kid I can brainwash into being a cowboys supporter!

M

My nephews go for the Tigers, passionately!!

My brothers (manly fans) hate me for it!!

 

[hobo]

Whilst I am the card addict my son is a Dragons supporter and has some interest in OUR collection so naturally it would pass to him when I'm gooone to do as he pleases.

I not only keep a spreadsheet with lots of useless details such as what album it's in / date purchased / condition / estimated value / recent sales I also have a comments field for info such as; rare, best to sell singularly, as a set etc etc but in my opinion the most importantly part is every card listing has a link to the picture of the card as my wife / son would have no idea what is what. Also this would enable them to list them easily on Ebay as there is already a photo and a description.

I need to get out more........

Happy Xmas
Ross

 

[Brendan_B]

My son is too young to have any interest at the moment, bought him a Power Play folder last year and a few packs and they have ended up scattered around his room, hopefully one day! My collection will go to my kids and they can do what they want with it.

I am about half way through cataloguing my cards onto a spreadsheet for insurance purposes. I actually rang my insurance company and my collection is only covered for $2000 unless cards are individually listed on the policy, I might have to upgrade!

 

[troy titans douglas]

How much does everyone consider there collection to be worth and is it insured?
I need to get new insurance too any recommendations?

 

[Brendan_B]

How much does everyone consider there collection to be worth and is it insured?
I need to get new insurance too any recommendations?

I haven't added up my collection since pre Elite 2014 and I have added quite a bit since then.

I am thinking about upgrading the 'collectables' cover on my home & contents or specifically listing some of the higher end cards individually so that if something were to happen they can be claimed from the contents value as a normal item.

 

[the game rugby league]

You may find that insurance companies request collectibles of such sort should be kept in a safe or fire proof area. Hence why the need for insurance, if they cannot be stolen or burnt.

 

[Brendan_B]

I have thought about a safe but then I think what is the point of collecting if I can't see / display my favourite high end cards