Do You Ever Think About... (GASP!) Selling Your Collection?

[Marvelmania]

Bill, you know I did although it was for a very different reason. I have started to buy a few pieces but only those I held dear. I don't have the "Collect em all" mentality anymore.
Having said that my sister was also a collector of certain things. She passed away 4 years ago due to cervical cancer and I saw first hand her daughter struggling with having to deal with her collection.

[Hedji]

Oh, all the time.

Sometimes I'm disgusted that I live a life that so revolves around possessions. My desire to be nostalgic could be twisted as a refusal to let go of the past, or let go of "stuff". I often wonder if a happier me would be achieved through minimalism, or a focus on there here and now, not the next acquisition.

I'm not a Buddhist, but sometimes the tenants of that practice are appealing to me... let go of desires, embrace minimalism, get rid of what you don't need, etc. Sounds a lot like the Jedi, doesn't it? (Of course we all know how flawed they were!). Still, I can visualize peaceful happiness with less stuff in my life.

My collection is always in flux. I'm frequently selling, but that is to get more money for more buying... and so it continues.

One thing's for sure, you can't take it with you. When I do retire, I will purge all but the very few meaningful pieces.

[Wee67]

Bill, you know I did although it was for a very different reason. I have started to buy a few pieces but only those I held dear. I don't have the "Collect em all" mentality anymore.
Having said that my sister was also a collector of certain things. She passed away 4 years ago due to cervical cancer and I saw first hand her daughter struggling with having to deal with her collection.

Yes, your reason was a difficult situation and way more important than any collection.

[YoungOnce]

Oh, all the time.

Sometimes I'm disgusted that I live a life that so revolves around possessions. My desire to be nostalgic could be twisted as a refusal to let go of the past, or let go of "stuff". I often wonder if a happier me would be achieved through minimalism, or a focus on there here and now, not the next acquisition.

I'm not a Buddhist, but sometimes the tenants of that practice are appealing to me... let go of desires, embrace minimalism, get rid of what you don't need, etc. Sounds a lot like the Jedi, doesn't it? (Of course we all know how flawed they were!). Still, I can visualize peaceful happiness with less stuff in my life.

My collection is always in flux. I'm frequently selling, but that is to get more money for more buying... and so it continues.

One thing's for sure, you can't take it with you. When I do retire, I will purge all but the very few meaningful pieces.

This is where I feel like I’m headed too. The older I get, the less clutter I want around. I recently read that book “The life-changing magic of tidying up” by Marie Kondo (I think she has a Netflix show on right now). It got me to thinking of a simpler life. It’s not just getting rid of possessions... it’s getting rid of the clutter in your head too... the dependence on news and social media and outside noise in general.

But dang, I think a Mego Spider-Man on a shelf would still bring me joy if everything else was gone.

[monitor_ep]

Funny things is I just started going through my stuff and loading it up on ebay as I go through it. Some of the stuff I picked up as for my nephew while it was on sale but he has out grown them or not into that stuff. Then there are some items that I have decided to just sell off due to the fact that I should be able to get my money back and it is incomplete sets.

My nephew toys are being narrowed down to Octonauts, Cars/Monster Trucks, and Dinosaurs. My collection if Mego/ReMego DC TV figures, and Aquaman.

[Blue Meanie]

All the time. Especially in the last year or so. Also...I just don't have the proper set up and space to display it all. I think if I do start purging it will start with Trek. Love the show...but do I really NEED the figures??!!?? The hardest will be when I get to the Super Hero figures. One other thing...there are so many great customizers that if I want a particular character that Mego never did..then I will go to them or try to make my own. That has a impact on whether or not I really purge everything as far as Mego is concerned.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I have thought about it in recent years. My wife and I wanted to move and get a bigger house, but nothing ever panned out. Now that our son is a junior in high school, it seems silly to upsize when he will probably be out of the house in a few years. So we're left with a house that's not quite big enough for all four of us and our massive collections. The dedicated room we have for our collections is in a constant state of disarray, despite my efforts otherwise. So yeah, I've thought about it, but I honestly don't have the time and energy to put into trying to sell it...so it remains.

Chris

[MRP]

I am only a few years in to collecting toys, so I don't have a lot, but I have been collecting comics for a lifetime and I have purged huge chunks of my collection over the years. About 20 years ago I started selling off all my Silver Age Marvel stuff over a period of 2-3 years via selling on ebay and used the money to pay for my move from New England to Ohio and our wedding the same year (2003). Last year I sold off about 2/3 of the comics I had accrued over the ensuing years, including the near complete X-Men run my wife had put together before we were married but hadn't done anything with in 15 years. AT that time I also sold off about 2/3 of the vintage rpg materials I had as well, keeping only select pieces or games we might actually play. I went form having multiple book cases of gaming materials to a single spinner rack displaying the books we use or I wanted to keep next to my desk. I've also reached the point with toys where I have just about as much as I can display, so anything new displayed means taking something else down, so I will have to start thinking hard about what new stuff I get and about getting rid of some stuff to make room. The next step is to sort through and purge a large chunk of the thousands of metal miniatures my wife and I have accrued for D&D and other games. Most are still unpainted and we have mostly switched over to pre-painted plastic to use when we game. It was always "we'll get around to painting these some day" but it's becoming apparent that that someday isn't coming as neither of us has painted a miniature in five years, so it's time to get rid of some of them. We are also purging the reference library we had put together when we were younger and I was still working in the academic field. I sold off a few hundred books on history and art last year that I hadn't cracked open to reference in ten years, and could much more easily use an internet search to find if I needed to these days. I have several more boxes of stuff we pulled off the shelves last year to sell off as well, and that will likely happen when winter is over.

With all of it, it comes down to answering a couple basic questions-Do I need it? Do I or will I use it (including displaying it for enjoyment purposes)? Do I still want it for some reason? If the answer to all three is no, then it's likely going to be something I will purge at this point.

-M

[bmattioli]

No way selling.. I've been collecting something since I was probably 8 years old.. Started with comics and cards and have had my stuff through my military days and beyond so many moves I lost count.. I also plan on getting a bigger house someday once I outgrow this one as you only live once right?? Ain't selling only buying because it makes me happy..

[jimbutsu]

I've thought a lot about selling the stuff that I'm not really into to free up space and allow me to focus on the stuff I really want to collect. The hard part is that I can't bring myself to just bin stuff, because I know it has value, but it's such a pain to sell off that it just sits around taking up space I'd really like to have back.

I actually found that once I got more successful career-wise and *could* go after more stuff, I became less interested in getting/accumulating stuff for my collections. I think it's because being able to just get stuff didn't bring any satisfaction because I never pursued/pined for it anymore.

[mikeMc6]

Bill, you know I did although it was for a very different reason. I have started to buy a few pieces but only those I held dear. I don't have the "Collect em all" mentality anymore.
Having said that my sister was also a collector of certain things. She passed away 4 years ago due to cervical cancer and I saw first hand her daughter struggling with having to deal with her collection.

I remember your sale, and your unfortunate circumstances, and the one piece I bought from you I still think as yours on loan...I hope things have improved for you!

[mikeMc6]

Over the years I have whittled down my toy collecting to just WGSH...all other megos and toy lines I have sold off. After each new SW movie I would unload more Kenner toys till I now have none ha!
I am glad WGSH was such a short line. Keeps my collecting impulse manageable.

[Marvelmania]

I remember your sale, and your unfortunate circumstances, and the one piece I bought from you I still think as yours on loan...I hope things have improved for you!

Thanks Mike. Thankfully my nephew grew into a great healthy young man and just got married this past December. His circumstances were rare and he went through a lot of medical procedures but it looks to be all past him. I don't regret selling my collection but honestly I do miss it a lot. I'd recommend to anyone only sell your collection either if there's no other recourse or if collecting is no longer fun. Before selling a person should take a few months to really make sure it's what you want to do because most likely you'll never be able to collect everything you once had.

[Duncan]

I'm thinking about it. When my youngest goes off to college, I figure the wife and I will have a lot more free time and will start selling. Some stuff I'll keep to leave to the kids, but some of it they obviously won't want. Plus, if I sell it I'll know where to get fair value minus fees...so 80-85% give or take. If the kids have to sell it, they might get half if they're lucky.

[Mr.Marion]

Thanks Mike. Thankfully my nephew grew into a great healthy young man and just got married this past December. His circumstances were rare and he went through a lot of medical procedures but it looks to be all past him. I don't regret selling my collection but honestly I do miss it a lot. I'd recommend to anyone only sell your collection either if there's no other recourse or if collecting is no longer fun. Before selling a person should take a few months to really make sure it's what you want to do because most likely you'll never be able to collect everything you once had.

That's a selfless act you did for your nephew.
I would also add take pictures of collection. Those are memories.
My grandpa has dementia and couldn't tell you what day it is but show him a pic of his old train setup and hand him a corgi/redline HW from the 60/70's and he lights up.