Just had a major offer on my prized LSU item, torn!!!!

[theantiquetiger]

A year ago or so, I bought a huge panoramic photograph of the first game in LSU Tiger Stadium. I paid just over $2000 for it after framing and acid treatment. I ended up tracking down the grandson of the photographer and he gave me rights to reproduce it. I lined up a local fine art shop to do the leg work of scanning it and reproducing it (no cost to me). I also lined a man that holds a license to produce and sell Officially Licenced LSU Products (no cost to me). We went into business together and I just sit back and collect royality checks. We started selling them earlier this year and I have basically made my $2000+ back from the few sales we had. We did not advertise, only word of mouth, display inside a few frame shops, and a website I built (that no one visits).

A friend of mine made me an offer of $10,000 for the image and the rights to it. There is potential of making $500,000 just on my part if they all sale (may take 20 years).

I got out of the LSU collecting last year and went back to my roots of picking and flipping (my true love).

This is a hard decision because it IS about the Holiest Grail of the LSU collectors. I don't need the money but I don't collect LSU anymore, so it just sits in the corner of my closet.

[Mikey]

Are you giving the grandson a piece of the action ?

[theantiquetiger]

Are you giving the grandson a piece of the action ?

I actually offered but he turned it down. I don't think the family holds a copyright on the image. He told me I found the image, it is mine, he didn't know the image exsisted. I still got written permission just in case. He is not ignorant of the business. He runs the camera/photograph shop his grandfather started 65 years ago. When I say grandson, he is in his 60's or 70's, not some dumb kid.

[Mikey]

Oh ok, very cool then ... it's a no guilt

If I didn't need the money I would hang on to it... and sell the copies slowly .... consider it a hobby that keeps giving

edited to add, it';s also something nice to hand down to the kids (almost like stocks)

[theantiquetiger]

What I am thinking of doing is selling but retaining some percentage of the image (maybe 5%). There are three fairly wealthy guys buying it from me and they have the money to advertise it, etc (I could, just don't feel like messing with it).

[toys2cool]

Just keep it dude...Keep making money on it

[Duncan]

For the amounts you're discussing, it might be worth sitting down with an accountant or a planner. If $500K in 20 years is close to accurate, then it should be worth a lot more than $10K now. I'd be thinking more in the $100K range. Maybe counter with $25K and retain 25%, or something like that. But, yeah - that's enough to be worth some professional help.

[theantiquetiger]

For the amounts you're discussing, it might be worth sitting down with an accountant or a planner. If $500K in 20 years is close to accurate, then it should be worth a lot more than $10K now. I'd be thinking more in the $100K range. Maybe counter with $25K and retain 25%, or something like that. But, yeah - that's enough to be worth some professional help.

The $500,00 is not a guarantee, just the max I could make.

I countered with the 5%, he is thinking about it.

[fallensaviour]

For the amounts you're discussing, it might be worth sitting down with an accountant or a planner. If $500K in 20 years is close to accurate, then it should be worth a lot more than $10K now. I'd be thinking more in the $100K range. Maybe counter with $25K and retain 25%, or something like that. But, yeah - that's enough to be worth some professional help.

This sounds pretty good to me.

[boss]

Keep the rights to it. Let him sell it for you. He can keep 50%.

[theantiquetiger]

Keep the rights to it. Let him sell it for you. He can keep 50%.

Its alot deeper than that. LSU takes a cut, the guy with the license takes a cut, etc. It would easily take $25,000+ to properly advertise this piece to make the sales going in the right direction. If these guys wanted to get their own LSU license, it would take over $5000 just to do that (plus LSU's cut of each sale). I am not a businessman and don't have the means or what to get this deep into it.

[Hector]

................

[boss]

If there's $500,000 there, that's still a money maker for him. If not, you should sell now at $10K

Its alot deeper than that. LSU takes a cut, the guy with the license takes a cut, etc. It would easily take $25,000+ to properly advertise this piece to make the sales going in the right direction. If these guys wanted to get their own LSU license, it would take over $5000 just to do that (plus LSU's cut of each sale). I am not a businessman and don't have the means or what to get this deep into it.