No. 095 May, 2009
WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH ALL THIS STUFF ???
By Harold Ratzburg
Once upon a time, I had a very good friend, whom for the purpose of this article, I will call Eddie. Eddie was a collector's collector, by which I mean that Eddie collected many things. Arrowheads, fossils, stamps, optics, paper stuff, books and magazines, but what Eddie really specialized in was Military stuff. He got very deeply involved in the Civil War, visiting battlefields and re enacting the life of the old solider's, and of course assembling Civil War memorabilia like cannon balls, weapons, uniforms, leather equipment, buttons, photos, clay pipes, and anything else that was connected to the period.
When the Civil War collectibles became harder and harder to find, Eddie turned his interest to WW II and began assembling an extensive collection of weapons, uniforms, insignia, field equipment and so on. His WW II interest covered two specialties, German stuff and American GI equipment.
When Eddie bought his collectibles, price was no object, so long as it was authentic for the period. As examples, he purchased a number of Civil War daguerreotype photos in the fancy frames for prices ranging up to $300 to $400 each. His weapons were in first class, fine, original condition and you know that they do not come cheap.
The German things were also first class, many of them being from the elite units of the German military, especially the "SS". He had about 27 helmets of various countries and overseas caps, and cloth caps etc etc etc. Ammo boxes, ammunition, replica weapons, real military weapons and all kinds of uniforms and webbing equipment. Eddie held back on nothing!!!!!
Eddie also did not believe in selling or trading anything. Once he had it, it stayed, no matter what. The accumulation just kept getting bigger and bigger.
Then came the family's calamity, Eddie passed away. This brings us to the title of this story, when Eddies widow thinks "What am I going to do with all this stuff !!!???". She knows that it is valuable, but how can she handle it all what with her husband's passing and her life and family in a turmoil.
Years before his passing, Eddie had helped another friends widow go through the same turmoil of disposing of a collection. The widow had asked old "friends?" of her husband to come over and buy some things from his collection. During one transaction, a "friend" just happened to put a $10,000.00 sword in with a pile of other not so valuable stuff that he was buying, hoping that the widow would not notice, and he took it away. I understand that the case wound up in the courts, because the widow was not that ignorant about her husbands collection, but what a thing for her to go through at a time like that?.
Based on that experience, Eddie told his wife sometime before he died, that she should not let anyone into the basement to help her except several trusted friends that he specifically named. It turned out well for Eddie's widow because Eddie's friends did come through, and helped his widow pack up and send lots of the stuff to an auction house that handled the actual sale of Eddie's collections, and sent her the proceeds of the sales, minus the house's commission, of course. Eddie's wife showed her appreciation to Eddie's friends that helped her by more than generous gifts from the collection. The values that she received from the auction house were considerable, so that she was able to get over some of the financial turmoil that occurred after Eddie's death.
This brings us to the point of this article, what can you do now with all that stuff that you have accumulated? Do you leave it to your widow to take of, or what are your options? Let me list a few of them for your consideration.
Leave it to your family
This, I believe, is the ultimate, best solution, IF, there is someone in the family who gives a damn about your collection or collectible. If you are a vet and got your collectable the hard way, in the front lines for example, the family and the family history is the way to go. But make sure that the family is really interested in your collection. I have heard several stories about family members being overwhelmed by the task of cleaning out a deceased parent's home, simply calling for a dumpster and loading everything in it, including valuable collectibles, and off to the dump it all goes.
Send it to an Auction House
In Eddie's case, the collectibles were sent to "Manion's International Auction House" in Kansas City, KS. It is relatively simple to do in that you can pack a box with the stuff and simply enclose a "consignment sheet" which lists the items in very general terms and your reserve price which is the minimum price at which you feel you want to sell.. Manion's crew of experts then evaluates the items as to originality, condition, and exactly what the item is, from which country, military unit, etc, because us collectors out in our world cannot possibly know everything about our passions, even though we try. They then take great photos and put all the information on an international auction web site that goes all over the world. You just have to sit back and wait while other collectors look and bid. If the first round of bidding does not get to your reserve, Manion's will lower the starting reserve price and put it out for bids again, until the items sell. If at the end they cannot sell it for you, they will send it back to you. Manion's is of course, NOT a charity, so they will take of a cut of 20% of your selling price for their efforts and knowledge. Manion's tries to operate on a schedule of pay out on your items 120 days after the auction close. This is not always assured however, so that the payout time frequently takes longer and you kinda have to fight with them a little bit to keep the cash flow coming. Eddie's widow had that experience.
Sell it at Militaria shows
This works well if you are selling it yourself. If you leave it to your widow or family member to do, it is a rough deal. You know what things are worth, but your wife or family member probably knows very little about it. Selling at shows is a real experience if you have not done it before. It is pretty much like a garage sale except that you run into other collectors who come in all varieties of personalities and knowledge about your collectibles. The worst is the guy who feels he is THE expert and proceeds to let you know how smart he is. It is all just part of dealing with the public and you have to take it in stride. The real down side is that traveling to shows takes a lot of time and effort and it may take years to sell your stuff unless you cut the price so much that other collectors just line up to get at it.
Sell through a Local Auction House
If you or your heirs just want to get the stuff out of the way and collect cash in a hurry, this is the best way to go. I believe that most areas have an auction house that will work with you. There, it is a matter of hauling the stuff to the auction house, and they will handle the details and give you a check, minus their commission, when the auction is over. It is risky financially because there are so many things that are beyond any ones control. For instance, if the scheduled date for the auction happens when a blizzard hits the area, the collector or two that do manage to get to the scene of the action get some heckofa deals because there is no bidding competition, but your cut can be reduced considerably.
Sell to Collector Friends
See Eddie's story above about potential problems.
Sell it on eBay
This is a great way to go. Your collectibles are shown on the electronic auction all over the world and sellers can get some awesome prices for their goodies. If you do it, you know the value of your stuff and can set the appropriate limits. If your heirs do it, the auction itself will find the selling price. However, (and it seems there is always a however,) there is a downside. Most important is that you best have some computer knowledge and talent. Old Geezers like me tend to be mostly computer illiterate and not handy at all with typing skills so putting an item on eBay, even with their so called simplified forms, takes lots of time and if you are looking at a large collection, it will be downright discouraging. Just learning which button to click can sometimes take hours of trial and error.
And then, after you have sold your first front jeep fender to a bidder in Istanbul, you are then faced with the problem of boxing and shipping it with the appropriate custom forms. That little problem might make you wonder if you did the right thing!!! But give it a try.
I have sold over 500 items on eBay over a period of years and I enjoy it. I am retired, and it is a hobby, but I would hate to be doing it with any kind of a time requirement or other obligation. Each item you sell takes time---lots of time---considering photographing it, writing the description and ad, waiting for the auction to end, invoicing, keeping info on payment etc, then packing, taking to the post office and making out the correct shipping forms, eBay feedback, etc. But it can be very profitable also.
So Readers, there you have it. Some things to think about as you go merrily down the collecting trail. Just think about them before you go permanently ridding off into the sunset and leave you family with all your stuff to dispose of---or not.
When I finished this article, I felt that I should run it by Eddie's widow before it was published. She felt that the article was fine as it was, but she asked me to add the following at the end, and I quote--- "I truly hope that ALL collectors stop and take an inventory of what they have and where their loved ones can search for values. It's sad when someone you love passes on and it's tragic when that someone is cheated by others."
copyright 2009 by Harold Ratzburg