Selling collectibles

[kork13]

I know that there is a big yard-sale/ebay/craigslist/etc. crowd here on the forums, so I'm going to open this up for ideas...

My mother passed away last month, and she was an avid collector (to say the least). While going through/emptying the family's storage unit, we came across a number of collectibles that my family decided are simply best to try to sell rather than hold on to and collect dust... Until I can do something with them, they'll only sit in boxes in my garage (which I'm not a fan of... a bit OCD, so huge piles of stuff cluttering my garage bothers me).

I guess what I'm looking for is any advice on how to go about doing it... I'm not familiar with the "collector scene" (nor is anyone else in my family), so I really have no idea how to get about this.

As for what I'm talking about, here's a quick rundown of some of it... all of it is in very good (though perhaps not all pristine) condition:
- 50-100 vinyl records
- easily at least 200-300 Ty beanie babies
- 100+ Hot Wheels cars & tracks
- 200+ Baseball cards (no idea which are valuable or not)
- 100-ish Longaburger baskets
- 100-150 Lladro statuettes
This isn't everything, but a good sampling of the variety that I'm looking at here.

I know that alot of it has significant worth, but I just have no idea where to go from here. How do I go about valuing it all, let alone market them for sale? Keep in mind, I'm a single guy serving in the military, and my brothers are both in college -- none of us have the time to devote to this, so we're trying to figure out what our options are. If possible, we'd like to find a few individual collectors who would be willing to take a significant chunk of them all at once, but I understand that's often not a realistic expectation.

Sooo..... Any suggestions?

[cypher1]

I guess it depends first on your time, and to do your homework researching what these items could be worth. First start would be online, and checking out local antique/collectible stores. Otherwise if you just want to dump them, you could just throw on CL and see what you get. However,if these items are truly collectibles, and you have some hot items, then I'd still recommend Ebay, even with all the fees, etc.

[snafu]

There is quite a lot time and work involved in selling collections. There are several Lladro catalogs at the library which can likely be downloaded on e-reader or iPad which helps identify figurines by the number stamped on the bottom. You need to know which figures are 'retired' and suggested value. A quick look at one site showed figurines listed for $ 86. - $ 116. each. You'd need to polish, photo, identify na'Name,' I'd try tracking on e-bay for a bit and then try selling. There are several on-line sellers who list your item and collect a fee [20% - 25%] of sell price. Are they worthwhile? How to verify?

If you have a relative or friends who enjoys the e-bay challenge you trust, I'd have them take over the project for 20% of sales. You need a contract and straight forward paper trail. If your community has a popular weekend Flea Market, I'd try a table set-up for 6 weeks leading to Mother's Day for both figurines and Longaberger baskets. There is a lot of work with basket collections verification and tag with name & production site. Does your community have Longaberger home party seller? Perhaps she would be a re-seller for a percentage.

Can you identify an auction house that specialize in antiques, mid century, collector items? They usually have a flat charge plus percentage of sale total fee. Often the percentage is negotiable if there is a large sum involved. I suggest delivering to an auction house for their last sale before Mother's Day.

...just a thought

[~bs]

some of that stuff really isn't worth much, but worth selling as a group on ebay. Some other stuff may be worth money to collectors. You just gotta do your research. Just because something is "old" doesn't necessarily mean there's a collector's market or that it was made in limited enough quantities to drive up the price.

Also note that if you want to go "by the books", the entire net proceeds of your auctions is likely subject to capital gains taxes. You do not have the cost basis figures, so the IRS would expect you to calculate at 0 basis. But I guess it's up to you if you want to do it that way. If you're selling on ebay, as long as you stay below $20k in sales or 200 transactions, they won't issue you a 1099, in which case you had better report it.

[97guns]

in my city there are a few businesses that sell on ebay for you on a commission.

[rxtrom]

some of that stuff really isn't worth much, but worth selling as a group on ebay. Some other stuff may be worth money to collectors. You just gotta do your research. Just because something is "old" doesn't necessarily mean there's a collector's market or that it was made in limited enough quantities to drive up the price.

Also note that if you want to go "by the books", the entire net proceeds of your auctions is likely subject to capital gains taxes. You do not have the cost basis figures, so the IRS would expect you to calculate at 0 basis. But I guess it's up to you if you want to do it that way. If you're selling on ebay, as long as you stay below $20k in sales or 200 transactions, they won't issue you a 1099, in which case you had better report it.

It is actually 20k in sales AND 200 transactions. Both criteria have to be met.



Anyway OP. Are you looking at just getting rid of them without maximum profit or looking to maximize your profit through micromanaging the sale of each individual piece. There might also be a happy medium in selling the groups by category like mentioned above.

However, your basically looking at dumping them to a reseller or collector on craigslist or local paper for .20 on the $1 or selling them for market value on ebay minus appx 8% in paypal and ebay fees plus your time to post, take pics and mail the items - not to mention the cost of proper packaging etc..

Is this you and your siblings inheritance? That might dictate how you go about this..

[moneybags]

Also note that if you want to go "by the books", the entire net proceeds of your auctions is likely subject to capital gains taxes. You do not have the cost basis figures, so the IRS would expect you to calculate at 0 basis. But I guess it's up to you if you want to do it that way.

The cost basis of inherited property is the value of the item on the day you inherit it. I would use the sales price as a cost basis in this case and have no reportable gain. It is similar to inheriting a house and selling it. If you sold within a short time frame (in most cases), you would not have a gain.

[mavycharm]

Close Friends

I suggest you first visit an antique collector that buys collectible items. Ask for possible prices or costs of each items.
It's best to sell them to your closest friends or relatives who are fond of collectibles as well so that you'll be rest assured that your mom's treasure are still taken care and are of trusted hands, your mom would sure be happy of that. Those are her valuables, one thing you should consider.

[scfr]

I'm sorry to hear about your mother.

Would your brothers have time to do eBay selling over their summer break? Perhaps they could get a percentage of the net sales amounts as their "pay" with the balance split between all survivors (whatever is stipulated in her Will). Depending on condition, some of the items may be pretty valuable. I know that Longaberger baskets can fetch a pretty penny.

If they are willing to take on the job, they'll want to send some time researching each item (checking completed auctions, for example). Stress the importance of careful packaging and record keeping. Perhaps they could set up brand new eBay & Paypal accounts just for your mom's things so that the "paper trail" is clear.

[~bs]

The cost basis of inherited property is the value of the item on the day you inherit it. I would use the sales price as a cost basis in this case and have no reportable gain. It is similar to inheriting a house and selling it. If you sold within a short time frame (in most cases), you would not have a gain.

Since it appears in this case that the person just died, there probably would be grounds for arguing that basis = sales price.

But normally, the difference between RE and this is that you have the original cost basis information, an appraisal is more likely to be done on real estate upon death, and there's special rules for stepping up basis on real estate.

If they had the collectibles appraised upon death, there would be justification for using a cost basis, similar if the collectible had an easily determinable fair market value such as gold coins, it would be easy to use spot pricing as the basis. Say if the person died a few years back, and you're trying to claim basis = sales price, there's no way that would stand up to an IRS audit without an appraisal.

Probably all a moot point, as I doubt the poster is going to list it all on his tax return anyways.

[BuckyBadger]

The statues are probably worth trying to sell separately, and I don't know anything about the baskets, but the rest of that is virtually worthless -- or at least would be after the effort it would take to sort through it.

Could you have a $30 baseball card in there? Maybe. But it's a small market and it wouldn't be worth your time. Could you have some $100,000 Babe Ruth rookie card? Doubtful, unless the previous owner of the collection was both smart enough to save it but dumb enough to not tell anyone that there was a $100,000 card in there.

I'd sell everything else as big lots for some other crazy person to buy and think they're gonna strike it rich.

I'd probably list the Lladro, though. It's not my cup of tea, but there are some serious collectors of the stuff.

[elfen lied]

The given information in your post is really very good. Good information and very good job done by you guys.

[Rainbow Traveller]

Internet old selling site can help you for selling your Collectible you describe your collectible tools and how long did you use it and its image and your phone number is past that site.that is more reliable source.