Advice needed on a Collection purchase...

[BronzeBruce13]

She has for 4 years... she's ready to move on. I'm sure she'll keep a few though. He also had a huge Record Album collection and 600 CD's, etc. Oh.. and a whole mess of toys in the boxes. She mentioned superheroes... I assume MEGO?

[THE_BEYONDER]

Do these "collector dies in accident" scenarios hit a bit close to home for anyone else?

 

Not sure what you're implying....

[joe_collector]

That, there but for the grace of God.....

[ninanina]

Do these "collector dies in accident" scenarios hit a bit close to home for anyone else?

 

I along with 3 dealers cleaned out a nice old lady's son's collection about 4 years ago, although he had passed away from cancer at the age of (I think) 53 or so?

[PovertyRow]

Sure, but I was speaking in terms of the dead son, and what he would like to see the books bring. I'm certain he'd rather see a big check and big smile on his mother's face, than his comics fly into a stranger's collection.

 

The son is dead. The mother is alive. The mother said she "wanted hers son's books to go into other's collections so they can be enjoyed and not sit in storage forever doing no good."

 

JC you claim to be The Great Consicence but you just refect your own ideas and ignore the facts as an excuse to pound your chest in gorilla-like poses.

 

You were not speaking in terms of the dead son. You were speaking in terms of whatever makes you look sainted.

 

Next post to BB after next

[PovertyRow]

That, there but for the grace of God.....

 

I have actually made provisions for my comic book and movie poster collections. JC - have you made provisions as well? Sounds like you haven't or the "go I" ref would probably not be made.

 

[PovertyRow]

Hey BB - if I missed it I apologize...what is your intent with this collection? Will it be totally sold off if you do get it or will you retain some for your collection and some to sell?

[BronzeBruce13]

Hey BB - if I missed it I apologize...what is your intent with this collection? Will it be totally sold off if you do get it or will you retain some for your collection and some to sell?

 

 

The last 1/3'd of this thread went over my head?

 

If/when I buy the collection, I would certainly keep many of the books (Adams GL's if they are there for starters) and would sell some as well to friends and customers who have DC books on their want lists. Its possible that I could keep everything too... or work/share with dealer(s) I work with if it becomes a very large purchase...who knows. Its way too early to say having not seen them and only having had a preliminary conversation with the lady.

 

I was basically just looking for info on fair percentages dealers pay for collections of this size and potential value. I was also curious if people approached buying differently depending on the circumstances... or the same across the board. I could have just emailed Bob, Steve, Dan and 'House but thought I might save some time this way and thought the discussion may be interesting, especially if others have encountered similar situations.

 

Hopefully this thread can remain positive/informative.

[FlyingDonut]

For the 2nd time since I've been buying collections... I got a call today from a Mom whose son died and now wants to sell his collection. This is a REAL bummer to hear and breaks my heart, and as a parent it really makes me appreciate that my kids are safe and healthy.

 

Its also a bit creepy too... looking through some dead person's books with a sorrowful Mom nearby. The first time (last year or so) it was 2 boxes of modern [!@#%^&^] that the Mom insisted on giving to me after I informed her there was nothing of real value. I told her her son was obviously the best kind of collector.. a true fan and that he had good taste.. and that got a smile and a story or 2. The kid (early 20's.. didn't ask how he died) read the books multiple times, used tape to hold them together, etc. (and no Vince... I did give her $50 gift certificate to a restaurant she likes since she would not accept any cash).

 

This time though, its a substantial 15-20 long box collection of DC's ONLY going back to the late 60's too... bagged and boarded. The guy was in his 30's and killed in an unfortunate accident years ago. I'm not sure how to approach this purchase since almost all of the collections I've bought were late 70's to modern stuff without major keys and the owners just wanted them out of the house... .10-25¢ a book stuff.

 

I'd appreciate feedback from 'House, Donut, Bob and others accustomed to these type purchases and what's a FAIR percentage range to pay. In many cases I indeed would want to drive for the best price I could... but not in a case like this.

 

Any thoughts appreciated. I'm off to work and will respond much later.

 

At the risk of having the Morality Police jump all over me, take a step back. If this was a collection that somebody was trying to sell to raise cash, and there was no backstory, what would the offer be? 15% of Overstreet? If that? A complete 20 box (say 5000 books) of DCs only from the late 60s on has a significant "oh boy, I've got to bulk stuff out now" feel to it. I'd love to hear what 'house would offer for this, but I can't imagine paying more than about 40 cents a book.

 

How do I know?

 

I'm selling a collection for a guy who has the same kind of collection. 40 boxes of DCs. The 4 boxes of good stuff are gone. Now we've got the rest of it to move.

 

I realize that there is a significant backstory here, and you want to be fair, but remember that Overstreet is way high on these books. There's a lot of dreck in there.

 

Feel free to PM me if you'd like, as the Morality Police are going to have a field day with this. Reality sometimes bites.

[joe_collector]

You were not speaking in terms of the dead son. You were speaking in terms of whatever makes you look sainted.

 

Blow me, and stop telling me WHAT I INTENDED TO SAY.

 

I wrote it, and your ego must be monstrous to continue your insane vendetta against me, and state that you somehow know more about my comments that I do. If you want to be fair, take your troll face back to the original comment and you'll see it concerned the COLLECTOR and not the mother.

 

I identified with the son, and any logical person (who didn't despise their parents) would want their relatives to get $$$, rather than the bizarro notion that the collector would want them to find their way into another collection.

 

Now, let's get this out in the open. Do your "arrangements" outline how you'll give your comics "a good home" to a fellow collector, or might you want to provide some cash to family and friends?

[joe_collector]

Here's the original comment I replied to:

 

"I believe that the collector would have wanted to make sure that their books didn't just rot away in a trash dump somewhere. You can't ask the deceased, you can only ask yourself as a collector... Wouldn't you want to make sure your books ended up somewhere that people could enjoy and cherish them?"

 

Now POV, I assume your eyesight hasn't totally gone, and that you can make out the comments.

[PovertyRow]

Here's the original comment I replied to:

 

"I believe that the collector would have wanted to make sure that their books didn't just rot away in a trash dump somewhere. You can't ask the deceased, you can only ask yourself as a collector... Wouldn't you want to make sure your books ended up somewhere that people could enjoy and cherish them?"

 

Now POV, I assume your eyesight hasn't totally gone, and that you can make out the comments.

 

Yes - but saw no amendment of same when mother's thoughts were expressed.

[joe_collector]

Yes - but saw no amendment of same when mother's thoughts were expressed.

 

Who cares, as I'm still talking about the same thing - my identification with the son's logical wishes. Someone mentions the mother and that changes it?

[PovertyRow]

Do your "arrangements" outline how you'll give your comics "a good home" to a fellow collector, or might you want to provide some cash to family and friends?

 

Yes, they do. They name individuals that have first call at a certain percentage of whatever I have entered in my latest spreadsheets. After that, I have named certain dealers I know well and consider friends. I have specified certain percentages to expect from the spreadsheet. It is easy to do when you just have a few fields to fill in.

 

I have little interest in providing cash to family and friends on my comics and posters. They don't have any interest whatsoever in my endeavors (which is just fine - I do not expect them to.) If they can make some money from my collection after proper offerings to collector firnds I have known for many years - fine by me but certainly not a prioroty for me. My insurance policies will suffice for that.

[PovertyRow]

Yes - but saw no amendment of same when mother's thoughts were expressed.

 

Who cares, as I'm still talking about the same thing - my identification with the son's logical wishes. Someone mentions the mother and that changes it?

 

Yeah - it brings it into reality instead of your ideas.

 

But I realize that BB has intended this as an informative thread and is genuinely seeking opinions on how to best approach this and I apologiuze to BB for this line of intrusion. BB

[joe_collector]

Yes, they do. They name individuals that have first call at a certain percentage of whatever I have entered in my latest spreadsheets.

 

Wow, you're a nice guy to just give away for FREE, sets of comics, just to make sure your comics get a good home and don't get tossed into the dumpster.

 

Do these lucky people know of their potential freebee windfall?

[PovertyRow]

In deference to BB's position, have made a post in General about future plans for comic book collection.

[ninanina]

Donut, maybe if he's already got buyers lined up he can offer a bit more.

 

As far as the collection you have, @ the prices your suggesting, I might be interested in some of the 70's DC's. My collection is Marvel heavy and I wouldn't mind scoring a large run of DC's to help you get rid of some of that "bulk". If you think we can deal, please send me a PM of whatcha' got.

[awe4one]

She has for 4 years... she's ready to move on. I'm sure she'll keep a few though. He also had a huge Record Album collection and 600 CD's, etc. Oh.. and a whole mess of toys in the boxes. She mentioned superheroes... I assume MEGO?

 

If that's the case, I bet she has an idea that some of comics could be valuable. Doesn't sound like you're dealing with a totally uninformed lady....

 

Which is a good thing I suppose.....

 

Jim

[comicwiz]

For the 2nd time since I've been buying collections... I got a call today from a Mom whose son died and now wants to sell his collection. This is a REAL bummer to hear and breaks my heart, and as a parent it really makes me appreciate that my kids are safe and healthy.

 

This is tough Bruce. I don't think there is any kind of cookie-cutter approach to purchasing a collection, with such extenuating circumstance. I'm the last person you should take advice from in a situation like this, because personally, I wouldn't know what to do myself.

 

Having said this, here are a couple of observations and suggestions I'd like to offer in the way of helping you with your decisions.

 

Firstly, I think you should still approach the pricing of the collection as you would any collection. The bottom line is essentially what you are willing to pay, and if I may make it easier on you, you should NOT feel obligated to purchase this collection due to the circumtances. What I might do after determining price/offer is provide the owner a few options outside of your potential deal, regardless of whether you decide to buy or not. The last time I purchased a collection of significance, I made my offer, and stepped back as the selller was clearly interested in shopping the collection around before committing. I had no problem with his suggestion, as my pricing was fairly aggressive, and knew that dealers and comic shops would lowball, and that the only other option was through an estate liquidator who would take a 30% cut, or if he were to find another private collector like myself who would top my offer out. Either way, I knew that because of the owners circumstance (he lived in a retirement home, and was in dire straits from a financial aspect), that it didn't bother me whatever the outcome may have been because I genuinely wanted him to get the most money possible for the collection. Not only did I end up purchasing the collection, but I keep in touch with him from time to time.

 

There is however one thing that I would like to stress: I would seriously consider getting something in writing should you purchase the collection. Granted, I don't know how old the woman is, or anything outside of what you shared in your post, however there is a strong chance that her son was proud of what he collected, and that means that someone in the family knows it exists. Being that comic values are so erratic, and that collectors pride is often synonymous with value embellishment, the last thing you want is an estate dispute that might well find you in the middle of a family bickering over books that were sold without proper disclosure. I am no lawyer, but I have been involved in some pretty nasty estate situations -- some which went as far as fabricating the mental and emotional state of a loved one (regardless of age and mental fitness) just for the sake of eking out a few more dollars for grabby family members. I'm not implying anything elaborate or complex, but just a letter which explains the owners agreement to enter into a deal with you, with a mutually agreed or established price. If she questions your motives (which may well occur), just explain to her that it is for your own personal records, and that you DON'T need it for tax purposes, but rather, you need to provide some form of proof of value/purchase for your insurer.

 

Best of luck Bruce.