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Relative about to give me his collection

Started by RockyMullins,

36 posts in this topic

RockyMullins

RockyMullins

Posted
Posted

I've been collecting comics for about 40 years or so...my brother quit collecting in the mid 1980's, but kept all of his books. Over Christmas break, he said if I want his books, they're mine...I just need to drive a couple hours south to pick them up.

 

I'm struggling on how to handle this...I want some of the books to add to my collection, and others I don't care to keep. I want to pay him something for the books, especially for the ones I would likely just sell off anyway...but how to come to a price that #1) He'll accept, and #2) that won't break the bank!

 

He has full runs of Iron Man, Incredible Hulk (after 102), Luke Cage, Defenders, most of the Tales of Suspense that had Iron Man stories (NOT #39), and a few miscellaneous titles....up until about 1985. He kept his books in generally nice shape.

 

I'm leaning toward telling him which books I want to keep, and selling the rest. I'd provide him the funds of the sold books directly, and then I thought I would come up with a price for the books I'll keep.

 

Anyone ever run into a similar situation? Relatives don't like to take money, and I don't like to take valuable items for free. I really don't want to go through and price the books individually...would take quite a bit of time to determine condition and value. 4 long boxes, and at least one short box.

 

Thanks for any thoughts!

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Columbia Comics

Columbia Comics

Posted
Posted

I think there are two options you can take, one easy and one time consuming.

 

1) pay him a "per box price" If they're SA/BA, maybe $100 per long box and $50 for the short.

 

2) sell off the ones you don't want and split the proceeds 50/50 or 60/40 (him getting 60%)

 

The first option gets him paid in full and you're out. The second may net more $ but will take a lot longer.

 

 

I'd lean towards #1

 

My 2c

 

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1Cool

1Cool

Posted
Posted
I've been collecting comics for about 40 years or so...my brother quit collecting in the mid 1980's, but kept all of his books. Over Christmas break, he said if I want his books, they're mine...I just need to drive a couple hours south to pick them up.

 

I'm struggling on how to handle this...I want some of the books to add to my collection, and others I don't care to keep. I want to pay him something for the books, especially for the ones I would likely just sell off anyway...but how to come to a price that #1) He'll accept, and #2) that won't break the bank!

 

He has full runs of Iron Man, Incredible Hulk (after 102), Luke Cage, Defenders, most of the Tales of Suspense that had Iron Man stories (NOT #39), and a few miscellaneous titles....up until about 1985. He kept his books in generally nice shape.

 

I'm leaning toward telling him which books I want to keep, and selling the rest. I'd provide him the funds of the sold books directly, and then I thought I would come up with a price for the books I'll keep.

 

Anyone ever run into a similar situation? Relatives don't like to take money, and I don't like to take valuable items for free. I really don't want to go through and price the books individually...would take quite a bit of time to determine condition and value. 4 long boxes, and at least one short box.

 

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

I did pretty much the same thing about 10 years ago. I found a huge stash of Silver-Age books in a buddies garage while cleaning up after a party. Turns out my buddy found the books in an attic and just dumped the books in a couple cubbies in his garage. I debated low balling him but I ended up doing the right thing and offered to sell the books and we would split the profits 50/50. I ended up making about $3,000 selling them over a couple months and he was shocked when I gave him the $1,500 check. I'd recommend doing the same thing especially since its your brother.

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Buzzetta

Buzzetta

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It's family. You do it for free in this case since it's "your mother's other son."

 

I am in a similar situation right now with my only sibling who is going through a rough time. I see my brother once or twice a year and my parents see him maybe two or three times. He lives an hour away from them. Due to a few things going on he wants to get rid of as much as possible. He doesn't want "things."

 

He asked me to sell as much for him as possible and he would give me a commission. I am not taking his money outside of the fees it takes to sell things for him.

 

My brother can be an but he is my mother's other son.

 

You don't split the cost of the books. In this case, you ask him if you can take a couple of books and you sell the rest giving him 100% of whatever you sell them for minus fees. If you want to give him say, dealer rate for the books you took that is also an option.

 

Long after the comic book deal goes down, the rest of your family will always remember what happened and how it was handled so be sure to handle it well.

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Spider-Dan

Spider-Dan

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Maybe cherry pick what you want to keep and offer him something fair for those.

 

Either pass on the rest, or sell them for him giving him the cash. Maybe sell the remainder as a collection making only 1 cash transaction - Done

 

Family + money can = problems - Good Luck

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Dr. Balls

Dr. Balls

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It's your brother and I doubt he cares about the money. I would take them, say thanx bro, and if I ever sold them I would give the money to his kids or somrthing.

 

+1

 

I don't think I'd outright tell someone who is giving me something that I'm going to turn around and sell it. To me, that comes across as ungrateful. I mean, if he wanted to sell them, he'd probably just sell them. He's giving them to a family member who likes comics.

 

He doesn't need to know what you're doing with his free books, and if you want to do something nice, buy some bonds or something for his kids' college funds. That's where I'd be on a situation like that.

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Unca Ben

Unca Ben

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Maybe he'd like to keep his collection in the family.

Maybe he wants to do something nice for you, as nothing builds self esteem better than giving to someone without any expectation of return.

Don't rob him of that opportunity.

 

If you have a close, loving relationship with him, this gesture may be an extension of that.

 

My suggestion would be to do just what you said in your opening post; tell him how you feel, and that you'd like to pay him something but not break the bank, and you want to add some of the books to your collection and sell the rest while offering him the profits. Then let him decide, allow it to be his choice.

 

If your relationship with him is good, and it sounds like it is, you guys will easily reach some sort of agreement.

Don't make it about business unless your brother frames it that way.

Be honest with your feelings on the subject, don't let your pride complicate the matter, and just enjoy this aspect of your relationship with your brother.

 

P.S: If he refuses any money and he's OK with your selling some of the books, then in the future just do something really nice for him with the proceeds. Surprise him, someday.

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RockyMullins

RockyMullins

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All really good advice...I think I will take the clear/upfront approach, and tell him what I want to keep, and that I will sell the rest for him, and give him the proceeds directly.

 

With a smaller amount of books, I should be able to provide him a fair estimate on what I am keeping, and offer him a fair cash amount for that as well.

 

I sold some books to buddies at work in the past...at first I quoted them pricing based off ebay sales, and then discounted them 20%. They all grumbled that I wasn't giving them friend pricing. So then I just gave them a group price on entire titles that were really low...and I ended up feeling shorted. Always a minefield when friends and family are involved.

 

My brother really seems like he just doesn't want to bother with selling them, and would like me to have them...

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wombat

wombat

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I would offer to sell the ones I didn't want and give him the money (assuming it wasn't an extremely time consuming process) and then just keep the ones you want. Everyone wins. You get the comics you want and he gets cash for the ones you don't.

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Bomber-Bob

Bomber-Bob

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All really good advice...I think I will take the clear/upfront approach, and tell him what I want to keep, and that I will sell the rest for him, and give him the proceeds directly.

 

With a smaller amount of books, I should be able to provide him a fair estimate on what I am keeping, and offer him a fair cash amount for that as well.

 

I sold some books to buddies at work in the past...at first I quoted them pricing based off ebay sales, and then discounted them 20%. They all grumbled that I wasn't giving them friend pricing. So then I just gave them a group price on entire titles that were really low...and I ended up feeling shorted. Always a minefield when friends and family are involved.

 

My brother really seems like he just doesn't want to bother with selling them, and would like me to have them...

 

Sounds fair to me. I think it is VERY important to do the right thing here. Good Luck and hope you get some keepers.

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Unca Ben

Unca Ben

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Take the comics, sell them for big money and run. Then hide in shame in a dark room, sitting in an empty bath-tub, covering yourself in your new found riches soaked in your tears.

 

~snip~

 

lol I like this!

 

Ferget everything I said, go fer the brass ring! :grin:

 

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FineCollector

FineCollector

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My take: you're overthinking it, and you don't sound grateful.

 

He's never going to flip through your collection to see what you kept, so you can dispose of any or all, and he won't know, but 4 long boxes is nothing. Why wouldn't you keep everything, especially if he gives them to you for free?

 

He wants you to have them because he thinks you'll appreciate them and admire them, as he once did. If he just wanted them gone, he'd put an ad on craigslist. Act accordingly.

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