Comic Book Dealer Dies - What Typically Happens to the Books? 1 1

[namisgr]

3 minutes ago, FineCollector said:

Understood, I'm considering FanBoy's dilemma about the appraiser also being a beneficiary.  Sorry, I wasnt clear.

It's up to the Executor, then either mediation or the courts.

[Fan Boy]

9 hours ago, 01TheDude said:

seems like the person who assigned the one person to both evaluate and handle the selling/dispersion of funds in regards to the collection had enough trust in them to be trusted to do this properly & honestly. That seems like the only real proof needed to say this is the right person to do both jobs

 

2 hours ago, namisgr said:

An Executor is the person responsible for overseeing the estate, paying any debts or taxes on behalf of the estate, and making sure inheritors receive their inheritances.  An appraiser is not allowed by law to 'take' any of the estate of a deceased person unless specified as an inheritor or dispensed to by an inheritor.

 

I had to recheck with my friend to clarify in what he wants me to do in the event (not gonna be for years barring any mishaps). Now I understood... yes, I am given the duty as an appraiser to evaluate his collection and to ensure that his brother (inheritor) get the best value. The reason why me? Because he knew me well, and I have experience with comics  and such other books. 

The executor duty went to one of his family members. 

[porcupine48]

Ugh,this thread fully bummed me out.

A few years ago,as many here know,I went through some serious health problems .Bad enough that my spouse and friends/family were pretty much told I was going to die any day,everyone gathered around and said goodbye.After actually dying and returning  I got to hear all about how people acted about my valuables before I was even in the ground.Needless to say,my partner is now named to get EVERYTHING,the sharks have been cut completely out,and she has the name and contact of someone here to contact that I trust and respect.The rest she has people to contact about as well.The people that started approaching her about my things in this difficult time get NOTHING.Sweet eff eh.

A little off topic-as usual for me- but it touched a nerve.You think that the people in your life care,and then to have them fighting over your carp before you're even dead?Disgusting.

[NoMan]

13 hours ago, porcupine48 said:

Ugh,this thread fully bummed me out.

A few years ago,as many here know,I went through some serious health problems .Bad enough that my spouse and friends/family were pretty much told I was going to die any day,everyone gathered around and said goodbye.After actually dying and returning  I got to hear all about how people acted about my valuables before I was even in the ground.Needless to say,my partner is now named to get EVERYTHING,the sharks have been cut completely out,and she has the name and contact of someone here to contact that I trust and respect.The rest she has people to contact about as well.The people that started approaching her about my things in this difficult time get NOTHING.Sweet eff eh.

A little off topic-as usual for me- but it touched a nerve.You think that the people in your life care,and then to have them fighting over your carp before you're even dead?Disgusting.

least you found out while you still above ground who's who..

[1Cool]

I’m glad a lot of people are having the same reaction after hearing the guy died.  It definetely put stuff in perspective when you see a widow in pain and then having to go thru the daily pain of selling comics.  Life is just so short.

[FineCollector]

Just now, 1Cool said:

I’m glad a lot of people are having the same reaction after hearing the guy died.  It definetely put stuff in perspective when you see a widow in pain and then having to go thru the daily pain of selling comics.  Life is just so short.

So where does that leave you?  Are you at peace with her situation, or do you plan on getting involved?

[1Cool]

I’m not 100% sure.  I have her info and I’ll give her a call in a couple weeks to see how it’s going and see if she needs any help.  I don’t think I’ve got enough capital to buy her out but maybe I can give her some advice and be a sounding board.

[Buzzetta]

As I am mostly a collector, a local friend who is a comic collector has the contact information for a board member here to figure out what to do with my stuff should something happen. Beyond that, there is nothing much I can do and after that not much to care about because.... 

 

I would be dead.  So... I'm dead.  There's that. 

Edited August 25, 2018 by Buzzetta

[Get Marwood & I]

5 minutes ago, Buzzetta said:

As I am mostly a collector, a local friend who is a comic collector has the contact information for a board member here to figure out what to do with my stuff should something happen. Beyond that, there is nothing much I can do and after that not much to care about because.... 

 

I would be dead.  So... I'm dead.  There's that. 

What if lightning strikes your grave and you're reanimated as a zombie though? Or a zombuzz. You'd still be able to read and everything, and might want them books back. You need to cover all bases Buzz. These off the cuff remarks and actions could leave you one sorry undead collector one day if you're not careful. 

[The Lions Den]

On ‎8‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 5:57 PM, 01TheDude said:

I will ask him next time I hang out.

Spoken in a truly "dude-like" way...  

[The Lions Den]

1 hour ago, 1Cool said:

Life is just so short.

Given that many of the folks I grew up with have already passed on, it definitely puts things in perspective. 

One of my best friends was a very serious collector. He had an amazing collection he'd amassed over the course of his lifetime which included a complete run of all the early Atlas titles, not to mention a ton of other cool stuff. Just an incredible array of comics, magazines, paperbacks, etc. He died unexpectedly a few years ago and his family had the monumental task of selling off his belongings. I was fortunate enough to buy a few books of his over the phone, but his family lived out of state and needed to move things quickly and get back to their own lives. Long story short, I heard that a lot of his stuff ended up in a dumpster. Sad but true.

So the moral of the story is this: Even though we treasure our collections, that doesn't mean anyone else will. Enjoy them while you can, because (as Jim Morrison once said) "the future's uncertain and the end is always near..."   

 

Edited August 25, 2018 by The Lions Den
Additional info added

[NoMan]

My collection really is just drek and I don't want my friends and family spending time trying to dispose of it because they think it's worth something.

 

[lou_fine]

On 8/22/2018 at 8:27 AM, Artboy99 said:

On 8/22/2018 at 8:20 AM, 1Cool said:

You are probably right but it highlights the risk we have in maintaining a huge inventory of books if we die.  This poor woman has a huge chunk of her retirement (which I'd guess is common among small local dealers) locked up in boxes and boxes of comic books which she has very little knowledge about.  The wife attended all of the shows with her husband so she is somewhat familiar with how the market works which I doubt many wives of dealers can fall back on. 

clearly comics are not liquid at all.

Sad to say, but it is at this point that most collectors find out the true non-liquidity of their humongous comic book collections.  

This is also the time that they find out that it's actually much easier to sell one vintage collectible comic book valued at $10,000 as opposed to trying to sell 1,000 non-key comic books at $10 a pop.  

 

[KirbyJack]

I have detailed instructions in my will. 

If I haven’t sold everything off before I go, my kids know what to do (we’ve talked about it). 

And it won’t be a full-time job for them.

[thehumantorch]

On 8/23/2018 at 3:57 PM, 01TheDude said:

If I were someone with a decent amount of inventory-- like @Artboy99 who mentioned something like 50K books-- I would try to get a partner involved with the business -with the understanding that either my heirs would get a cut of the proceeds or the whole shooting match would be theirs to deal with how they felt like doing. That would alleviate a family member with little to no knowledge of having to deal with this "stuff" at the end of the road.

My collection a just under 2 thousand items and really nothing too valuable -- maybe 12 - 15 grand worth selling in bulk on a good day. What happens to those books is really no major concern to me. If I died today, my brother would be in charge of my stuff (I am renting a house from him at this time) - not sure what he would do exactly. I will ask him next time I hang out.

Artboy and I currently each have our own collections and we own a number of keys and decent books together and perhaps 250 to 300 longs of 'stuff'.  It's grown so much and it's stashed everywhere in our homes that I can't even count it anymore.  We're constantly trying to sell off some of the bulk but one of us keeps buying.  He came home with another car load yesterday ....... sorry buddy.....it was a good deal and a lot of it we didn't have....

I've been thinking that perhaps the only reason my wife hasn't poisoned me or dropped a toaster into my shower by now is that she doesn't want to have to sell my books.  Selling them could be very....very risky.

I don't think it's that hard to get rid of longs.  Drop 10 a month into a local auction.  There are always local dealers who would take 5 or 10 at a time.  If we were to sell it all at once it would be tough as there aren't many dealers who would want or could handle that kind of volume.  The storage is problematic and the sheer effort to go through it and sell it off book by book grows as the size of the inventory grows.

For any collector or dealer or combination of the two there should be a succession plan.  Don't saddle your wife or family with the chore of selling your collection.

 

[thehumantorch]

22 hours ago, porcupine48 said:

Ugh,this thread fully bummed me out.

A few years ago,as many here know,I went through some serious health problems .Bad enough that my spouse and friends/family were pretty much told I was going to die any day,everyone gathered around and said goodbye.After actually dying and returning  I got to hear all about how people acted about my valuables before I was even in the ground.Needless to say,my partner is now named to get EVERYTHING,the sharks have been cut completely out,and she has the name and contact of someone here to contact that I trust and respect.The rest she has people to contact about as well.The people that started approaching her about my things in this difficult time get NOTHING.Sweet eff eh.

A little off topic-as usual for me- but it touched a nerve.You think that the people in your life care,and then to have them fighting over your carp before you're even dead?Disgusting.

Ugh, when chum is in the water the sharks come out.  So glad you're still with us Jimmers.

[thehumantorch]

6 hours ago, 1Cool said:

I’m not 100% sure.  I have her info and I’ll give her a call in a couple weeks to see how it’s going and see if she needs any help.  I don’t think I’ve got enough capital to buy her out but maybe I can give her some advice and be a sounding board.

Perhaps you could offer to take her husband's inventory to shows and add a booth to your setup and split the profits 50/50 after expenses?  Or some version you can conceive.  

[FineCollector]

8 minutes ago, thehumantorch said:

I don't think it's that hard to get rid of longs.  Drop 10 a month into a local auction.  There are always local dealers who would take 5 or 10 at a time.  If we were to sell it all at once it would be tough as there aren't many dealers who would want or could handle that kind of volume.  The storage is problematic and the sheer effort to go through it and sell it off book by book grows as the size of the inventory grows.

That's actually the best idea so far.  There are plenty of auction houses around here that seem to move comics, good and bad alike.  The antique dealers here will spend up to $50 on a long box with no idea what's in it, and sticker everything at $3.

[01TheDude]

I don't know how you guys do it-- hundreds of long boxes-- so many comics. You guys are the backbone of the hobby in many respects.

I don't even have 2000 books and I feel that is too much.

[thehumantorch]

5 minutes ago, FineCollector said:

That's actually the best idea so far.  There are plenty of auction houses around here that seem to move comics, good and bad alike.  The antique dealers here will spend up to $50 on a long box with no idea what's in it, and sticker everything at $3.

Yes, and a long of junk will probably get you $50 to $100 at auction before fees.  A lot of what I have stored is remnants from collections and those collections have paid my investment back already.  Whatever I get for any of it at this point is profit.