Estate Planning - all those models in the basement

[<profile removed>]

First, please let me say this is not a commercial or advertising...I have had a couple of "life events" this year that have forced me to think seriously about this. 

This summer, I stopped at a yardsale late in the day and found these (Hurtubise and Johncock unbuilt, the Matador had been started):

I asked "how much?" And the lady said "how about a buck each?" So I chatted with her a bit and said "you may want to rethink that. I believe they are worth more." (No, I wasn't trying to jip myself, either, but I didn't want to walk away feeling guilty of taking advantage.)

As it turned out, they were her husband's, he passed away, and I was the only person to even look at them. So she was glad to just get rid of them to someone who actually knew and/or appreciated them.

I've heard similar stories with anything from Hot Wheels and Star Wars figures to tools and clothing. Thankfully, the Internet and Antiques Roadshow (or Pawn Stars) have made people a little more savvy to the value of "stuff".

 

So this got me to thinking about my own basement. I'm sure many or most of us have a basement or room that looks like this:

I used to joke that I was trying to be as big a burden as possible to whoever was going to clean out my basement when I died. But now I am realizing how much money I could potentially be "leaving on the table" for my heirs. They have no interest in this stuff and have no idea the value. I shudder to think that this could be sold in a yardsale for pennies on the dollar, or worse...hauled off to the dump. I am a builder. I haven't amassed this for investment purposes...you all know what I mean. ?. As they said on Big Bang Theory: "someday this will double in value and be worth half what I paid for it!" 

Anyway, I have begun making an inventory and contacted a local auction company. The listing and auction company contact information will be included in my estate planning documents. It is my hope that when I go, it will make it easier for my heirs. No, they won't get rich, but this should help confirm and or work towards getting the most $$$ for the "old junk in the basement".

Just sayin'

Edited December 21, 2018 by AMC ROB

[Ace-Garageguy]

I've started putting a sticker on each box with the approximate **realistic** value. Many of my kits have been cherry-picked for parts, and the major items missing are also listed as well...though this latter was done for MY OWN use, for when I'm looking for something.

Depending on exactly where I am when I shuffle off this mortal coil, and what friend lives closest...well, that person will get the stuff. Most of the people I know well understand how involved I am with models (as well as real cars, parts, tools, books, music, vintage electronics, cameras, etc.) so whoever liquidates my stuff when I'm dead will probably try to get all of it to folks who will also value it. And a couple of my "friends" are whiny babies who have already said they don't want to "have to deal with your junk". 

That's OK too. I don't have any family, and I really won't much care, as I probably won't be in a position (post life) to do anything about it anyway.   

[cobraman]

We or our families will need to face that at some time. As I get older I sometimes wonder what the heck is my wife and or daughter going to do with 755 Cobra's ????  Still I keep buying.

[OldTrucker]

I just figure when I'm gone I ain't gunna be worryin' about it!

[espo]

I had to show the pictures of your basement to my wife in hopes that she will stop giving me grief about my stash. I'm maybe two steps behind you in this problem and have been trying to selloff some models each year at a local show and swap meet. I have also made a large scale sale to a reseller but you just don't even break even that way. I might try your luck on E Bay since I see some people paying stupid money for stuff on there.   

[High octane]

I've been "thinnin' the herd" for the last few years and still have too many models, especially at the rate I've been finishing them. Not enough motivation on my part and bad use of my time probably. I have stated in our living trust what's to be done with my models, however like Old Trucker has stated I don't need to worry 'bout it. All the unbuilt kits I bought are for me and not for investment purposes. I don't lose any sleep over this subject at all.

[Renegade]

Though nowhere near the size of your collection, I still have more than I can reasonably expect to build in my lifetime. I still continue to buy as I have a hard time passing up kits I have had in childhood as well as new releases. If I can get  a kit I'm not interested in but can get at a good price I will use it for trading fodder. I have talked to my Brother and he said my Nephew will post them on E-Bay after I'm gone. I tried to get my Nephew interested in building but it seems todays kids are more interested in video games and computers than building something. I'm glad that the kits you got went to someone who will appreciate them. If you hadn't shown up they might have wound up by the curb.

[Tom Geiger]

Rob, the first step would be to sell off the kits that you have multiples of, I see many in your photos. It's obvious you won't be building 6 of anything!  That would get the hoard down from "Oh my God!" to merely overwhelming.

I just turned 60, and in the past few years I've started using those  parts I was saving for a special project someday. I haven't sold anything off just yet, but I've been thinking of selling some of the more valuable kits that I'll never touch.

I don't hesitate to open a common kit to use for parts on a project.  And I'll do the same for a friend who needs a part to finish a project.

 

[mikemodeler]

Like many others, I have been trying to reduce the amount of kits in the stash as reality has set in that I can't possibly build them all. My wife has accompanied me to several shows and has a vague idea what they are worth. She knows enough to not drop them off at Goodwill or take them to a landfill.

Over the holidays we will be writing out what we want our final wishes to be and in that list I will layout plans for my models, my guns and my tools which collectively is in excess of $25,000 and I don't want her giving any of it away. Some will be sold, some will go to family and hopefully nothing ends up being tossed.

I want to thin it down as best I can so as to make it easier for whomever is left behind to deal with it.

[iamsuperdan]

I'm in the same boat with the guitars I have. There's a saying I heard that applies here. I'll paraphrase.

"When I die, I hope my wife doesn't sell my collection for what I told her I paid."

 

[vamach1]

22 hours ago, cobraman said:

We or our families will need to face that at some time. As I get older I sometimes wonder what the heck is my wife and or daughter going to do with 755 Cobra's ????  Still I keep buying.

Perhaps the Shelby museum in Vegas would be interested sometime down the road.  I know a guy who donated all his vintage space toys (pre 60's) to the Smithsonian.

[<profile removed>]

9 hours ago, espo said:

I had to show the pictures of your basement to my wife in hopes that she will stop giving me grief about my stash. 

Ha! Always glad to help a brother out!

[Roadrunner]

I only have about a dozen or so car models, and will never reach the level of the OP, but when I look at the rest of my stash; aircraft armor and ships, I too have a ton, far more than I can manage to complete in the next fifty years. My family (brother and sister) could care less, so they'll probably all be taken to the dump.

[<profile removed>]

2 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

"When I die, I hope my wife doesn't sell my collection for what I told her I paid."

 

That is fantastic! Permission to steal?

8 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

Rob, the first step would be to sell off the kits that you have multiples of, I see many in your photos. It's obvious you won't be building 6 of anything!  That would get the hoard down from "Oh my God!" to merely overwhelming.

I don't hesitate to open a common kit to use for parts on a project.  And I'll do the same for a friend who needs a part to finish a project.

 

Thanks Tom, great advice. In my teens and 20s, I started buying multiples with the thought that I was going to have unlimited free time, would live forever, and intended to build a stock version, a racing version, a custom version, etc. Oh, and one for parts in case I made a mistake. I don't know if it was ADD, OCD, or the fact that Globe Depth Store sold their model kits for $3 in the day. Anyway, now I am parting some of these out. I've made some good connections in the short time I have been on the forum, and if I have it, I'm glad to share.

8 hours ago, Renegade said:

Though nowhere near the size of your collection, I still have more than I can reasonably expect to build in my lifetime. I still continue to buy as I have a hard time passing up kits I have had in childhood as well as new releases. If I can get  a kit I'm not interested in but can get at a good price I will use it for trading fodder. I have talked to my Brother and he said my Nephew will post them on E-Bay after I'm gone. I tried to get my Nephew interested in building but it seems todays kids are more interested in video games and computers than building something. I'm glad that the kits you got went to someone who will appreciate them. If you hadn't shown up they might have wound up by the curb.

Thanks. Sometimes ebay is an unfair or innacurate barometer of value, but then again, something is only worth what someone else would pay for it. And yes, I, too am always looking and still buying. WHY??? ☺

I guess, ultimately, the lady at the yardsale had the most impact on my reason for this post. I would have, certainly, paid $20 each or more for the kits at a toy show, flea market, or, yes, ebay. Though I didn't know the yardsale lady's husband, I'm thinking he'd preferred to have left her with $60 (3x $20) rather than the $3 (3× $1) she ended up with. I know that is how I feel. (Actually, I'd really rather not leave...) I get it, too, that others that have said when they are dead, they won't care. I would ask them to please be sure their obituaries are posted on this forum with clear directions to their house ? (just kidding about that last line).

Anyway, thanks all for your thoughts and comments.

Edited December 23, 2018 by AMC ROB

[Tom Geiger]

14 hours ago, AMC ROB said:

 Though I didn't know the yardsale lady's husband, I'm thinking he'd preferred to have left her with $60 (3x $20) rather than the $3 (3× $1) she ended up with.

Sometimes knowing the items went to someone who would appreciate them is enough!

My father died in 1999 and he was an audio guy.  Foot lockers full of old audio magazines that he never looked at, but we lugged around for decades. The very best stereo equipment, including some that was superseded, all back in their original boxes with paperwork.  He had a huge record collection dating back to when he started in the mid 1950s.  All in pristine shape, we're talking a dozen milk crates worth.  

I wanted to do right by him. I didn't want it to go in the trash since this was all important to him.  And just like our heirs don't know anything about models, I knew zero about what I had in his collection.  I started with the audio magazines on eBay. Started them at 99 cents each and they were bid up from there. the annual books sold in the $10-30 range.  I made over $1000 on the paper.

Then I hit the albums. I bought special record album mailers.  I listed a bunch of them and had a 10% sell through at opening bid.  It just wasn't worth the effort. I had listed 50 albums and sold 5. And I had at least 1000 albums.   So I took them to a local flea market, put out all the crates and had a big sign that they were $1 each.  I sold a good quantity of them. It was easier to put 5 albums in a grocery bag than to package them up to mail.  I had nice conversations with collectors, some of which advised me that they were worth more.  I told them to buy all they wanted,  my goal was to put them in hands that would appreciate them as my father did.  In the end, right before I moved, I ran into a lady who was very passionate about old records and gave the remainder to her.  I saved them all from the landfill.  My father would have been pleased. 

A year or two later I realized someone I knew was into old audio equipment. I found out when he posted on FaceBook that his beloved ancient 1968 tuner had given up the ghost.  It sounded familiar so I checked. I had the exact same one mint in it's box.  So I gave it to him. And when he picked it up he noticed a Tanberg reel to reel tape machine and said he always wanted one of those.  So I gave him that too.  I was happy that he loved them and would give them a good home.  

For some folks like me, settling my father's affairs was more about doing well by him than a profit. 

 

[dimaxion]

Yes , my Daughters Voiced their interest of having my Collection when I'm gone .  As a father , it is in our Will . There is a stipulation . Should my Wife outlive me she is entitled to sell any if she needs Money and she is caretaker until she passes . My Daughters will be inheriting them in he end .  All three of my Loved ones understand what the Cars mean to me .  Thanx ..  

[russosborne]

I don't have kids. Well, one stepson, but he was an adult already before I entered the picture.

Neither he nor any of my couple of dozen nephews/neices/grand nephews/neices have any interest in models. Doesn't really bother me.

I've sold most of my stash a couple of times in the past when I really needed money. Got it building back up again. but probably less than 100 kits.

I honestly don't care what my wife does with it. At most at $5 a kit she would get maybe $500. There is a non car kit that is worth well over $100 on Ebay. That one I will tell her not to give away, but the others if she could find a kid that wants them she can give them to that kid. That kit is actually a large scale model of the aircraft carrier my grandfather served on in WWII. That stays in the family if I can help it.
Or toss them, or Goodwill, or sell them, whatever works for her. Once I am dead I don't care about any of the stuff that happens on this planet.

If I get to the point where I realize that I am not physically able to do this stuff anymore, I will try to get rid of them myself. Again, probably not for money, at least not much. Maybe call a local kit buyer if he is still around (he's older than me), but I'd rather give them away to someone who wants them. I did that with a bunch of kits back in Akron about 8-9 years ago. Someone put an ad on CL looking for a couple of kits for their son. I ended up giving them a couple of boxes, plus some newer (other) magazines, some supplies, and tried to let them know to just let the kid have fun and don't worry about perfection. Hope he had fun with them. Maybe he is still building.

Russ

[Lunajammer]

We are at the cusp of a decade or two when all these stashes are going to saturate a market of a mostly disinterested younger population. I'm of the opinion that most your (our) models will never be worth more than they are right now. 

[Ensis Ferrae]

One of the local American Legion members and I hit it off at a local hobby shop (RIP hobby shop), and we got to talking about this sort of situation. . .

A "decent" suggestion that I would have, based on my conversation with the aforementioned gentleman, is to find a local build/hobby/modeling club or group. . . This past year they had their chapter president pass on, and because the wife who was left behind knew of the club, and knew some members, invited the entire club chapter down to help her go through his remaining kits (now in this case, we're talking fairly extreme. . . 2 car garage filled floor to ceiling with barely a path for walking through, with nothing but model kits, 99% of which were untouched and complete).  Because this was a club environment, the guys who helped clean out the garage gave the wife a reasonable amount for kits they wanted, to help her, and helped her list/sell the remainder. Personally, seems like a decent set up, because we're talking about people who are nominally friends, and as such don't want to screw over anyone, understand what the wife is going through and are legitimately trying to help her get through stuff.

 

So, long story short: I'd suggest finding a group/club to join and make sure people are close enough to occasionally do stuff outside of club meetings.

[MrObsessive]

Travis our club did just that very thing. We were unfortunate to lose a couple members within six months of each other and we held an auction to raise money for the surviving wives. That way, it lessened the burden of them having to hassle with eBay for instance and they'll know the models are going to good homes.

Tough to think about these things, but it's a reality. No one's here forever and in my case as I never married or had kids, I'm not sure who'll end up with the myriad of kits I have. I don't fret too much about it though..........at some point I'll be talking to a niece of mine who's very good at this sort of thing and go over with her what I'd like to have happen.

She's going over her Grandmother's (my Mom) affairs as she's been quite stubborn to talk about such things with my sister or I.

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 12/24/2018 at 10:52 PM, Lunajammer said:

We are at the cusp of a decade or two when all these stashes are going to saturate a market of a mostly disinterested younger population. I'm of the opinion that most your (our) models will never be worth more than they are right now. 

I figure a couple of decades is about right, assuming I go that long. There will come a time, almost certainly, when I'm no longer physically capable of working on the real stuff, but there's nothing I find more horrifying than being an OLD fart who can't (or doesn't want to) do anything but sit and watch the idiot box, or wave mindlessly at cars going by.

I'm counting on models to fill much of my time.

But if my interest and/or ability wane, I'll start making real plans to get rid of stuff. Not before.

[Lunajammer]

As for the budding young car modeling fanatic, the gravy train is coming. Start saving and making room  .

[Ace-Garageguy]

18 minutes ago, Lunajammer said:

As for the budding young car modeling fanatic, the gravy train is coming. Start saving and making room  .

I don't understand exactly what you mean. Guess I'm dense today.

But one of the things I'm intending to do at the new place out West is work at least a little with the local high-school. The place I'm going is definitely a "car town" (there seem to be AT LEAST as many home garage projects going on there as here, in a town that's a third of the size of where I'm at currently) and the school still has a mechanical vo-tech program. Unusual these days of everybody-thinks-they're-gonna-be-a-web-developer-or-programmer.

All it means is that there are already kids there who have a hands-on interest in cars. And I'm hoping to find an apprentice, frankly. There's a lot I could teach the right kid about practical engineering and a rational approach to doing things.

So...since there's already at least some hands-on interest (and an actual hobby shop), there might be some modelers there too.

If I find somebody young who loves all of this stuff as much as I do, he can have everything when I'm gone.

Edited December 26, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[Lunajammer]

6 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

I don't understand exactly what you mean. Guess I'm dense today.

Simply that as some of these monster stashes start fattening the market, the young modelers who are enthusiastic and committed are gonna get some pretty good deals. Good luck on your new digs. Hope it's not a culture shock going from the deep south to the not very deep south.

[Ace-Garageguy]

7 minutes ago, Lunajammer said:

... Hope it's not a culture shock going from the deep south to the not very deep south.

I've spent enough time out there (over the course of several years) to know exactly what I'm going to...and getting away from.