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Advice Requested - Selling Collection.

51 posts in this topic

If investment for a longer term (and all have risks) a lot of financial people (I am not one) would recommend a low fee S&P Index Mutual Fund.

 

I was about to post this. The majority of my investments are in S&P 500 Index funds, so I'm not telling you to do something I'm not doing myself. A Total Stock Market fund is also a good choice. Since you'd be investing over $10k, you qualify for the funds with lower expense ratios at Vanguard.

 

My recommendation is to open a Vanguard account, and buy one or a mix of the two:

 

Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares (VFIAX)

Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTSAX)

 

Tell them what you want to do with the account, beneficiary-wise. There may be tax-sheltered account options available to you.

 

My heart's with you and your family <3

 

 

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If investment for a longer term (and all have risks) a lot of financial people (I am not one) would recommend a low fee S&P Index Mutual Fund.

 

I was about to post this. The majority of my investments are in S&P 500 Index funds, so I'm not telling you to do something I'm not doing myself. A Total Stock Market fund is also a good choice. Since you'd be investing over $10k, you qualify for the funds with lower expense ratios at Vanguard.

 

My recommendation is to open a Vanguard account, and buy one or a mix of the two:

 

Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares (VFIAX)

Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTSAX)

 

Tell them what you want to do with the account, beneficiary-wise. There may be tax-sheltered account options available to you.

 

My heart's with you and your family <3

 

 

+1

 

Vanguard's fund fees are absurdly low, and if you open an account direct with them their products can be purchased commission free.

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jop, haven't seen you here (I've been more or less MIA here), but sorry to see you are leaving the hobby, but it's for good reasons. I think you got the real answer for your question but wanted to wish you best of luck, and if things get better in the future there's nothing preventing you from enjoying the hobby, regardless of capacity and resources. We've all had to "adjust" at one time or another.

 

Good luck!

 

Your books are like cash. Get cash for them. If that makes you feel better.

 

Banks have to report this if you deposit it in amounts > $10k, right? Which might get other probing eyes....

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Good luck and God bless, jop. Always tough to hear this kind of news during any season.

 

 

If you have purchase records, you should have no taxable income or taxable capital gain unless you made a profit, which seems unlikely if your cost basis (including expenses like auction fees, shipping and taxes) is same amt (or higher) than what you receive from buyer.

 

And sales/use tax is the buyer's concern.

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It's just like personal check. I'd get cash or wait for the check to clear before handing over the goods. Even with a cashier's check, the buyer could put a stop payment on it.

 

Not true. A cashier's check or bank money order cannot have a stop payment put on it; they are just as good as cash; the only caveat being the check itself could be fake.

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Even if you are taking a loss on the collection you have to prove it to the IRS. Which could be a major pain, do most people keep records of the comic purchases?

 

If you ever plan on selling your collection, you should keep a record.

 

 

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Sorry to hear you're thinking about selling your collection.

 

You mention an offer of $25k for a collection that probably is worth $40k plus and at the end of your post you mention buying a big key with the proceeds. Perhaps I'm missing something here but rather than accepting roughly 50 cents on the dollar and then buying a key wouldn't you be better off to keep your best books as an investment- say 1 short box that's easy to store - and sell off the rest?

 

not thinking but having to do so I only have a handfull of high dollar books an

OO Hulk 9.4 180, 9.4 181, 9.6 182 Tec 44 8.0 BA 12 9.6 GL 1 3.5, DD1 2.5, FF 48 6.0 bunch of couple hundred dollar books the slabs are around 201 total

 

A lot of the rest are varied but I just dont have the energy to deal with selling them individually hence the reason I am willing to accept losing money I was never in it for profit or flipping when I sold it was to buy more books I bought all this starting with 0 books when I arrived here if I am lucky enough to move into my home and see my son start school next year then there is hope but the reasoning is for my son would buying a mega key like a AF 15 be worth

 

while for him as an investment in his future......does that make sense?

 

It does, sorry to hear of your health concerns.

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It's just like personal check. I'd get cash or wait for the check to clear before handing over the goods. Even with a cashier's check, the buyer could put a stop payment on it.

 

Not true. A cashier's check or bank money order cannot have a stop payment put on it; they are just as good as cash; the only caveat being the check itself could be fake.

All banks are different. They each have different rules and policies. I know from personally speaking with my own bank on this exact subject that yes it it true that a stop payment can in fact be made on a bank check. Maybe not your bank, but mine works that way.
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It's just like personal check. I'd get cash or wait for the check to clear before handing over the goods. Even with a cashier's check, the buyer could put a stop payment on it.

 

Not true. A cashier's check or bank money order cannot have a stop payment put on it; they are just as good as cash; the only caveat being the check itself could be fake.

All banks are different. They each have different rules and policies. I know from personally speaking with my own bank on this exact subject that yes it it true that a stop payment can in fact be made on a bank check. Maybe not your bank, but mine works that way.

 

I would go with a paper trace method and take a personal check. Of course wait for it to clear, which shouldn't take more than a few days. If you go the $25k in cash method, the bank you're depositing the funds into will fill out something called a CTR aka a currency transaction report which is sent over to the IRS upon close that day. If you plan on writing anything off at the end of the year this report combined with the right offs will probably trigger an audit. Not saying this is a big deal but you should be prepared. If you go with a personal check, and assuming it clears, all of the latter can be avoided as it's a traceable payment method. $25k sounds like a lot of money but for banks it's not even a blimp on the radar.

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It's just like personal check. I'd get cash or wait for the check to clear before handing over the goods. Even with a cashier's check, the buyer could put a stop payment on it.

 

Not true. A cashier's check or bank money order cannot have a stop payment put on it; they are just as good as cash; the only caveat being the check itself could be fake.

 

This is true. Once the check or MO goes through for the recipient there is no recourse for the sender. You can't put a stop payment on a check or MO once it clears. I would take a personal check.

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If it's $25K in one shot for something worth $30-35K, I'd say that may be worth it if there are a bunch of semi-keys. If they are all keys, then I'd say just sell them to whichever buyers come along for them.

 

As for payment, I sell/buy quite a few cars, and there is 3 forms of payment I would accept:

 

Wire

Bank/Cashier's check which is then verified with the issuing bank

Cash

 

In that order. if you want an extra degree of safety, have the last 2 done at a bank with a notary so they can get a bill of sale signed and stamped, with records of both your faces on security cameras the second you walk into the bank.

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BTW - for those who suggested a personal check, the reason this may not work is because if you need something to clear first, now the situation is reversed and the buyer must trust you with his $25K with nothing in hand. The above methods allow the funds to be transferred almost immediately and the goods to be handed over, a good middle ground. With the wire option, there may also be a chance buyer and seller have the same bank, and in that case, they can just do a direct transfer. If not, it doesn't take very long for a wire to go through.

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It's just like personal check. I'd get cash or wait for the check to clear before handing over the goods. Even with a cashier's check, the buyer could put a stop payment on it.

 

Not true. A cashier's check or bank money order cannot have a stop payment put on it; they are just as good as cash; the only caveat being the check itself could be fake.

All banks are different. They each have different rules and policies. I know from personally speaking with my own bank on this exact subject that yes it it true that a stop payment can in fact be made on a bank check. Maybe not your bank, but mine works that way.

 

The entire purpose of a bank check is to guarantee funds to the payee; if you could simply put a stop payment on the check that defeats the whole purpose. You can fill out forms to reclaim the funds and if after 90 days of the check being issued the check hasn't been cashed you can recover the funds. However, if the payee cashes the check within that 90 days there is nothing you or your bank can do. Every bank is the same on this issue as it's bound by the Universal Commercial Code. I only know this because I used to work at a bank.

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Jop - If you haven't done so already, I'd suggest looking into starting up a Roth IRA for your son if you're going to put some money in the market for him. He won't be able to access it until he's near retirement age, but it will also grow throughout his life and be tax free at withdrawal time.

 

I've set my own up with a mix of bond, stock, and real estate investment trust Exchange Traded Funds.

 

IRA is a good idea but Roth IRAs requires money from wages earned. Children don't earn wages. Look into a Traditional IRA which can include money from gifts or savings.

 

Indexed mutual funds or Indexed ETFs as mentioned before - ones that follow the S&P index are great (as mentioned earlier). Indexed mutual funds are based on Nobel Prize winning research and most of Wall Street can't beat an Index fund over decades.

 

VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD! They wrote the book on indexed funds.

 

I know you want to give you family a treasure that is sentimental like a mega-key but think about costs to insure or store. It could end up in a safe deposit box at the end of the day. The first books/comics I ever read on my own was Peanuts by Charles Shultz. Your son may enjoy those more than a mega-key.

 

I'm glad that you are taking time for yourself and your family. All the best.

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Jop - If you haven't done so already, I'd suggest looking into starting up a Roth IRA for your son if you're going to put some money in the market for him. He won't be able to access it until he's near retirement age, but it will also grow throughout his life and be tax free at withdrawal time.

 

I've set my own up with a mix of bond, stock, and real estate investment trust Exchange Traded Funds.

 

IRA is a good idea but Roth IRAs requires money from wages earned. Children don't earn wages. Look into a Traditional IRA which can include money from gifts or savings.

 

Indexed mutual funds or Indexed ETFs as mentioned before - ones that follow the S&P index are great (as mentioned earlier). Indexed mutual funds are based on Nobel Prize winning research and most of Wall Street can't beat an Index fund over decades.

 

VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD! They wrote the book on indexed funds.

 

I know you want to give you family a treasure that is sentimental like a mega-key but think about costs to insure or store. It could end up in a safe deposit box at the end of the day. The first books/comics I ever read on my own was Peanuts by Charles Shultz. Your son may enjoy those more than a mega-key.

 

I'm glad that you are taking time for yourself and your family. All the best.

There's also a $5500 annual contribution limit for IRA. You can't use gift money/savings for any IRA whether Roth or traditional/tax deferred. It has to be wages earned. Of course, if the kid earns $5500 a year mowing the lawn, he can put $5500 in IRA. At a young age though, documentation of wages may be required. Also, you'll need to find a broker that will allow you to open a custodial IRA account for a kid. I don't think Vanguard does.

 

You're probably thinking of either a Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA) or a 529 Plan. Caveat with those plans, there are huge penalties if they're not used to pay for education.

 

By the way, you can actually withdraw funds from a Roth IRA equal to the amount of your contributions without any penalties or taxes.

 

My recommendation is to open a Vanguard account, and buy one or a mix of the two:

 

Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares (VFIAX)

Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTSAX)

Don't even bother with VFIAX and just go straight VTSAX. I think around 80-90% VTSAX is VFIAX and you get upside from small cap in VTSAX without much downside.

 

VTSAX vs VFIAX Backtest

 

That said, I do like some actively managed funds: Vanguard Wellington ~65/35 (VWELX: Investor, VWENX: Admiral) and Vanguard Wellesley ~35/65 (VWINX: Investor, VWIAX: Admiral).

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It's just like personal check. I'd get cash or wait for the check to clear before handing over the goods. Even with a cashier's check, the buyer could put a stop payment on it.

 

Not true. A cashier's check or bank money order cannot have a stop payment put on it; they are just as good as cash; the only caveat being the check itself could be fake.

 

This is true. Once the check or MO goes through for the recipient there is no recourse for the sender. You can't put a stop payment on a check or MO once it clears. I would take a personal check.

 

You guys are giving very bad advice on a personal check and "waiting to clear". It is not a few days. I have had money from bad checks taken out of my account 10 days later. Not sure if it can actually be that long today, this was maybe a decade ago, but there is nothing safe about a personal check. It is only as good as the check writer.

 

 

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