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Cash out or leave to heirs?
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164 posts in this topic

3 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

My dad bought comics as a kid, but never as an adult.  I'm not sure where the process began with me.  It's not like he had books around that I would rifle through.  But somehow I got into comics at an early age as well.  I have to presume that my kids will develop a curiosity for these odd books their dad (me) keeps reading.  If one of them really takes a strong liking to comics, then I'll pass the collection on to him/her.  If not, I'll sell all but the 10 biggest keys.  I'd like to think that out of respect for me, they would realize that these (10) tokens meant something to me and would keep them as a symbol of my memory after I'm gone.  I always imagined having something to pass on to my kids and then to theirs and so on and so forth.  Some people have the pistol of their great great great great grandfather from the Civil War and that just seems so cool.  I'd like to start something like that over generations.  But it's gotta start somewhere.

At the very least, my kids are getting my Complete Calvin and Hobbes Hardcover Collection.  That's non-negotiable.                                                                                                                        

Passed down from generation to generation,maybe!

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Liquidating a collection has an additional advantage beyond the money that hasn't been mentioned yet.  Collections are heavy.  Bulky.  They take up a lot of space.  When you're at advanced ages, the chances are you'll move, sometimes multiple times.  Lugging around thousands of comics at age 75 and keeping them in a downsized living arrangement are much, much harder than having their liquidated value in cash.  As I've reached retirement age, the plan has already been ongoing for several years now, that will ultimately leave me with about one longbox worth of raw books for reading, with the future plan to sell those as well.  The young people you may plan to leave your comics to might also be at a stage in their lives where they're likely to move, and a sizable comic collection could be quite a burden on them, too, in terms of bulk and space.

Depending on the value of one's collection, some of the cash value may be needed as well.

 

Edited by namisgr
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With 2 kids going to college, even state school, starting over the next 4.5 -10.5 years and a desire to be collecting my pension starting at 57-62 (in the next 11-16) the books are getting sold one way or the other between now and then.

Edited by the blob
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10 hours ago, Bird said:

You only leave people problems if you leave them the books. As they don’t know how to handle those things

So true...it's a major headache to deal with the estates of loved ones. Estate auctions, selling homes, cars, and all the detritus of a long life take a lot of work to sell, donate, etc.,.

However, it's worth noting that if your heirs sell your books after you're gone they do not have to pay capital gains tax on the appreciation. For old-time collectors that paid nickels on (today's) dollars for their books, this could be a substantial savings if we're talking about a small number of high-$ books.

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1 hour ago, drbanner said:

So true...it's a major headache to deal with the estates of loved ones. Estate auctions, selling homes, cars, and all the detritus of a long life take a lot of work to sell, donate, etc.,.

However, it's worth noting that if your heirs sell your books after you're gone they do not have to pay capital gains tax on the appreciation. For old-time collectors that paid nickels on (today's) dollars for their books, this could be a substantial savings if we're talking about a small number of high-$ books.

I keep thinking about my buddy in Texas with 5 buildings around his home full of paperback books, some quite vaulable.  He has one son who is sickly himself.

Edited by NoMan
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2 hours ago, namisgr said:

Liquidating a collection has an additional advantage beyond the money that hasn't been mentioned yet.  Collections are heavy.  Bulky.  They take up a lot of space.  When you're at advanced ages, the chances are you'll move, sometimes multiple times.  Lugging around thousands of comics at age 75 and keeping them in a downsized living arrangement are much, much harder than having their liquidated value in cash.  As I've reached retirement age, the plan has already been ongoing for several years now, that will ultimately leave me with about one longbox worth of raw books for reading, with the future plan to sell those as well.  The young people you may plan to leave your comics to might also be at a stage in their lives where they're likely to move, and a sizable comic collection could be quite a burden on them, too, in terms of bulk and space.

Depending on the value of one's collection, some of the cash value may be needed as well.

 

Agreed!

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I don't have a giant collection.

I have about 300 slabs and about 1500-1700 raw books... 

I am more concerned about the legos and plastic crack when I get much older and can no longer walk up stairs. 

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