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Curious what everyone's plans are?
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87 posts in this topic

My plans are to stay organized, leave my family with just a few boxes of slabbed comics and a portfolio of artwork, and specific instructions of how to sell them (as of this writing, Heritage). As for my collection of books, I'll note which ones are worth anything, with instructions on who to send them to. (again, as of now, Heritage!)

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6 hours ago, wisbyron said:

I was reading a few years ago about how things like Elvis impersonators/tribute artists and trips to Graceland were beginning a decline due to a growing lack of cultural connection to Elvis. I was a child of the Eighties and I vividly remember Elvis everywhere- there were commercials for hotlines about Elvis being alive, television movies about Elvis, Bill Bixby hosted tv specials about if he was alive, Weekly World News covers, even corner stands on the road selling those velvet Elvis paintings. I swear, there was so much of it! What I didn't realize about it until much later was just the cultural impact Elvis had and when I was, say, 6 or 7 (I was born in 1979), Elvis had only been dead almost a decade. However, as time has moved on, less and less young people are exposed to him in the same capacity- partly that's because of his estate mishandling his work, partly that's because of a public narrative that Elvis was a thief from African-American culture, partly it's because of the Elvis impersonator's comedic mannerisms infiltrating the subconscious perception of Elvis. So I have to respectfully argue that the value of Elvis collecting *has* gone down and the decline of Elvis conventions and such bear this out. We can equate this to another topic about comics and the lack of new, younger collectors interested in building collections being created. 

Yeah of course you're right about the hyper level of cultural impact having diminished. That wasn't sustainable. I'm just not sure this necessarily equates to significant devaluation of important memorabilia. Imo, there doesn't need to be a massive cultural groundswell for a memorabilia market to thrive. There will always be interest in Elvis. Once an icon always an icon (thumbsu.

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My Mother in Law is an attorney , and my wife a paralegal.  They specifically deal in wills and trusts. I have everything tied up in a pretty bow. Remember wills still go to probate, so prepare with a living trust so your estate goes to the people you want it to go to.

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11 minutes ago, MGsimba77 said:

Yeah of course you're right about the hyper level of cultural impact having diminished. That wasn't sustainable. I'm just not sure this necessarily equates to significant devaluation of important memorabilia. Imo, there doesn't need to be a massive cultural groundswell for a memorabilia market to thrive. There will always be interest in Elvis. Once an icon always an icon (thumbsu.

You're correct in the sense that Elvis's gold lame suit (for example) or 68' Comeback Special leather jacket will ALWAYS be worth money. However, my point is more that the amount of people interested in SPENDING that money is declining. It's the same thing many have been discussing about the future of collecting: Journey Into Mystery #83 won't decrease in value ever, but twenty years from now, there might be a few dozen less people who feel it's worth shelling out for. 

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On 12/5/2020 at 11:23 AM, MagicMan_2017 said:

I've been starting to think more and more lately about the future of my personal collection. I love collecting and have had majority of them since childhood over 40 years ago ... but I found myself asking what exactly are my plans? Is the goal to keep them until I die and pass them on to my kids who are less than interested in the hobby (and will likely sell at the first chance they get)? Or cash out now and at least crystalize some of the value before the hobby is snuffed out by the next generations (Gen Z and on)? Of course, these books hold a lot of sentimental value to me ... but I'm also a realist and not sure taking them to the grave with me is the best option. 

I know to each their own ... but curious what others plan to do?

Why would you sell them? Unless you will have a smaller nest egg and need the cash. If not, why would you make yourself depressed about loosing them. If they bring you happiness each time you look at them, keep them.

Regardless if you sell them when you get old, or if you pass and your children get them, same sold situation.

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2 minutes ago, Ken Aldred said:

That’s the problem. About time I did a will explicitly stating what I want done with my comic collection.  In my case, maximum return distributed to a few medical and animal protection charities. Having no immediate family, siblings, dependants, I’d want the time and effort expended on building it up to instead do some more generalised good in the future.

Instead of a will , do a living trust. The courts cant touch your money with a trust. A will allows all your debtors to get paid prior to your family's share is dispersed. 

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18 minutes ago, BigLeagueCHEW said:

Why would you sell them? Unless you will have a smaller nest egg and need the cash. If not, why would you make yourself depressed about loosing them. If they bring you happiness each time you look at them, keep them.

You make a great point ... so very true. I do pull it out on bad days and no matter how many times I look at it, it brings this euphoria to me. Sometimes it's weird to think that none of my wife, kids, family or friends get it ... and it's just me and my comics. An unspoken relationship.

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3 minutes ago, MagicMan_2017 said:

You make a great point ... so very true. I do pull it out on bad days and no matter how many times I look at it, it brings this euphoria to me. Sometimes it's weird to think that none of my wife, kids, family or friends get it ... and it's just me and my comics. An unspoken relationship.

Comics, and these chat boards, for those long hard days and you need some relief :grin: (thumbsu 

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20 minutes ago, MagicMan_2017 said:

You make a great point ... so very true. I do pull it out on bad days and no matter how many times I look at it, it brings this euphoria to me. Sometimes it's weird to think that none of my wife, kids, family or friends get it ... and it's just me and my comics. An unspoken relationship.

Agree with this! The goal is to sell the least amount of books possible and pass all of them on to my kids or nephews. 

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34 minutes ago, wisbyron said:

MGsimba77, you've always been like an Uncle (or Aunt) to me 

lol you're born in 79 so I'm barely a year younger than you but sure why not (:

Kinda reminds me of elderly high end collectors on their last legs discovering all these newly found "loved ones" lavishing attention lol. I'm not quite in that high end group. 

Edited by MGsimba77
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On 12/6/2020 at 8:06 PM, Poekaymon said:

One thing that concerns me is "I'm going to sell them all when I retire" is something a lot of people on this board have said, and I think you're all around the same age...

There will definitely be a point in time after which super hero comics will start declining in value.   Within the world of comics, we already saw this with Western comics from the 1950s; guys who were born in the 1940s bought those comics as children and loved Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger and those collectors kept prices high....until those guys hit retirement age around the year 2000, and there was no younger generation that wanted to buy Western comics.  
 

So when will prices on superhero books go into decline?  Well, when was the last decade that lots of kids bought comics, approached with a completionist attitude towards collecting, and video games had not yet rocketed ahead as boys’ number one hobby?   I’m thinking this time period was the 80s, so I believe people born in the 1970s will be willing to buy my books when I retire.  But when those 1970s babies retire in the 2030s, I think we will see rapid declines in superhero comic prices, other than key first appearances.

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On 12/5/2020 at 2:02 PM, Hollywood1892 said:

My plan is to sell my books when I retire

That was my plan. But I retired, and sure, I sell more, but I buy wwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy more than I sell.

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On 12/5/2020 at 4:14 PM, Ares said:

I am downsizing my collection now to concentrate on core items

My wife and daughter will be educated on who to contact if something happens to me

My wife and/or daughter will likely be behind my disappearance. :eek:

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On 12/6/2020 at 2:50 PM, PopKulture said:

Well, that is going to throw a monkey wrench into sellers like myself who sell a few items here and there. No way are they getting my SSN so I can sell a few non-comic things here and there. They always have to fix things that aren't broken...  O.o

I already have your SSN and credit card info, so I am golden.

Edited by lizards2
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On 12/6/2020 at 6:05 PM, thehumantorch said:

But that's just it, you don't always know when the time is approaching.  Any of us could be hit by a bus, god forbid, or some other unexpected event, and it will be too late for estate planning or collection dispersal planning.  Just like we should all have wills we should all have some basic plan to sell stuff and some  basic plan to inform our family and friends of value.  Even if it's just a note on boxes of slabs with 'send to comiclink and burn the rest' or whatever.

My dad got ran over and killed in a Walmart parking lot 7 years ago.  It really made an impact on me as far as the consequences of an interrupted life. Luckily, he had all his stuff together, but cripes, it sure was a surprise.  He'd probably still be alive today, as he was really kicking it.

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