Excellent points, all. I have witnessed or at least heard about every one of
them. Regular review of ebay listings will also suggest
many of these pathological responses (except the dumping for pennies, which
market forces tends to prevent)
Families in grief are not usually very rational, but if there are trusted
friends who are BOTH knowledgeable and realistic, there is a
greater likelihood that the collection will end up in the optimal distribution
and the best financial return for the heirs. Ed Loizeaux's
report on how the BASS club handled the disposition of one of their member's
estates seems to bear that out, although the last
chapter in that has not yet gotten to the list: how much of the choicer items
actually sold at the modest markdowns from list he
posted.
And as I recall, he listed only the higher-value items, so one is left
wondering where the car kits and parts and such went.
Perhaps to the club, perhaps to be put out on tables at OSW? The hardest part
of disposing of an extensive collection is not selling
off the brass and highly-collectible pieces--those tend to find new homes
fairly easily--but all the accumulation of odds and ends
we all end up with, most of which cannot possibly retain any significant
fraction of their original purchase price because we have
effectively consumed their value. Which is why sometimes the heirs overvalue
them, thinking only of what the deceased spent on them.
I have been a happy buyer of such fragments at O scale shows almost as long as
I have been in O scale, where the family or friends
of the family brings a trailer-full of leftovers to put out on several tables
at a show, usually glad to get anything for what would be very
hard to sell individually (although one dealer--not, as I understand it, a
model railroader--goes to auctions and buys up all the leftovers
and tries to sell them for top dollar on ebay).
Jace Kahn
General Manager
Ceres & Canisteo RR Co./Champlain County Traction Co.
> we have a local club, and when a member passes on, it has been difficult at
> times to help the survivors get a fair price for their trains....here is
> some of what I have seen.....
>
> 1) "someone", they ARE and WILL always remain nameless, sees the
> layout/collection, who knows nothing about about trains, puts an unrealistic
> value into the head of the wife or kids, but is not willing to put up that
> kind of money, they also have no phone number, and are just an irresponsible
> friend of the family ! an uphill battle... cut your losses and let them fend
> for themselves! anything you may want, make a fair offer and walk away
> knowing that you tried your best to help! Also remember that YOU were not the
> first person to be asked to help out... there may be a reason behind, this
> that there is more concern about profit, and you may be viewed as a potential
> buyer ! ! ! !
>
> 2) know-it-all kids have taken a collection that would have been fairly easy
> to sell AND to make a good profit on (profit for the estate!) and run it into
> the ground by "knowing" that the shop where pop took them to as a little kid
> could do a better job than a bunch of model railroaders.....with monetarily
> results that resembled the recent stock market melt-down and sales lingered
> for years, things were "missing", a disaster !
>
> 3) DO help out to pack the right items in their right boxes, especially the
> correct tenders with the correct locomotives !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! with
> remarks in writing about any damage or anything special about the piece
> (collector piece, custom paint, etc)
>
> 4) some families "take care" of the disposition on their own. I know pop
> would have liked to have had a car or two from his long-time friends who have
> passed away... BUMMER !!!
>
> 5) IF they want a realistic appraisal, explain to them the process and that
> it could take a lot of time and research. This can turn into a labor of love,
> and become a full time job for a few weeks. Document everything as to how and
> why you came up with a value for them!
> an appraisal value is not necessarily the selling value !
>
> 6) some people just don't want to be helped with the disposition. if there is
> something that you would like from the collection, write down the piece and
> put your name and phone number on that piece of paper/index card/e-mail and
> give it to the person in charge (wife. kids. etc) of the disposition.
> .....After the yard sale where they try to sell the trains on their own, and
> are offered 5 or 10 bucks per box of "choo-choos", they will be calling to
> sell you the piece you want and may actually listen to a knowledgeable
> person....or not !
>
> 7) do not view a collection in groups !!!! once an inflated dollar number is
> thrown out by a well-meaning colleague, your integrity is on the line due to
> an impulsive remake not made by you ! IF you do go with others, agree to not
> mention value, until after an inventory has been done ! I'm still gun shy
> from my last experience with a couple of guys from my club who started
> talking dollar amounts in a scale they had never modeled in !!!
>
> 8) be kind...after all how many nights were you invited into their house when
> their husband/dad could have been doing something with the family instead of
> "those guys" who played with trains in the basement, drink a lot of coffee
> and smoked too much! the survivors can be in shock, do not take advantage,
> and hopefully it will work out well for all involved !
>
> all the above I have seen happen, and it makes a sad time even sadder....
>
> Bc
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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