How much will you pay for my collection?

[gtb]

I think you have to do your own research so that you can come up with what YOU feel your items are worth. having another person do that for you is a waste of both your time and theirs because you may not agree with their value of something.

Well, I am asking nicely for the board members help, and I believe that if its really a waste of their time, they will simply ignore the post.

If I am selling, it will to others, so I believe their opinion matter, though yes, I agree that I may or may not agree with it, it is a reference for me, and I appreciate their time.

 

[Mithrandier]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Horrible, horrible idea.

You need to think about it.

The time, effort, money and happiness you put into it.

You can get it all back(maybe that is half the fun), but.........

I don't even want to think about it, and I have a fraction of what you have.

(Also, cannot call it an entire collection without GTB.)

That said, I hope it would get at least $25,000.

It is all in the eyes of the buyer.

 

[FlyAndFight]

Use the "Toytracker" website as a good estimate of current worth of the Sideshow and the SS/Weta pieces. That will definitely get you started on the right foot.

 

[Darklord Dave]

If you insist on selling it as a lot you'll get maybe one tenth what you'd get if you sold it by the piece. Impressive collection though.

 

[lcummins]

It really is unrealistic to expect the buyer to agree to keep the collection together... and for what reason? So you can come back and repurchase it? No one would agree to that unless it was a really good friend or something.

Your best bet might be to research each piece on eBay... that will give you a fair idea of the individual prices and worth, but put together as a whole collection, only to be sold that way, will decrease the value because very few could afford it, so there is less competition to keep the value up. We've seen several times on eBay, complete collections put up, and they almost never sell.

Just my two cents...

 

[CAhobbit]

Impressive collection! Though you could try to sell your entire collection in one swoop I'm not sure how successful you will be. I've seen collections go up on ebay in the past and not a one (that I saw) sold. As others have said you'd have more success with selling many items individually (mainly your statues and collectibles of that nature). You have quite a few books, CDs and posters. You could try to unload those as a 'lot'. Many of those books are still readily avaliable so selling them in groups or one 'lot' would probably give you a better result (the same goes with your posters and CDs).

 

[lcummins]

Impressive collection! Though you could try to sell your entire collection in one swoop I'm not sure how successful you will be. I've seen collections go up on ebay in the past and not a one (that I saw) sold. As others have said you'd have more success with selling many items individually (mainly your statues and collectibles of that nature). You have quite a few books, CDs and posters. You could try to unload those as a 'lot'. Many of those books are still readily avaliable so selling them in groups or one 'lot' would probably give you a better result (the same goes with your posters and CDs).

What she said!! That is a good example... if you broke it up, I would be interested in the whole poster lot, but that would be about it... I'm sure most can't afford, or don't need, the entire collection.

 

[warlock664]

I own the entire SSW LOTR collection EXCEPT for Gandalf the Bronze; according to Toytracker,the value of those 183 pieces is $30,155. Now, could I get that if I sold? The chances would be much greater if I sold each piece individually, rather than as an entire collection. But I would say $20,000 is more realistic.

 

[BadMoon]

I own the entire SSW LOTR collection EXCEPT for Gandalf the Bronze; according to Toytracker,the value of those 183 pieces is $30,155. Now, could I get that if I sold? The chances would be much greater if I sold each piece individually, rather than as an entire collection. But I would say $20,000 is more realistic.

My guess was $30,000 and I don't have most of the line. WORD!

 

[warlock664]

If I had to make a guess though I would say $30,000 maybe less maybe more.

WORD, indeed!!

 

[BadMoon]

 

[Mesa]

Your best bet might be to research each piece on eBay... that will give you a fair idea of the individual prices and worth, but put together as a whole collection, only to be sold that way, will decrease the value because very few could afford it, so there is less competition to keep the value up. We've seen several times on eBay, complete collections put up, and they almost never sell.

Just my two cents...

You know what sucks? Now Ebay only shows about the last month worth of auctions. You used to be able to go back several months to see all completed auctions. I think if you want that capability, it's a serperate service that you have to pay for. That's why toy tracker is so great, but not everything is tracked and sometimes it seems not everything gets put in the toytracker history, plus it can mix exclusives and non-exclusives.

 

[amarcord]

My question would be: can I get my money back when I sell my collection?
(of course it would be much easier and a less work when sold as a lot)

 

[dfchang]

Wow . . .

Ok.

4 pages plus and no one has given a true estimate?

As a fellow collector, Lord of the Rings Fan, and someone with the money to pay this (although I won't because I'm just not interested in every piece).

Your COMPLETE collection is worth 100,000 easily.

The Sideshow WETA collection (the original series that started the craze) is worth about 40,000.

The problem is that the higher the price the more constrained the market.

I understand your dilemma. It's obviously EASIER to sell it in one gigantic block. The sheer time and effort to sell this thing off piecemeal and worry about individual shipping, insurance, packaging, damages, etc, etc, etc is worth 10,000 dollars in aggravation alone (and I'm not kidding).

But out there in the wide, wide, wide world who has the money to do it? and . . .

who has the ROOM to display it? and . . .

who would be CRAZY enough to have the money AND ACTUALLY BUY IT? and . . .

who actually loves Lord of the Rings that much? and . . .

who KNOWS about this board and specifically YOU????

I'd say right now . . . no one.

I would be pretty close. I'm a surgeon so i could probably afford it. And I would have if I wasn't married but I just got hitched 2 years ago.

I know someone in Mississippi who is a physician and makes 18,000 dollar bonuses a month. He's recently divorced, lives in a mansion by himself, and loves Lord of the Rings. I can see him putting down 100K for you . . . but unfortunately for you he's already more than half way toward achieving your collection!! So he's out.

As far as I know, he and I are the only people with both the financial power and the true Lord of the Rings insanity obsession to realistically consider doing it . . . but we fall short in the end for different reasons.

Good luck to you but if you're in the market for letting go the "big three" of either Balrog, Cave Troll, or Witch King let me know!

Dennis

 

[tylerd]

Recently I have been comtemplating the idea of pursuing my LOTR further as I finally see that it is an unending story despite my recently selective purchases. Having said that, I am not really willing to part with my collection which I have so painstakingly, emotionally and financially, to anyone who does not share the same passion as I am.

edit

this is a difficult question to answer. right now, you will never get what you want for your collection. now store your collection for 15-20 years and then hire an auction house to sell, and you may get tens of thousands more than you ever thought you could get. a lot of the item you have can be found, satisfying the collector looking for a specific piece. but once many are no longer readily available, the sky could be the limit.

i can see it now...

next on the auction docket. a complete lotr collectibles collection featuring sideshow busts, helms, statues and art work. collection is valued at $1,000.000. i'd like to start the bidding at $250,000.

i once saw an actual spandex suit worn by t-pol of star trek go for $35,000. it is very possible and highly probable to retire off your collection.

 

[gtb]

Hmmm, I wish to thank those who have given me their opinion about the worth of this collection.

Personally, I think tylerd has given me some insights of what I must do if I were to truly get back the monetary equivalent of the effort put in.

I also wish to say that my condition or rather hope the buyer will keep the collection intact is because it is a collection of a lifetime and i doubt it will ever come around to see this ... to me, this is like a piece of history. In 50 years time, it is unlikely there will be a Alan Lee AND John Howe AND Jamie Beswarick (my favourite sculptor from Weta) living in the same era.

Hopefully, my local museum will SUPRISINGLY keep it for me one day...

In conclusion, from the opinions I gathered so far, I think it will be unlikely that I can sell it at a price that is worth

 

[The Dwimmerlaik]

Damn, you got many things i only have 300 things of LOTR and ill feel powerfull now you are the "lord of the rings".

 

[toffeepops]

Before selling your SSW would you be able to post some pics?

 

[Darth Caedus]

If you insist on selling it as a lot you'll get maybe one tenth what you'd get if you sold it by the piece. Impressive collection though.

Plus, if you sell everything seperate, you can charge shipping on each piece and get that extra revenue you wouldn't have gotten if you sold the lot of a whole.

 

[Wetanut]

Only way you can control the "keeping the collection together" is by will I'm thinking. And then, even that isn't a certainty after you've gone.