Knowing when to sell a collection is as important as knowing what to put in a collection. Yesterday, I told you about a collection which Wonderworld Comics purchased which gives us lessons about collecting. Larry’s Lesson on Collecting today will focus on knowing when to sell a collection.
The Collection in Question
Most of the collection was purchased in the early to mid-1990s and was comprised of almost every toy which could be collectible you could think of. He had Star Wars, Star Trek, X-Files, superhero toys, and more. While he might have sold much of what he purchased initially, I have found many receipts which are for the same number of bulk items we are currently processing. If he had a listing of seven of something on the receipt, chances are almost perfect we have seven to process.
The Timeline
Most of these toys had apparently been sitting in his basement for 15 years or more waiting for the market to go up. As I stated before, he might have sold off some of his collection in the past, but that does not fully jive with the paperwork we have. He apparently did not know when to sell a collection.
When to Sell a Collection?
When should you sell a collection? When the market is at a peak. Now, this could be the market for collecting as a whole or for a particular collectible.
What Could Have Made Him Money?
Knowing when to sell a collection is one thing. Selling it can sometimes be another. You have to do your research. Going over the boxes in the collection, most appear to be in boxes which were sealed and never opened again. While he had an inventory on each box, I don’t think he checked each toy on a regular basis. Sure, he might have checked a few here and there, but that was not using your knowledge of when to sell a collection effectively.
What he should have done was check his entire collection on a regular basis. Instead of checking a few items (which might have all decreased in value), he should have checked the entire collection. The X-Files toys, for example, were selling at a higher premium just before the last movie. He could have made money on those sales. He could have sold off some of the Marvel toys just before The Avengers and made a few extra dollars. Instead, the entire collection sat. Keep your eye on every market you can and you will know when to sell a collection.
