asking those who have sold or bought a collection advice on how to go about it. inventoried the whole shebang and there are over 2,000 vehicles. it's a mixture of Hot Wheels, Matchbox, new (as in the first reissue) Johnny Lightining's and other misc in that size. there are some M2's (? I think they are called) and maybe 200 of the bunch is uncarded. a list would probably be the best...but I'll be doing that till the cows come home. pictures would only be a few here and there because there are so many and the amount of boxes to undo is bunches. there a some original redlines in the bunch but they are played with and in the number 4 category if I'm lucky. 1 being tops and 5 good for the dog to chew on. one idea was to trade for...? any suggestions will be appreciated, sarcasm laughed at and mean replies just ignored. naw, I'd read them anyway. Thanks!
I am more accustomed to buying rather than selling those models.... and in my experience, if I'm selling, apparently, they're worth nothing...if I'm trying to buy it - it's worth a fortune.
eBay is a mess ...unless you're a seasoned seller there, I would avoid it like the plague. The Toy Peddler used to be good both ways, but now the big boys use it to buy the hoards and sell on for way more than they'll pay out to buy from you. I guess that is what is known as capitalism. There are some people out there buying collections, but they don't pay that much per car. You need to have specialty cars in the collection to even attract some buyers these days.
Do you have good carded Redlines cars, Treasure Hunts or limited-edition models? They are what attract a buyer. I was going over some photos of a small part of my collection today as it happens.... I was up to around 8,000 cars at one point a few years ago. A disease that can easily get out of control. I am now almost cured, as I haven't bought a single car in around four years now.
Like you, I am getting prepared to downsize again. I did have some success selling locally as 'box lots' - I called them a Mystery Pack - 72-count case with a few really good cars in - with no guarantees of what lay inside and no requests entered into. All buyers were very pleased.
I also auctioned off five 'Golden Tickets' which gave the successful bidder a chance to come to my house for an-person buy-up of what I had out for sale. Made some good coin back that day...and one guy bought about 300 cars for his booth at a Hot Rod show. He sells them at twice retail value and more depending on condition and the type of car.
An example of some higher-end cars I have..... (this is not a for sale advert or an invitation to buy from me)... these are the sort of things people look for.
), with the understanding that when he gets out of high school, he can either keep them for himself or if he needs to, to sell them for college or trade school tuition. When he was little, he helped me pick them out at the stores when we went shopping and he keeps them all in the original packaging. Him, and his mom and dad, all know what value they can have.
