[ARC5] Managing Yiour Colection, WAS Item 300447369243

[Don Merz]

Helped clean out an estate 2 months ago. The son came in from out of town with 
his son and they had one week to dispose of a house full. First order of 
business: Order a DUMPSTER. By the time I got there, they had it 1/2 full, 
packed tightly. Full of what you ask? gorgeous Teletype gear, old wooden radios, 
parts by the ton, etc. They would not let me "tear apart their packing" to get 
the stuff out of the dumpster--and off to the dump it went. 


The stuff they thought had value was all posted on Craigslist--and of course 
sold for pennies on the dollar. Pennies. I hauled away one van load full--packed 
front to back and top to bottom--for $340. I went back the next day and bought 
approximately 40 old RR kersosene lanterns with markings on them from PRR, B&O, 
etc. I had no clue what they were worth. I just knew they were worth more than 
the $200 he wanted for all 40 of them. 


There's a lesson here. It's actually very simple: The house you are living in is 
probably worth 10 times as much as your radio collection. In this economy, make 
that 20 times. Your heirs will want to realize the value out of the house as 
quickly as possible. All the radio collection will be to them is "in the way". 
Forget any instructions you have left behind and so forth. NOBODY wants to sell 
all that "crap" on eBay and then have to pack and ship it one by one. NOBODY. No 
matter how much they love you. 


I would advise you to "manage" you radio "holdings" the same way you manage your 
investment portfolio. Unfortunately, in the present economy, most radio 
collections are near worthless. Military gear is doing okay. Collins ham gear 
and "the best of the best" antique radios are holding their value. Everything 
else? Put a $20 tag on it and forget it if you have to sell it today.

Don't shoot me. I didn't make the rules. I just happen to know what they are. 
When the housing market collapsed, the collectibles market went with it. Cars, 
motorcycles, radios, everything. There are not enough buyers. To few people 
have any real money. And the ones who do are only buying if the value is dollars 
and their cost is pennies. 


Ask any lawyer about disposing of an estate today. The first thing they will 
tell you is this "assume everything in the house is worth nothing." All the 
value is in any real estate and investments and cash. End of story.

It's ugly. But there it is.
73, Don Merz, N3RHT

PS: It's the same story as above with the computer guys. You can find buyers for 
your Altair 8800 and your DEC PDP-8. After that the buyers drop off a cliff and 
are never heard from again. They only want "the best of the best". 


----- Original Message ----
From: "arc5 at ix.netcom.com" <arc5 at ix.netcom.com>
To: arc5 at mailman.qth.net; Milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
Sent: Tue, July 20, 2010 9:28:38 PM
Subject: Re: [ARC5] [Milsurplus] Item 300447369243

Makes me sad when I hear about the guy with a warehouse or three 
stacked full of "stuff."  He dies, and someone has to deal with all 
the dusty, neglected equipment he was going to "get around to someday."  
I learned the hard way-  
Too much stuff is an albatross around your neck.
Dealing with it is time and soul draining.  
Most of us need to realize 
that there are a lot more days behind than there are ahead.  
Decide what you really, really care about.
Shed the rest as quickly as you can.  Be ruthless.  
When your last day comes (and it certainly will),
you will either smile about all the fun you had 
with projects you actually finished,  
or eternally regret the stacks of equipment
you "didn't get around to."

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