[Milsurplus] Re: Radio Estate Math--WAS: Belton Swapfest

[Dave Maples]

All: Same is true for all other posessions, methinks.

Well-written, Don.

One other observation: If the widow or family stays in the house, the
collection will stay right where it sits for a long while, at least most of
the time.  What will it be worth 5-10 years after you are gone?

Dave WB4FUR

-----Original Message-----
From: milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Don Merz
Sent: Monday, October 08, 2007 8:33 PM
To: WE0H; milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Milsurplus] Re: Radio Estate Math--WAS: Belton Swapfest


I hope we all understand this from another direction. For most families,
everything we leave behind as part of "our hobby" is a burden to them. OK?
Agreed? So let's "do the math."

They don't love this junk. They don't know what to do with it and they don't
have time to deal with it. Heck, they don't even live in the same city as
our junk. We die and we drop this load of "shit that has to be dealt with"
on them. And we, with no small egos, think "this is great--I am leaving them
75 collectable radios and pieces of equipment plus 600 pounds of parts and
tubes that I estimate is worth [--pick a number-- ] say $40,000. I am so
glad I am leaving them with that money."

Wrong, wrong, wrong. What you are leaving them with is the incredible,
time-consuming hassle of sorting through it all and selling it over a period
of what? [--pick a number--] say, a year. The "junk in the basement and
attic" may delay them selling the property (worth what?--pick a number, say
$200,000) for that length of time, during which they have to pay utilities,
upkeep and taxes on the property which would otherwise be sold immediately.
Meanwhile, they have to take off work, travel to our junk, and spend their
precious free time trying to figure out and collect the difference in value
between an R390A and a Hallicrafters S40B. Isn't that lovely?

So here we are, captains of generosity, leaving this mess for our families
to deal with so thay can collect the $40,000. In the property scenario,
utilities, taxes and upkeep on a $200,000 property for a year could easily
be $10,000. Plus, the family loses the interest they would have collected on
the $200k for a year, another $10,000 lost. Oops, now the value of our great
estate is down to $20,000.

And THEN a SHYSTER comes along and says "I'll give you $10,000 for
everything upstairs." Recognizing the facts as I've laid them out above, WHO
is the bigger jerk? The shyster for offering 1/4 of what we thought the junk
was worth and bailing the family out of that ridiculous mess? Or US for
sticking our families with it in the first place?

Geez, folks--get a grip. I know whereof I speak, having supervised, managed,
purchased and otherwise disposed of many collectors estates over the past 10
years. Only the rarest of the rare is worth fussing over. All the common
stuff has little value ABOVE THE COST TO DISPOSE OF IT. The widow generally
has the pension, 401K, life insurance, proceeds from the sale of the house
and other property, plus the husband's Social Security to live on. Notice
that "proceeds from sale of stamp collection--or radio collection or
baseball card collection--" is not in that list.

Suggestions: Sell as much as you buy. Don't let the collection become a
runaway freight train. Keep it under control so no one has to deal with it
when you're gone. As you get older, sell more than you buy. At some point,
stop buying. And for whatever is left, join your local ham club and leave
instructions with your heirs to donate it all to them so the club can sell
it off and raise some much-needed cash. The club deals with the mess, the
heirs can get on with their lives, and nothing, once the value of our
family's time counted, is lost.

Anyway, FWIW, those are the lessons from my experience.
73, Don Merz, N3RHT





Let those starvin stealing bastards rot in hell when their time comes to
kick the bucket. I feel it is just plain sick to screw an old lady out
of here hubby's estate and re-sell it just to make booze money or
whatever else they buy with their damn profit's. Bring 'em out behind
the hamfest and let the boy's teach 'em a thing or two...crack>pow>kick
in the ass...

Mike
WE0H

Hue Miller wrote:
>
> Very interesting stories, gentlemen.
> Apparently one outstanding lesson is that EACH and EVERY ham type
> person needs to think who is going to dispose of their beloved items
> when they check out ( which often enuff is before scheduled check-out
> time ). Someone or some group who is knows the values, and is trustworthy.
>
> Another thing is, in the long term, you gotta feel sorry for some
> pitiful dog
> who needs to scrap so fiercely for a paltry few hundred bucks. They gotta
> have it real bad, macaroni and cheese dinners, or they'd not be so crude.
> -Hue
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