[Milsurplus] Re: Radio Estate Math

[Bob Camp]

Hi

Ok, let's add another view:

Let's say that the collection is a "little out of hand". By that I  
mean that there is absolutely no place in the house that is not taken  
up by the collection. Stuff has to be moved simply to get down  
hallways. Forget about getting into rooms - you gotta move stuff to  
open doors. No, I do not jest, this is 100% true.

Not only can't the house be sold with the "collection in place", the  
collection can't even be sold with it in place. You have to go find a  
warehouse to move it to to sort it out. Obviously that isn't going to  
happen, so people stop by and chip away at it a little at a time. In  
this case the chipping was still in progress a year later.

What ever you expect is worth something - sort it, label it,  
inventory it. If it can't be found or identified it's value is zip.

Bob
KB8TQ

On Oct 8, 2007, at 8:32 PM, Don Merz wrote:

> 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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