[Milsurplus] More on WW2 military radio estate

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

> You need two types of help:
>
> 1) Someone who knows the technical side of the equipment, and what a reasonable firm price will be.  I say "firm price" because handling a lot of negotiation and dickering simply isn't practical in a large sale.  And believe me, some SKs can leave a LOT of equipment behind!
>
> 2) Someone who has experience selling on ePay, EHamNet, QRZ, or any of the many electronic outlets that can reach a wide audience, to handle the actual sales.

Actually a combination of both works pretty well. When Tony Grogan
passed away a couple years back, several guys including Meir WF2U
dealt with his estate. They started with an inventory of all the
equipment with fair prices (not sure if Tony did this previosly or
they had to). 'Fair' meaning things were priced to sell: not at some
possible top-dollar ebay price, and not at give-away prices. Somewhere
between. They sold what they could locally to folks who could pick the
items up, shipped some items to others, then the leftovers went to
ebay via a family friend who had an ebay store (if I'm remembering
correctly).

Pre-planning is certainly a huge part of it. Having the right folks to
handle the job is a must. In this case, Meir was able to notify not
only friends of Tony, but other military collectors and users via this
list and elsewhere. They checked items off the inventory as they were
spoken for and eventually sold. My only regret is that I didn't bring
more money with me when I went to pick up my purchases. With the XYL
along and a 5-6 hour round trip, it was probably just as well.

The sad reality of things going to the dump has taken place forever.
The only thing that counteracts it is having a plan in place, or at
the very least, phone numbers for those friends or contacts who can
step in and save the day. My list has been updated numerous times over
the years as times and places have changed. Keeping things at a
somewhat reasonable/manageable/organized level is important too, like
manuals, cords, or other accessories for equipment and so on.

I hope this fellow's family gets through it well.

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4