Too Old to Collect

I was at a collectors event mix of militaria  and other military stuff ,I was talking to a couple of collectors I know when this young guy must have been in his late teens came and asked if we were collectors
which I replayed we were only to be told we were to old and should have sold our collections years ago , ok I am the wrong side of 40 one of the chaps I was talking to is in his early 70s , so it has raised
the question when should you pack it in , if at all  comments would be welcome

Either when you lose interest or never(as long as your will is clear and you are not relying on your friends to give your wife advice about the value of any item. especially if they are offering to buy it!)

I have often mulled this over, and have decided that as long as the pursuit is enjoyable, and doesn't break the bank, I will continue. It is true though, that one should make arrangements so as not to saddle next of kin with the task of disposing of a large collection in a hasty or disorganized manner, in the worst case. But the decision to make that kind of arrangement should hardly be a function of age, since even young people aren't immortal...

I suspect we all reflect on this issue, but I will offer you two thoughts: first, I think we all spend on our hobbies, having taken into account what is fair in proportion to total family incomes and expenditure, so if we have value out of our collections and the pleasure of acquiring and owning them, then the collection could be given away after we die and we have had our value.
Second, any one who collects enjoys the chase and the negotiation to get what they want at the lowest possible cost. It is part of our hobby. As a result of this, it would break out hearts to think of our collections being broken up at bargain value. But it is in our control to prevent this happening. We have seen at least two big collections broken up and sold to members of this forum in the last few years.From what I could see, this was managed in a fair and leisurely manner so we have a model we can follow.
These are contradictory but it is up to each of us to manage in this spectrum.

Dont think age comes into it,well not for me anyway,funds play the biggest factor.

Good thoughts!

I think the major problem with collecting something that consumes so much space is you can't take it with you to "senior housing" (in the US this means any number of types of housing, but always SMALL!).  Otherwise it's the same issues for someone in their 20s as it is in their 90s... you never know when you're going to go so you should have some sort of plan in place for your collection.

In my case my wife knows who to contact and those guys will not fire sale it. They will siphon some cherries for themselves and then sell the rest with the bulk of that going to my estate. Currently I have more invested in my collection than I do my house.

Here's a cautionary tale. Last year a few of us collectors had the rare opportunity to purchase portions of a collection from someone who died over a decade earlier.  The deceased collector had intended that his items go to a couple of collecting buddies to be sold off the right way and the fund put into his estate.  But if there was anything in writing it was "lost" and the items wound up being sold off a little here and there over a few years by someone with no knowledge of the stuff. After a short while they were shoved into storage for a very long time.  Then last year they bought, in bulk, by a dealer who is a great guy. Now, if the collection had gone to the buddies it should have gone to, the recovered value would likely have been higher and it would have been in 1-3 years instead of more than 10.

Just something to keep in mind.

Steve

To old my Ass!!! I will be a militaria collector till about 30 days after I kick the bucket!!!

"Currently I have more invested in my collection than I do my house."  

Sounds familiar, in my case about 3X.  
Since I have no relative who are interested in the stuff I have a couple of good/reliable friends who will get to dispose of my collection when I'm gone (they get to pick a few items for themselves).  Both are collectors and know both the value and how to properly dispose of everything.  Some items will be offered to museums, the rest sold.
The $$$ will then be donated to several designated worth while charities.
Sarge

This is a real concern for many  older collectors..

As I don't have children, or nephews who are interested in my obsession, the whole kit and caboodle will probably be sold off when I am no longer able to care for it..

In the process of cataloging everything now so whoever survives me wont have to guess or have others tell them what each item is  worth..


While my collection is not ( yet ) worth more than my home, it does have  significant value.. Perhaps enough for a new Jag for the wife to tool around in...???

I do agree with Knomo; that young man does need a good solid ass whipping..


S

Ah, the importance of documentation!! Sitting on my desk in front of me is a BGS Sumpftarn hat. I could easily see someone thinking it is worth $10 if they don't know what it is. I can see them being thrilled if someone offered them $30. That person might even think they are offering a fair price as no collector can be an expert on the value of all things all the time. However, it is worth minimum $100 on eBay consistently over the past few years.

When someone is trying to liquidate all the assets a person has accumulated, everything from that Sumpftarn hat to furniture to garden tools, they are going to be overwhelmed and basically be prone to taking way less for the stuff than they could otherwise get. A spreadsheet or database that documents and estimates the value of everything would at least give the executor some gauge to know if an offer is "good enough" or "insultingly low".

If the collection should go out to bid for other collectors, the inventory list keeps potential bidders on the same page. It also gives the bidder more assurances that bidding higher is worth doing. Someone calling me up saying "I have a storage unit's worth of military stuff, how much will you give me for it based on these 10 bad photos?" is going to get a much, much, much lower bid from me than someone that has the same locker's worth of stuff and an inventory sheet.

Lastly, if you are one of those collectors that has a wildly diverse collection, do your heirs a favor and group the stuff according to collector groups. I'm a camo guy so if someone has a collection of camo and WW2 badging, I'm not going to offer much of anything for the WW2 badging because I don't want it nor do I really know what to do with it. So the heirs, if properly educated, could know to offer me X and offer someone else Y (as Y is likely not interested in the stuff I am).

Steve

Unfortunately I long ago let my inventory lists get out of date. That is something I must update to include new photos. Said inventory list must also include current values (which should be updated about once a year).
Sarge

Thanks to this thread bumping I purchased 4000 white tags with strings  I had already planned on doing an inventory count this winter because mine is non-existent for all intents and purposes.

I figure my wife has had to put up with this collecting "nonsense" for 20+ years, so I owe it to her to make it easy to get rid of if I should go first.  Though not too easy because that could act as an incentive to hurry the process

Steve

Thanks for all the comments , yes we all have issues of what will happen to our collection but  for some collecting is the only pleasure we have we may have jobs that bring no
joy and only give us a pay cheque  when I lost both my girls to cancer joy when she was 13 to breast cancer and pip at 17 to cancer in her brain  my collection helped me forget for a minute or two  , the fun of the chase , the pleasure when we find that rare bit of kit out weighs  any disposal issues we have  , collecting what ever it is should be something that brings you pleasure and some fun to so what ever your age go at it and as for the young guys telling me I am to old to collect well my collection is at a point that they can only dream about , collecting militaria still gives me a lot of fun and I hope its the same for you enjoy what you have .

A lot of joy comes out of it. Also just an option or a thought. if you itemise all you equipment and a value you can always find a collector young or mid or old to agree to pay your other half or kid an agreed some of cash to pass the whole lot on.

I'd probably just past it on to some younger folks to keep the flame of interest alive.

Lol..guy's ...Very seriously. I'm not a serious collector. I only have complete sets, uniform carrier system, backpack, hat and some stuff to complement the set. By now I have about 35 complete sets. Avoid rare things because I wear things reactment meetings or airsoft event's .And sooner or later things are slowly ruining destroyed. And I would not presume to destroy something precious. I have a rule, "The right things need to go to the right people". Luckily I have a boy already has an interest in "our things" as we call them.

Cheeky teen should be thanking many of us "old" collectors as if wasn't for us, ww2 and other old stuff wouldn't have gotten saved and there'd be no reference books.
Bitch slap him i say !!
Collecting anything provides the collector with many types of enjoyment, including meeting those with similar interests and i consider that the greatest thing the internet has brought to collecting.
As mentioned, there is the thrill ofvthe chase, acquiring things for below market price and assisting others who share ones hobby.
Age is not a factor in collecting. One might argue that the longer one has collected, the more knowledge one gains. Especially folks like Steve and Owen who also generously share their wisdom.
There is room for all of any age and any type of collecting as long as we remember to be polite and live and let live those who's depth or type of collecting is not our own.

I have been given strict instructions by Mrs. E not to die and leave her with a roomful of dpm to get rid of. So I'm making a special effort to stay alive as long as possible.

I really must itemise my stuff. Attached tags sounds like a good idea.

Here's some irony... I got a box with 4000 tags in the mail a few weeks ago. I have no idea where it is because it's no doubt submerged under a pile of uniforms. My wife says this just goes to show I have too much stuff. I don't understand her point.

Steve

since I dont know any militaria collectors personally, I would probably destroy some of my collection,

bolo wrote:since I dont know any militaria collectors personally, I would probably destroy some of my collection,

WTF-O??? Why the hell would you destroy anything??? Someone in your family can operate a computer and get on the internet and sell everything - even if they only got half its value since you want to destroy part of it!!!
Sarge

bolo wrote:since I dont know any militaria collectors personally, I would probably destroy some of my collection,

Blasphemy and sacrilege !!!!















S

Jeez this thread is making me feel really young.

That's because you are (by comparison)

Steve

Sarge wrote:

bolo wrote:since I dont know any militaria collectors personally, I would probably destroy some of my collection,

 

WTF-O???  Why the hell would you destroy anything???  Someone in your family can operate a computer and get on the internet and sell everything - even if they only got half its value since you want to destroy part of it!!!  
Sarge  

since pawn shops dont pay much, I would rather destroy my firearms than give it to them for nothing, plus less chance on my guns ever being used in a crime, I cant stand low ballers when trying to sell.