So ... trying to determine the best way to sell my Stephen King Collection.
Be advised, I have over 1,000+ items from every facet of the SK collecting world.
I want it all gone, and obviously for the best price possible.
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So ... trying to determine the best way to sell my Stephen King Collection.
Be advised, I have over 1,000+ items from every facet of the SK collecting world.
I want it all gone, and obviously for the best price possible.
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Depends how quickly you want the money.
That many items isn't going to do too well at auction I wouldn't think. And you'll be lucky to find a bookseller who'll offer you a decent quote (except maybe a specialist, but even then). My recommendation would be to look at splitting it down by value and category. Drop me an email if you like - I might be able to help.
Best of luck to you.
I hate the thought that you are doing this, but at the same time I love the idea of buying some of your stuff.
Wow...this is a shock.
I choosed "Other". If I were you, first I'd offer the books here and skcollector, then jump on ebay or Betts.
Shocking, YES! I abstained from voting...1000+ items is enormous to try to sell. While Betts is "my baby" it likely is not the best place to sell...I'd say start right here Shannon. At Betts, I sell quite a bit of higher end stuff...signed copies, S/Ls, etc...with 1000+ items you must have quite a lot of smaller stuff...that would likely "sit" at Betts. I still have quite a bit of the Supercollection left at Betts (now approaching 10 years on the market)...magazines etc. that have zero demand despite multiple price reductions. I have a couple other consignments for which many "mundane" items are not finding buyers either.
I think your best bet is to start here.
Seriously, Wow I am also shocked. I hope this doesn't mean that you're not going to be around here anymore once it's all gone!
You should have had an option for "Don't sell it, we don't want you leaving".
I would agree that here, Sk Collector and followed by ebay will be your best bet. I didn't realise you had such a big collection.
I agree. And to expand, it also depends on how much you want for your items. Do you want the max the market will bear? That means open auction and hope for the best. But you have to worry about flooding the market and overwhelming the pocketbooks of interested collectors. So if you went the eBay route, I'd think you'd need to trickle stuff out over time.Quote:
Originally Posted by hyraxia
Do you want to offer them at "friend" prices? That would mean fixed prices here on the forum. Or you could consign them at targeted price points and see what happens (and adjust downward as necessary over time).
Do you really want to sell magazines and promo items and ephemera piecemeal? I doubt it. I suggest grouping into manageable lots and being firm. Else, you'll have everyone saying "I want two mags from Lot 17 and three promo items from Lot 54, and 2 proofs and I want you to cut me a deal."
Bottom line, I think it would be nice to offer items here on the forum first. Whatever doesn't sell, I'd take the smaller stuff to eBay in lots, as I mentioned. Higher ticket items, I'd sell through Heritage Auctions. Once or twice a year they have a Grand Rare Book Auction, which they advertise for months in advance, including sending out a huge full-glossy magazine catalog with pictures and descriptions of each book. They will handle all the money collection, packaging, mailing, etc. They have a rare book specialist who will handle your account personally. With eBay you have to deal with all that yourself. Sounds like a nightmare to me. Plus, I've seen Heritage get higher prices for items than I ever see at eBay or at Betts. Insanely high sometimes (I know, b/c I lose out to those bids!). Heritage certainly takes a cut, but the buyer's premium covers most of that I think.
Interesting that you would entertain selling off your collection. Surprising, actually.
I'd start here, then move on to eBay.
I think you need sit a while and really think about this... a week is not that long and you might regret it later.
I'll gladly "store" some of you're items in my collection while you think on it ;)
Yep - agree with the above, it might be a good idea to weed out the bits that you like the least and put them on eBay or at an auction house, get rid of duplicates etc. - see how it goes, see if feels OK selling them. Most people will either cherrypick or offer a flat price per item.
I just want to know how much the Skeleton Crew treasure chest is going to go for. I think that and the Legends package at Betts are the two things that I would buy if I had the free cash. Good luck with whatever is driving the urge/need to sell.
Methinks the SC treasure chest will find its way to NW Texas!Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Fulman
SHANNON???????????????????
WTFO? Selling your entire collection? I'm tearing up here. You aren't leaving us are you?
OK to the question... Start here/skcollector.com, then on to ebay, I suggest you do it slowly though as others have stated you don't want to overwhelm the pocket books of those that would be your best customers.
Sorry, I was under the assumption that people read the message I posted in my collection thread. Here you go:
I think I'm kind of done collecting Stephen King ... When Rose was born a little over four months ago, I decided to not collect signed items anymore. Everything else was fair game, just not signed items. Why spend hundred/thousands on paper and ink when you can spend it on your child, your wife, your family, the future? Yeah yeah yeah, we're not hurting on money or anything, it's just the principle. Well, ever since then, SK collecting has just kind of lost its appeal. I find great deals, I get great items in the mail ... yet ... it's not the same as it was. The excitement and motivation just isn't there anymore.
I'm going to give it a little bit of time, a week or so, and decide what to do. But, either way I lean, I'm not going anywhere. I love this website and this community and the King research. I'll always be a King researcher methinks. It's endless! And to me, that's kinda what makes me happy. An endless problem to solve. :)
So relieved*whoo*
I can understand your reasoning, but as such a lover of King would it not be best to keep at least a set of US 1/1? I can see selling off the rest (at 1000 items that must take up a lot of space) but are you really going to let go of TMSG? I would hope you don't. :)
Good luck with any selling you do end up doing.
Edit: sorry I don't always read through the collection threads so I missed something important there.
I can respect your decision to keep family above collections! While you are thinking it over, one consideration might be that you sell bits and pieces at a time from parts of your collection that mean the least. Use that money for special treats such as vacations, gifts, etc.
TMSG is coming to MD. ;)
Agree about starting here also. And by the way, I absolutely WILL sleep with TMSG :D if given the chance.
Wow, I can't imagine liquidating a collection like that after the time/energy/money/luck to have come to that point, but you're right, priorities shift. Hopefully you'll keep a precious few, at least the DT books. Heritage does sound like a better bet than Ebay if you're wanting to generate some $$, but would hope that right here would be a great place to get them to people you know will love them.
I am late to the game.
I added two options to the poll.
You have to choose FAMILY over a Stephen King collection??!! (grumble grumble, now I've got to remember where I hid the key to the cellar so I can let them out.)
Hold an unveiling.
: )
The answer is ALL OF THE ABOVE.
Odds are, nobody is going to buy the entire collection in one swoop, so you are going to have to sell it in dribs and drabs.
The higher end stuff will most likely go first, but you will be parting out the little stuff for years.
Some of your collection (the audio tapes for instance) are going to be a hard sell.
As someone mentioned above, it all depends on how fast you want to sell it.
Shannon,Quote:
Originally Posted by Shannon
Half the fun of collecting is the search. YOu do a wonderful job of finding deals/steals and you are young enough to start all over if you get the bug again!! I said it before and I will say it again. SK and many of us on these boards are not getting any younger! Just imagine the deals/steals you will be getting when we all get old and can't take our collections to the nursing home.
And if you do have regrets after selling, you can use the money from your publishing empire to buy them all again!
Good luck with you and your family!
Your decision makes me sad, but is understandable given the family priorities.
I agree with the other members, Tippy in particular. Depends on how fast you want to sell and whether or not you are concerned about making a profit and/or breaking even. It can all sell quickly here and on Ebay if you have below market prices / low opening bids. Otherwise it could take quite some time to sell it all.
I added everything up, and I purchased my collection for around $15,000 and it's worth around $25,000.
Of course, that doesn't include items I have bought and then sold, i.e. most of my signed limiteds and artwork and remarques.
There are always institutions to consider - you'd have to consign to a US seller though with the right connections.
65% ROI in 2 1/2 is pretty darn good...if you can actually get it. Time will tell but hopefully you will.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shannon
You will be lucky to break even. I dare say when shipping, PP and ebay fees are paid, you will be lucky to
The poll should be amended to offer the "He's full of crap. he'll never sell" choice. It is the likely result, of course!!!
Spoiler:
Originally Posted by Shannon