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March 04, 2022 08:46
Regularly 'new users' on LD ask me via PM what to do with a collection they acquired due to a death in the family.
After reading this text it should be clear that to the question 'what is it worth' I can't answer.

Here are some tips and ideas. Other collectors are welcome to add. But don't argue. Every bird sings as it is mouthed. Preferences (flavors and colors) sometimes differ. There is no straight forward answer. All answers and ideas are correct. It is up to the reader to pick out the part that suits him best.
I mainly speak from the stamp collecting field. I know something about that. But it may broadly be applicable to any collection area ... except Oldtimers because that is something special ;)

The best tip is: continue the collection. If you like it of course. Or anyone in the family. As a hobby you can enjoy it a lot. And the best learning environment is LastDodo (LD), where you can find the 'items' and indicate them in your collection.
Initially it will be very slow, but gradually you will get to know the material, and the tricks of LD.
Continuing a 'tradition' can yield many non-financial benefits. Satisfaction, peace, fun, ...  And of course there is also the emotional value. Continue doing what a close family member was doing.

A second tip is if you really don't have a connection with it (and no one in the family) and really don't want to spend time on it. Then it is best to have a buyer come. Then don't be alarmed that it only yields a mere scratch. Many think they are treasures, but in the free market there is oversupply. It may all look nice, but the madmen who pay crazy prices have died in the meantime. Not much is collected anymore. I think the average age of a collector has now risen to 80 years. I think sellers give 20 euros per full moving box.

A third tip: donate to a collector (nearby). Given the average age of the collector, they are usually not that mobile anymore, and collecting is almost the only thing they can (or want) to do. You can make someone like that happy.

A fourth tip: unravel everything. Buy (expensive) new catalogs with current prices (will cost you a fortune...) and look up all those things in them. Find out and determine the catalog value yourself. Place it in a (large) Excel. Then you know the catalog value. The 'sale value' of that catalog value is usually 5 to 10%. If you arrive at a total catalog value of 2,000 euros, you can sell it for 100 to 200 euros. If you find a buyer. And since collectors are a dying breed, the latter is difficult.
For the fourth tip, the investment in catalogs will overshadow the possible resale value. A fairly large collection, it will take you a few years to look up everything to determine the total value. After fixing that value, it can then take a year (or longer) before you find a buyer.

Those are the tips I can give.

There is no one who ' sight can determine what a collection is worth. You have to put in a lot of time and energy to find that value. Every stamp has to be viewed from the front and from the back, perforation measured, search for a watermark if it is present, ...  Sometimes you spend days working on one stamp. Which then turns out to have a catalog value of 10 euros. A better seal. Sellable for 0.50 euros if you can wait long enough.
A collection that has gradually been 'bought' is never worth what it has cost. If the total purchase price (over the years) amounts to 10,000 euros, the catalog value may be disappointing. Can, for example, have a catalog value of 2,000 euros. Which you can possibly sell at 5 to 10%. Therefore, never assume that you have inherited treasures.  Treasures are rare, and few have ever found a treasure ... let alone received it.

If you are convinced that it has great value, you can via a auction site work. Then you have to photograph everything (sheet by sheet, item by item) and forward it. Usually they ask you to determine the catalog value yourself (and that brings you to tip 4).
There is, for example, an auction site called Catawiki. I have no idea how it goes there, I don't know that auction and/or site myself.

You used to be able to go to the local philately shop, but they are almost gone . Against payment, they could then make a (rough) estimate of the possible catalog value.

If you put a lot of time into it, you can offer item by item on LD. You can search for any picture or stamp and place it in your shop at a fixed price.
Photographing the total package and place it on a sales site is also possible. That is actually the same as having a buyer come (tip 4). Only then you reach a lot more buyers, and you get a lot more questions to answer.

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Rene
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March 04, 2022 12:52
If you put in a lot of time you can offer item by item on LD. You can search for any picture or stamp and place it in your shop for a fixed price.

That is of course the best step Raoul62 if you don't want to continue the collection yourself! :-)
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March 04, 2022 13:06
The main problem is that:
- on the one hand people think they have acquired a 'treasure';
- on the other hand they don't want to spend time on it, but still want a lot of money for it.
For nothing the sun rises. And that's all.
Sometimes something like that can be valuable, but then you have to make the effort to look at it carefully yourself. You can't do that in a month. And a 'specialist' is not a clairvoyant either.
It is a contradictory way of thinking. I don't want it (I think it's worthless), but someone else has to pay a lot for it.
Normally, in the vintage mindset, you should be grateful that you can get hold of something like this and move on. Then you have something left of the one that is no longer there. And every time you spend some time on it, you spend time remembering, being thankful. A tribute. vintage? Yes. It's definitely not digital :)
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Rene
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March 04, 2022 17:13
The main problem is that:
- on the one hand people think they have acquired a 'treasure';
- on the other hand they don't want to spend time on it, but still want a lot of money for it.

Yes, that is indeed common Raoul62 
You describe it all beautifully :-)
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  • March 04, 2022 20:34
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March 04, 2022 20:34
Raoul62 well described indeed, with useful tips for those who find themselves in that situation.

Two remarks/additions:
- what you describe particularly applies to stamp collections. You posted this under 'collecting in general', so it might be completely different for other sections. I don't know much about it, but eg for certain vinyl records some money is still offered. And the collectors may not be young, but on average younger than 80. Ditto comics, I think.

- more specifically with regard to stamps: is what you write about the value/prices correct. And good to know: these prices then apply - however low they may be - only to stamps in good or MNH condition. One notch away from that already small piece of paper, and it stops...


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  • 217 messages
  • March 05, 2022 13:32
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March 05, 2022 13:32
Raoul62 ,beautiful Raoul, but I think collecting is in your blood and genes.
And of course don't count yourself rich, which is already done a lot.
Collecting is like life, knowledge, interest, and passion .
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