Sorry for the cheery topic, but I've been thinking a lot recently about how to lessen the burden of my collection on my family when I'm gone. The main reasons for this are obviously getting older, but also some of my friends / relatives starting to pass, and also being honest the seeming decline in value / demand in vintage.
We've all been there - when I was in my 20s I expected to live forever, had very few financial responsibilities, and thought when I had kids they would love all my old stuff as much as I do. Sadly, now reality has hit - my kids aren't at all interested in my old toys or video games, all my son wants to play is FC 25 no matter how great I tell him Dark Forces or Super Star Wars are.
I'm not particularly worried about losing money, I bought the vast majority of my collection well before the 2016 "peak" so even at today's prices I'll be quids in if I sell. But the upwards trajectory in perceived value I saw annually has at best flattened, more realistically started to fall.
My wife has also made it very clear that if I did die unexpectedly, my collection would not be the amazing windfall it is in my head, it would be a massive burden, I'm talking probably 20+ 64L Really Useful boxes worth of toys and games, enough to set up a toy shop. And I would obviously be posthumously gutted if it all ended up in the wrong hands for a fraction of what it's worth today (that might be sentimental rather than cash value at this rate.)
I'm pretty happy with the small amount of stuff I have on display, it gives me a nice nostalgia hit every time I walk past it, but the other 90% of the collection packed away is just gathering dust and starting to bother me. I really enjoyed Echo Live last month, and didn't feel too bad about selling a few bits, so I think it's probably time to get the ball rolling.
Has anyone else got a plan for either letting it go themselves or what to do if you died suddenly? I have recommended Vectis, but even then while the Star Wars toys would do well, I have some very rare video games that would go under the radar there, and I'm not aware of a UK equivalent auctioneer for them.
We've all been there - when I was in my 20s I expected to live forever, had very few financial responsibilities, and thought when I had kids they would love all my old stuff as much as I do. Sadly, now reality has hit - my kids aren't at all interested in my old toys or video games, all my son wants to play is FC 25 no matter how great I tell him Dark Forces or Super Star Wars are.
I'm not particularly worried about losing money, I bought the vast majority of my collection well before the 2016 "peak" so even at today's prices I'll be quids in if I sell. But the upwards trajectory in perceived value I saw annually has at best flattened, more realistically started to fall.
My wife has also made it very clear that if I did die unexpectedly, my collection would not be the amazing windfall it is in my head, it would be a massive burden, I'm talking probably 20+ 64L Really Useful boxes worth of toys and games, enough to set up a toy shop. And I would obviously be posthumously gutted if it all ended up in the wrong hands for a fraction of what it's worth today (that might be sentimental rather than cash value at this rate.)
I'm pretty happy with the small amount of stuff I have on display, it gives me a nice nostalgia hit every time I walk past it, but the other 90% of the collection packed away is just gathering dust and starting to bother me. I really enjoyed Echo Live last month, and didn't feel too bad about selling a few bits, so I think it's probably time to get the ball rolling.
Has anyone else got a plan for either letting it go themselves or what to do if you died suddenly? I have recommended Vectis, but even then while the Star Wars toys would do well, I have some very rare video games that would go under the radar there, and I'm not aware of a UK equivalent auctioneer for them.
