Hey guys,

 

First let me thank everyone for all the amazing deals, tips and information.  This hobby is very addicting and I've learned a lot in a very short amount of time.

 

I've been accumulating sets rapidly since the Fall of 2013. I have shelving dedicated to my collection in the basement but it's starting to spill over. My wife recently decided she wants to organize and finish the basement. I'm on board with this but it presents a huge problem.  I need to consolidate my collection and my timeline to beginning selling is now accelerated.  I was originally planning to hold out until Christmas of 2015 before selling anything.  Most of the veterans recommend selling a few sets before getting into this too deep.  I guess that time is now for me.

 

I'm looking for some advice on selling and I have a few questions.

 

1) When you run out of room, what do you typically do?  Stop buying altogether?  Sell your losers or marginal gainers?  Dump inventory at a loss?  Take a break for 6 months and just build?

 

2) Tax advice: most of my sets were purchased in the past twelve months.  I don't want to risk anything with the IRS.  Should I simply contact a tax accountant to get my record keeping up to par?  I have my receipts and have been tracking purchases since day one but I have no clue how to properly calculate profit or capital gains once things start to sell.

 

3) Shipping: I think everyone uses USPS.  I probably need to buy a scale.  I keep as many boxes and shipping materials as I can.  Do you invest in a label maker too? 

 

4) What should I sell?  I have some sets that have already appreciated.  I have other sets that I'm not too optimistic about.

 

Here are some highlights of my collection.  All set quantities (in parenthesis) are estimates.

 

Potential Profit:

Jabba's Palace (10) 

Constitution Train Chase (10)

MHC Cannon (10)

Helms Deep (2)

Two Face Chase (3)

Martian Manhunter (5)

Darth Revan (5)

Mirkwood Elf Guard Poly (20)

 

Losers or sets I don't see appreciating any time soon:

Attack of the Wargs (10)

Vampyre Castle (4)

Sail Barge (5)

Republic Gunship (5)

Millennium Falcon (4)

 

I also have some LOTR / Hobbit that I'm not sure about:

Unexpected Gathering (10)

Black Gate (4)

Mines Moria (2)

Goblin King (1)

Barrel Escape (8 )

 

Any obvious sets to dump at this point?  I'm not emotionally tied to most of these.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.  I'm basically looking to free up some shelving space, regain some capital for the holiday season, and get some practice selling.

 

Thanks in advance for your input!

Personally, I think that shipping insurance is a waste of money.  I have sold and shipped thousands of sets over the years and can count the number of problems that I've had on one hand.  If I had been buying insurance throughout, I would have spent far more in the premiums than I would have received in benefits from those few shipments.  

 

I agree - I have sold a lot, and have never needed to file a claim. Long term, you will certainly spend more on insurance than you ever get back in claims.

 

One hidden value is that it likely discourages some buyers who might otherwise have considered fraud. Some also believe that the USPS will handle Insured items with greater care (which would make sense). 

Personally, I think that shipping insurance is a waste of money.  I have sold and shipped thousands of sets over the years

That is the thing. It is a waste if you ship that much, or the insurance companies would loose money. It is only interesting if you only ship a handful or so things, and they happen to be quite valuable. A single bad shipment then creates a tremendous problem.

Wow that is super smart to put out to everyone that you don't use insurance. My bet it that you two might need it in the near future.

Yeah I would openly acknowledge online that you don't use insurance, that's like a shop advertising that don't have alarms.

I have a threshold before I start buying any as my buy in on the low end won't kill me if there is a loss but I'm not going to go unprotected on a large transaction. I don't care what my buy in is at that point, the peace of mind is worth it.

 

I always thought that I would sell something shortly after it retires, but I now convince myself that if I hold onto it that much longer, my returns would be better. I really need to start selling off some sets so I can free up some room. 

At some point you have to sell. If you don't then you go from being an investor to a hoarder and you will end up on that tv show.  That would be a cool episode though now that I think about it. 

Losers or sets I don't see appreciating any time soon:

Attack of the Wargs (10)

Vampyre Castle (4)

Sail Barge (5)

Republic Gunship (5)

Millennium Falcon (4)

 

 

Except Attack of the Wargs the other Sets will be sure winners!

I would not sell these sets.

Wow that is super smart to put out to everyone that you don't use insurance. My bet it that you two might need it in the near future.

That's not a very nice thing to say/imply.  Please tone down the snarkiness, especially as a moderator.

Thank you.

That's not a very nice thing to say/imply. Please tone down the snarkiness, especially as a moderator.

Thank you.

You must be new here....welcome to the site.

At some point you have to sell. If you don't then you go from being an investor to a hoarder and you will end up on that tv show.  That would be a cool episode though now that I think about it. 

 

So who's nominating Ed? <take your pick>