Guys I need some help. A family member of some means has acquired an automotive magazine/publication collection of mythic proportions. Magazines and dealer auto brochures dating back to the 40's and all sorts of random auto publications from the 40's 50's and 60's mostly. To quote my cousin, the collection filled a 24' auto carrier trailer 4' deep. Apparently someone who once worked in auto design back in the day accumulated this stuff over a lifetime. Once he passed, his wife sold it all to my cousin to help pay for her own mounting medical bills. One top of this a 1000+ kit model collection as well. I'll be helping him with the models via Ebay, but none of us have the time to catalog this enormous publication collection much less sell it all piece by piece. Does anyone have any idea (because I'm stumped) how to go about liquidating this collection?
sounds like you're between a rock and a hard place, but I'd say put it in the classifieds or on eBay. But don't expect much if you're not willing to inventory it.
I hate to say this (in view of the shear volume) but you really need to inventory what you have.) Once that's done, you can market it.
Wish you were closer.I do inventories like that often.Simple jobs for simple minds. Once cataloged selling is fairly easy.
He's right! My dads collection (the first one) took 4 guys and 3 big Uhaul trucks along with 4 months of just doing inventory. Figure any thing like Hot Rod, Car Craft or Popular Hot Rodding from the mid 70's and up is only worth about $1.50 each. Stuff before the mid 70's can be any where from $3.00 and up. If there are any North West Rod (little books) let me know, I might be interested in them.
Donate the magazines to our troops Find a local armoire to pick them up I’m sure they will enjoy them and you will feel good about your decision
PIF is an acronym for "Pay It Forward." It means give it away to someone who can use it -- for free -- if they come and pick it up (in this instance, sounds as if shipping is prohibitive, to say the least).
If you donate them to a museum, they will do inventory & appraisal, and issue tax credit slip based off that.....at least they did for me here in Alberta..... James
If you can list car models on eBay, listing magazines and sales literature isn't any different. I wish I had your "problem", most people dream of a once in a life time gift like this.
It's too bad we just bought over 15,000 pieces from another private individual or we would definitely be interested. However, This recent purchase will keep us occupied for at least a year doing exactly what has been discussed: the inventorying, condition grading, and sorting. It's a big job. If you want to sell it as a collection without having to inventory it, you will probably get between 10% and 15% of what it will bring inventoried and priced. Walter Miller is the largest buyer of unsorted collections in the country today. You can contact him here: http://www.autolit.com/contact.html He is a quality guy, but definitely knows what things are worth to him as a businessman. You can negotiate with him a bit on his offers. Let us know how this all plays out!
Good luck, I asked the same question on here quite a long while back now and my post was deleted so fast it would make your head spin They seemed to think I was offering them for sale right here on the thread Good luck. These guys in Vancouver BC would likely be interested in the whole collection, but again you would have to take the time to catalog them so they could make a proper offer. Would be well worth your time to do so. http://www.eautomobilia.com/
Guys thanks for all the info and advice. I have passed it all onto my cousin and we'll see what he does with tit. As for the model kits, after seeing pics of the stash, it looks like most of it has been kitbashed, built, semi-build or otherwise molested. I advised him to find a local vendor (someone who sells stuff like that at shows and contests) who might make him an offer on it.
The Detroit Public Library or the Henry Ford Museum would also be a good place to inquire. They both have extensive collections. The GM Heritage Collection is still building up theirs, so they might be a player.
If the material is in a safe, dry place and isn't costing a ton to store, I'd SLOW down and find out what you really have. If you just want it out of your hair, or it's a necessity to move it all fast, fine. But don't look over your shoulder after it's all gone. Just let it go, and forget it. Also, the kits can fool you. The BOXES are sometimes worth more than the kits themselves. Collectors will pay serious green for complete INSTRUCTIONS and even the plastic sprues the parts were cast on Believe it or not.
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