A seller I was planning to buy from had passed away 2 months before I found their listing that was still up online, and this led me to think about this. This may seem like a morbid question or something not many people may have thought about, but if anything were to happen to you that resulted in your death, what would you want to happen to your collection? Would you give it to a family member or friend? Would you give it to a fellow collector? If you have children, would you give it to them?
Edit: I seemed to have forgotten about an example from my life, my dad had passed away when I was young and he was an avid yugioh collector. He didnāt have a plan for his cards, and they were passed onto one of my cousins (before you ask, I was really young, there was nothing I could use yugioh for at my age) and my cousin actually has kept his collection. Theyāre all put away nicely in binders and kept in an air tight bin in a closet lol
I do think about this. I also wonder about the people who have passed away while their cards are being graded.
The best Iāve come up with for myself is to keep a rough estimated value of every notable thing so that when I do join the Great Big PWCC Vault in the Sky it will make it easier for someone to deal with if they want to get rid of anything.
In the event of an unforseen emergency I trust my family to work with a reputable auction house to get good prices. I would never expect them to hold onto cards that were sentimental to me when there are bills to be paid and they know how fond I am of specific āworthlessā cards anyway (eg, they can keep my very first Chansey, a played Base 2 copy, and sell everything else). Should I have time to plan out I would like to give cards to people with specific collections so they have something to remember me by. However, I am also aware it is asking a lot of someone to keep your card forever. One day they will appreciate it tremendously and treasure the card, planning never to sell. The next, their kid desperately wants to attend an expensive summer academic program, or their sister is on hard times without a job, or their father has medical bills, and they donāt have the funds and feel terrible guilt over selling. So I would likely sell most items myself to make it easier to pass the money on.
I mean, if youāve a collection thatās worth something, it might be smart to add it to your will and/or have a will drawn up. I think E4 skews younger so itās not something a lot of people have thought about, naturally, but Iām at the age where I have things worth something so Iāve an appointment with my family lawyer to have a will drawn up.
Beyond that, I fully plan on selling the vast majority of my collection before I die. Could be a part of funding other things i.e. house, retirement or just funding for vacations and other fun things for me and my family. In the grand scheme of things, this hobby amounts to a small part of who I am. Iām grateful for what itās brought me but the true value lies in the memories and experiences Iāve had. Iāll probably keep a couple of cards, maybe a binder or two, but beyond that most things will go on and find their next grateful owner. Getting a little longwinded here but Iāve always seen myself as a temporary caretaker of the cards in my collection. Theyāre mine for now but theyāre never truly only mine and Iām always happy to move things onto their next home, provided itās an owner that truly appreciates them.
Please, that final sentence is just to funny for me, Great Big PWCC Vault in the Skyā¦ But I can see the importance in keeping up with the value of cards for anyone who may inherit a collection.
That is incredibly smart. Alsoā¦ F
I feel this lol, but Iām probably only taking a few cards to the grave with me, if yāall want themā¦ yāall gonna have to come find me and pry them out of my cold, probably shriveled, dead hands.
Yes, I agree on the time limit. I had someone speak to the sellerās family for me (language barrier) and it turns out that the person did not have a plan for their collection and I believe their collection was just sold to a local store. I just donāt think many people have this thing thought through when theyāre young, this seller was mid 20s, so their collection gets left in purgatory for the most part.
Yes, I would direct my mom or family to sell a portion of my collection, although if it were my mom, sheād be too sentimental to do so. Iād probably split some of my binders between friends, especially since I know one of them would love to inherit my little Cynthia collection. I think one of the more important things is that, friends should be told that there is no shame in selling something, because, yes we are dead. We can roll over in our grave as much as we want, but in the end, we receive no benefit in whether the person keeps or sells the cards, especially if it helps them in life. In the end, we are collecting Japanese childrenās sparkly cardboard lol
I do have a card or 2 that are worth a chunk of change, not life changing money but an amount that could cover at least 2 months of general expenses for my parents. I havenāt exactly thought of what I would do with my collection, because, like you point out with E4 being skewed towards a younger audience, I am quite young and itās not something I focus on. I have been grappling with the idea of selling before I were to, as @caughtatpoint said, ājoin the Great Big PWCC Vault in the Sky,ā but itās not really something I can see myself doing. Especially because a lot of the cards I have that have never reached the chopping block fill ETBs and are connected to memories or people, and itās at least 1,000 cards that fit that criteria. In the end, I think I will sell (even if I canāt see myself doing so, things change) to fund things in my life, and Iād rather my cards go to a home where theyāll be appreciated and then move on to the next and so forth until they also join the Great PWCC Vault.
I agree not many people think about it especially the young folks and I donāt really blame them after all itās a scary thing to think about. But for those who are heavily into collecting different things itās certainly something they need to think over more. Thinking about this now makes me wonder for those who live alone or simply have no one left around due to family/friends passing on I wonder if they thought it through about their collection. Imma stop here its getting depressing now lol.
Honestly, no plans. Which is kinda scary considering that Iād never want these cards soldā¦ I was playing around with the idea of drawing up a will recently, and this thread is giving me the push I need to actually do it.
I would give my 1st edition base charizard to one of my ex girlfriends who thought these things were silly and were a waste of time and money. (Not out of spite just because it is funny and it would help her out some)
I would give a base set charizard unlimited to one of my younger cousins (he is 10 and has an interest in pokemon) want to keep the spark alive for the next generation!
And I would give the rest to my parents and have them be more comfortable in their retirement years.
Yeah, I think itās also a cultural thing to think about death, because for me, my mom never raised us to be afraid of death and she more or less made it more akin to āthe other half to life.ā I do think itās quite sad that there may be people who do or did not have someone to pass their collection on to, and it makes me wonder what happens to them, nevermind that some people arenāt even public with their collections. It is depressing, but I only wondered since recent world happenings and I think about that seller a lot.
Hey man, it might be a good idea to always be prepared. I havenāt written up a will, just because Iām fairly young, but I completely understand the need. I also donāt want my cards to be sold, but in the end, if Iām dead my opinion doesnāt matter lol but Iād rather my stuff goes to a happy home or to someone who will value them like I did.
I think it would be funny to receive a card from an ex and there was no context, circumstances would be sad, but there is a kind of irony there that just has to be cooking for awhile to hit really well. Iād probably gift parts of my collection to young family members or any of my friendās children because youāre right, we want to keep the hobby alive and get more people in.
I donāt think I would have a choice on giving cards to my parents, Iām sure my mom would take a binder for herself to be sentimental over lol
Iāll probably enjoy them for the majority of my life but sell a lot before I get too old to spend the money. I will keep some forever but donāt think Iāll have anyone to pass them on to if I live to an old age.
If I was diagnosed as having 6 months to live Iād probably sell them all and blow all the money on a Lamborghini and a holiday. Otherwise if I died unexpectedly Iāve told my parents how much they are worth roughly
My wife gets everything. I have it in my will that a good friend of mine will help her sell them because she doesnāt really know anything about their values.
