Selling my Collection

[Brian Nelson]

Well, at least parts of it. I've found that some parts of my collection I've literally bought, transformed, and put away in a box never to touch again - sometimes decades ago. I think even if they stay in boxes or I just look at them every so often, I'll probably keep most of my original 1984-1987 stuff, G2, Beast Wars, and some Masterpiece. And I'll probably hold on to some of the recent CHUG for my kids to play with.

That still leaves a lot of G1, Japanese, European, Beast Machines, early CHUG, movie-verse, books, and comics. I'm wondering if anyone hear has any experience with the various ways to go about selling it all. One by one on e-Bay? One of the "we buy your collection" sites? Good deals vs bad deals? I'm not sure I have the time to go through *every*thing and locate weapons and tech specs just to sell hundreds of times through e-Bay, but I don't know if I can stomach selling everything at a low-ball amount for "convenience".

So just wondering if there's any advice out there.

Much thanks!

[Tony Davis]

You will make more money selling one by one, since most collectors willing to pay a good price have their own collection parameters and won't often be willing to buy a lot filled with items they already own, just to acquire the one or two pieces in a lot that they need. And despite the fees (and now the $600 IRS threshold) eBay is probably your best bet. Offer Up is a competitor to eBay that I've bought a couple pieces off of, so you may have luck there also.

[Evil King Macrocranios]

On Sunday, December 4, 2022 at 9:19:34 AM UTC-8, brianj...@gmail.com wrote:

> That still leaves a lot of G1, Japanese, European, Beast Machines, early CHUG, movie-verse, books, and comics.

The post '87 G1 stuff will do well and be worth the time and effort but I'm not so sure about the rest, especially if it's loose. It's a buyer's market on ebay right now unless what you're selling is rare or sealed. Everything from Beast Machines through early CHUG is gonna be tough to move. And there are sooo many flakers and non-paying bidders bidding up auctions and wasting people's time on ebay that it almost isn't worth the headache to do legit auctions. If you do go ebay just name your price.

December is also a tough month to move used toys because people are spending money on gifts for others.

The success of alternate selling outlets like OfferUp, Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace depends on how large your metro area is. I think the best results will come from joining collector groups on facebook and posting your sales there.

I don't know how well Euro and Japanese G1 is doing right now. I know there's been an incomplete boxed Stepper on ebay for a while now (https://www.ebay.com/itm/144819523140) and nobody's bit on it @ $400 US. I'm not saying all Japanese is dead based on one auction but there was a time when even something like this in this shape wouldn't last long.

[Zobovor]

On Sunday, December 4, 2022 at 10:19:34 AM UTC-7, brianj...@gmail.com wrote:

> So just wondering if there's any advice out there.

Depends on whether you value your time or your money more. Selling a collection is quicker, but you'll get much less for it. Selling individually will net you more cash, but it's time-consuming and can be a pain in the ass.

Any chance you could fire off a list of what G1 toys after 1987 you've got, and your asking prices?


Zob (is in the market for G1)

[Irrellius Spamticon]

I buy collections off of people all the time for the business I work for, but it's local in-person stuff. Generally selling to a reputable shop will get 30~40% of total sale value, as they have to turn a profit and cover overhead.

You might sell the Japanese and the late G1 stuff and then find a shop to sell the rest to.

[Evil King Macrocranios]

On Sunday, December 4, 2022 at 3:25:26 PM UTC-8, Zobovor wrote:

> Any chance you could fire off a list of what G1 toys after 1987 you've got, and your asking prices?

I would like to second this. Even a vague outline of what you may have, like which -masters, groups or subteams or whatever would be nice to hear.

Good luck with selling.

> Zob (is in the market for G1)

Ah, I see you are a man of culture as well.

And I have money order action.

[Brian Nelson]

Thanks for all the suggestions, much appreciated! But my first listing for the original boxed Transmetal Optimus Primal and Megatron on ebay just now. Let's see if I can keep any momentum.

Zob and Evil King, yes and yes. I'm going to try and move all of my boxed stuff first, and then all of the original G1 stuff will take a while to go through, but give me some time and I'll try and make sure I let you know what I've got before it goes up anywhere else.

Brian

[Brian Nelson]

On Sunday, December 4, 2022 at 2:10:19 PM UTC-5, Evil King Macrocranios wrote:
> On Sunday, December 4, 2022 at 9:19:34 AM UTC-8, brianj...@gmail.com wrote:
> > That still leaves a lot of G1, Japanese, European, Beast Machines, early CHUG, movie-verse, books, and comics.
> The post '87 G1 stuff will do well and be worth the time and effort but I'm not so sure about the rest, especially if it's loose. It's a buyer's market on ebay right now unless what you're selling is rare or sealed. Everything from Beast Machines through early CHUG is gonna be tough to move.
>

> I don't know how well Euro and Japanese G1 is doing right now. I know there's been an incomplete boxed Stepper on ebay for a while now (https://www.ebay.com/itm/144819523140) and nobody's bit on it @ $400 US. I'm not saying all Japanese is dead based on one auction but there was a time when even something like this in this shape wouldn't last long.

You are not wrong. It's funny thinking back to when Stepper was a holy grail for a lot of people going for thousands of dollars - now it's just a little bit more than "meh". You're also right about moving the post Beast Machines stuff. I'll add to that and say that I've also got most of Power of the Primes. Man, some of those toys had such great potential that was wasted. I love the way the Terrorcons look but anytime one of my kids plays with them they fall apart immediately. Jazz might be one of my worst Transformers experiences ever - like, I *hate* it. I never even opened Elita-One because it just didn't even interest me in the slightest. I think I would actually have to PAY someone to take some of these away.