XPost: rec.arts.sf.starwars.collecting.misc, rec.arts.sf.starwar   
   .collecting.customizing, rec.arts.sf.starwars.collecting   
   XPost: alt.marketplace.collectables   
   From: kevinj_sfbay.spam@me-not.yahoo.com   
      
   "yttt"  wrote:   
   > I have a massive collection of both Star Trek and Star Wars items.  (the two   
   > combined have a book value of over $50,000) and I'm going to sell them.   
   >   
   > The two (Trek and Wars) will definitely be sold separately, but that still   
   > leaves me with basically three major ways to go.   
   >   
   > 1.  Sell each one as a single piece.   
   > 2.  Sell smaller chunks (ie: all orange card figures, all green card   
   > figures, all comics, etc. etc.)   
   > 3.  Or Sell the whole thing piece by piece.   
   >   
   > Can I get opinions on which is the best way to go?   
   >   
   > For the sake of my marriage I need to do this, but I don't want to get   
   > severely ripped off, so I'm a little bit nervous.  I'm 37 years old and   
   > although the great majority of this stuff was purchased 5 to 15 years ago,   
   > I've had some of this stuff (a very small portion) since I was 12 years old.   
   > There are also some very rare and one of a kind pieces (and some massive   
   > store displays from the recent SW movie releases) and I have absolutely no   
   > way to know how to price these things.  There's an uncut card sheet from one   
   > of the Empire Strikes Back card sets of the late '70's that's the only one   
   > in existence.  (a woman who worked on the line at Topps grabbed it off of   
   > the line and took it home for her son, who later sold it to me).   
      
   Please don't count on this actually being the only one in existence   
   (though it might well be pretty uncommon).  Chances are that actually   
   several hundred or even a few thousand worked their way into "kids   
   hands", though of course many might have been lost since then.   
      
   Anwway -- sell the genuinely scarce items individually on eBay.  Just   
   put them up with good descriptions, and good photographs -- if you do   
   not document what you have with clear, concise text and photos your   
   overall take will be severely limited.  Check out pricier current SW   
   auctions to see what works, and practice on a few lesser-quality items   
   (this will also boost your feedback working up to the pricier items).   
      
   Sell the common stuff (most of it) in themed lots.  (e.g. - don't mix   
   Voyager figures, which actually sell pretty well, with mid-line TNG   
   figures, which are amazingly common and sell poorly).   
      
   Also: expect the absolute worst for your Star Trek collection.  I say   
   this as a diehard Trek fan, but the market is absolutely abysmal right   
   now.  The damage done to the franchise by poor TV shows and lousy movies   
   is much, much worse than that done to the SW franchise by its own recent   
   lame offerings.   
      
   Lastly: please do not get discouraged, but A LOT of 30-somethings have   
   dumped "5 to 15 year old collections" in the last few years.  Put some   
   work into it (be prepared to pack and ship a lot of boxes), and you'll   
   make some money back, but keep in mind that the market has seen many of   
   your kind recently and is not clamoring for (guessing, here) probably   
   90% of what you're about to sell.   
      
   Kevin   
      
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