A Mother's perspective on her collectard son

@M

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Last night, I was talking to the elderly Mother of one of my old buddies I haven't seen in a couple of decades (he moved to Illinois) and she commented that, if he dies, and she has to go clean out his apartment, she'll be a millionaire from selling all of his shit.

He had pretty much every console (no NeoGeo though), mountains of carts/discs, piles of action figures, comic books, MTG cards, etc., when we used to hang out, and she told me that he's accumulated lots more on top of that since then, so, I can only imagine what his hoard looks like now. (And I'm not judging, I have too much crap too.)

I think she's overestimating its total worth at millions, but, she could definitely make thousands.

On the sadder side of things, she also mentioned that he never calls, forgets her birthday, etc. (he did come and visit last Christmas though). That she looks at his potential demise as a financial windfall first, and a tragedy second, speaks to why he probably doesn't bother with her much... 🤣
 

neo_mao

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Last night, I was talking to the elderly Mother of one of my old buddies I haven't seen in a couple of decades (he moved to Illinois) and she commented that, if he dies, and she has to go clean out his apartment, she'll be a millionaire from selling all of his shit.

He had pretty much every console (no NeoGeo though), mountains of carts/discs, piles of action figures, comic books, MTG cards, etc., when we used to hang out, and she told me that he's accumulated lots more on top of that since then, so, I can only imagine what his hoard looks like now. (And I'm not judging, I have too much crap too.)

I think she's overestimating its total worth at millions, but, she could definitely make thousands.

On the sadder side of things, she also mentioned that he never calls, forgets her birthday, etc. (he did come and visit last Christmas though). That she looks at his potential demise as a financial windfall first, and a tragedy second, speaks to why he probably doesn't bother with her much... 🤣

That's not sad, they both sound like idiots. :p
 

@M

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but the real question is...did you hit it?
Nah, she's married, and I'd feel weird about it since I've known her since I was a teenager and can't see her as anything but my friend's mom. She did allegedly give another mutual friend a BJ when we were in our twenties though... 🤣
 

NeoSneth

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Last night, I was talking to the elderly Mother of one of my old buddies I haven't seen in a couple of decades (he moved to Illinois) and she commented that, if he dies, and she has to go clean out his apartment, she'll be a millionaire from selling all of his shit.

I bet it would only be a few thousand $$$. Magic cards are mostly worthless unless he collected reserve list. . Most toys aren't worth shit. Most videogames aren't worth shit. She would need years to sell it to make it worth her time.
 

Neo Alec

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It would be too much work to get what the collections are really worth. That's why you see whole collections up for sale as single lots on ebay. The mother would need a way to at least sort out the big ticket items and list them separately.
 

terry.330

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One thing that's a huge problem that a lot of people don't take into account is just because you know what all of your weird expensive shit is doesn't mean anybody else does nor are they willing to figure it out. Especially if it's super obscure and foreign stuff, you could have the worlds best Japanese Saturn collection and it's most likely going to be sold as-is in a lot for pennies on the dollar to a flipper.

I hear people say dumb shit all the time about how they're going to pass on their collection to relatives/offspring and how thrilled they'll be to get such a valuable and sentimental collection. Bullshit. After you die that's just one more thing for your family to deal with in their already busy lives.

Nobody is going to go through your stuff and give it the value or treatment you think it deserves even if you leave instructions. At best it's just going to get thrown into storage and rot indefinitely.

I have a feeling that people who think these things have never had to deal with the situation themselves.
 

Burning Fight!!

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lol if you actually want to pass on something good to your family, actually pay for your children's education or something similar while you're alive. Just sell your shit and don't leave your heirs with the burden of figuring out if hieroglyph cartridge #239 should be sold for more or less than bare pcb #51, from your lukemorse1 hoarder room(s).

Of course it's actually impossible to predict when you're going to die to sell stuff, but remember, the future is now, SNK.
 

Lagduf

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Nah, she's married, and I'd feel weird about it since I've known her since I was a teenager and can't see her as anything but my friend's mom. She did allegedly give another mutual friend a BJ when we were in our twenties though... 🤣

So…if her husband dies you’ll hit it?
 

Lagduf

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One thing that's a huge problem that a lot of people don't take into account is just because you know what all of your weird expensive shit is doesn't mean anybody else does nor are they willing to figure it out. Especially if it's super obscure and foreign stuff, you could have the worlds best Japanese Saturn collection and it's most likely going to be sold as-is in a lot for pennies on the dollar to a flipper.

I hear people say dumb shit all the time about how they're going to pass on their collection to relatives/offspring and how thrilled they'll be to get such a valuable and sentimental collection. Bullshit. After you die that's just one more thing for your family to deal with in their already busy lives.

Nobody is going to go through your stuff and give it the value or treatment you think it deserves even if you leave instructions. At best it's just going to get thrown into storage and rot indefinitely.

I have a feeling that people who think these things have never had to deal with the situation themselves.

Agreed here. People love estate sales because they can still get stuff decently cheap because the family wants to get rid of the stuff. Even if you have a collection of something of relative value (firearms, good Jewelry, watches, cars, etc) the family is usually going to prioritize a bulk/lot sale even if they’re getting “only” 50% of the items value.

Kids ain’t got not time to sell grandpas waifu collection one piece at a time.
 

100proof

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I mean a hummer is at least on the table.

And yeah, what terry said. Don't burden your loved ones with your hoarder bullshit after you're gone. Sell it all, buy a Mister or at least flash carts/ODEs and use the money to do something nice for your family while you're still around to appreciate it.
 

terry.330

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Kids ain’t got not time to sell grandpas waifu collection on piece at a time.
Exactly, I mean the headache alone of matching the items to the packaging, sorting misc. accessories etc. is too much for any normal person.

Like the guy that takes all the OBI strips and keeps them in a binder. Makes total sense to him but he dies and that's just a binder full of gibberish to a relative and in the trash it goes.

All those modded consoles are definitely getting sold as normal most likely without the box and proper accessories because no-one knows that you have a ODE and RGB mod installed.

Your precious PVM isn't even going to be sold it's going to go to the electronics recyclers.

And so on...

When my uncle died he had about 3000 jazz records that were his pride and joy, his daughter sold them in one lot for a couple hundred bucks to the first person that could get them the fuck out of there. That's the reality.
 

Tarma

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Exactly, I mean the headache alone of matching the items to the packaging, sorting misc. accessories etc. is too much for any normal person.

Like the guy that takes all the OBI strips and keeps them in a binder. Makes total sense to him but he dies and that's just a binder full of gibberish to a relative and in the trash it goes.

.......

When my uncle died he had about 3000 jazz records that were his pride and joy, his daughter sold them in one lot for a couple hundred bucks to the first person that could get them the fuck out of there. That's the reality.
Ain't that the truth. A few years back I'd been playing Quackshot on the Saturn and just left the case lying around on my desk. When I went back to put it away (some time later), I couldn't find the Obi... dumb ass wife had thrown it in the bin, and demanded to know why it was ok to leave my trash lying around for her to clean up.... I wasn't happy.

So, yeah, as spine cards aren't a thing in the West, many people will not know what they are or what they're for.

I bet the missus wouldn't bother going to find a proper home for my LD collection either. :mad:
 

Neo Alec

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Some good posts here.

You'll have to appoint someone you trust who is likely to outlive you, or just accept whatever will happen to your stuff.

I will enjoy my things while I'm alive. I can make my wishes known, but the bottomline is after I'm gone it's someone else's problem.
 

Lagduf

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Sell that shit or give it away to someone who appreciates it before you die is my takeaway.
 

terry.330

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but the bottomline is after I'm gone it's someone else's problem.
Or maybe don't be the dickhead that leaves an overwhelming amount of weird shit for your family to deal with. At least collect responsibly and keep it to a nice manageable amount.

Look at Stealthlurker, RIP and all that but I bet his family is still getting shit in the mail that he pre-ordered.
 

Neodogg

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I’ve told my wife to contact @skate323k137 & @yagamikun if something would happen to me. She knows our son wants the Metal Slug stuff though…

I can honestly say that with my wife’s horse stuff I have no clue. I’d probably have to consult with one of her horse friends on what it is, what’s it’s use is & any value, cause that’s not my thing…
 
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Neo Alec

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Or maybe don't be the dickhead that leaves an overwhelming amount of weird shit for your family to deal with. At least collect responsibly and keep it to a nice manageable amount.

Look at Stealthlurker, RIP and all that but I bet his family is still getting shit in the mail that he pre-ordered.
I was expecting that response. Seems like people around here are Marie Kondo, constantly taking any opportunity to prove collecting physical objects is pointless, and this is the latest in a parade of arguments. I don't disagree on a practical level. However, if your stuff makes you happy, I think that's fine.
 

HeavyMachineGoob

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I’ve told my wife to contact @skate323k137 & @yagamikun if something would happen to me. She knows our son wants the Metal Slug stuff though…

I can honestly say that with my wife’s horse stuff I have no clue. I’d probably have to consult with one of her horse friends on what it is, what’s it’s use is & any value, cause that’s not my thing…
Why them and not me?
 

terry.330

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I was expecting that response. Seems like people around here are Marie Kondo, constantly taking any opportunity to prove collecting physical objects is pointless, and this is the latest in a parade of arguments. I don't disagree on a practical level. However, if your stuff makes you happy, I think that's fine.
I'm not saying don't collect things at all. Just don't do it to the point where if you were to suddenly die it would be a considerable burden to people you care about.

People have to deal with enough shit between grieving, funeral planning, financial sorting and other unforeseen issues that sifting through four decades of video games and toys shouldn't be dumped on top of all that.
 
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