stevenpiziks | Is the Collection Worth It?

I collected comic books for decades, and my collection was decently valuable. When I was starting a family, I was kind of looking forward to sharing the comics with my kids. What kid doesn't like comics, right?

Apparently mine. None of my sons showed any interest. Zero. I once took the three of them into a comic/manga/gaming shop and told them they could get whatever they wanted, and then we could all get ice cream and read comics in the park. My oldest just hung out by the front door, waiting for us to leave. My middle son grabbed the first thing he saw just to make a choice quickly. My youngest browsed around a little and said he didn't want anything at all. We ended up just getting the ice cream.

Collectors often say they want to pass their collection (of dolls, comics, Legos, game cards, whatever) down to their children or grandchildren because they're valuable and will garner thousands of dollars for their heirs.

But the heirs in question rarely share the interest, and they usually know next to nothing about how to market a thousand Barbie dolls or fifty long boxes of old comics, so they either sell everything quick and cheap at an estate sale, or dump everything in the trash.

If you have a valuable collection you want to pass on, ASK your heirs if they want it in the first place, either to keep or sell. If there's no interest, sell the stuff yourself before you die and pass the cash on to your heirs. Not only do they get the money you'd like them to have, you also ensure the stuff goes to someone who will appreciate and enjoy it.

I sold my comic book collection myself. My sons won't miss it--I doubt they've even thought about it--and now they won't be saddled with it later.