Selling for credit health

[ErikElvis]

Guys I'm hurting. Not that I can't pay my bills but that I just can't seem to get ahead.  I'm considering letting some valks go and prob a lot of stuff that I don't really collect but though was cool and impulse bought.  My eventual goal is a new f250. My ram while a 2005 with around 60k on the clock is junk.  Drive train is good but everything else needs work.  I'm kinda over it  

 

Should i bite the bullet and start selling. What scares me is I have no idea how to sell. Never have on a forum or eBay.  I've always been a buyer.  I think I have some interesting things but the real rare stuff I'd prob hold on to.   

Help......

 

 

[jvmacross]

10 minutes ago, ErikElvis said:

Guys I'm hurting. Not that I can't pay my bills but that I just can't seem to get ahead.  I'm considering letting some valks go and prob a lot of stuff that I don't really collect but though was cool and impulse bought.  My eventual goal is a new f250. My ram while a 2005 with around 60k on the clock is junk.  Drive train is good but everything else needs work.  I'm kinda over it  

 

Should i bite the bullet and start selling. What scares me is I have no idea how to sell. Never have on a forum or eBay.  I've always been a buyer.  I think I have some interesting things but the real rare stuff I'd prob hold on to.   

Help......

 

 

Your best bet is to make a list of everything you want to sell, find out what the current market selling prices are, and then set some realistic prices if you want to sell quickly....basically, you want to get the most out of your investments, but also offer a lower cost option to your buyers than what they would have to pay via ebay or YJA.....that is if you want quick sales.....if you want to try to get the most cash....auctions may work better, but are more work as you have to list each one individually....

Maybe PM Davidwangchoi...he's a good seller and prices his stuff fairly...he has sold many VFs recently.....he should be able to guide you in the right direction...

[jenius]

Selling is easy but one lesson I've learned is to not put too many things up at once. I had one sale where I screwed up the pms royally and pissed a couple people off. If you decide to sale, I'd say list like 5 items at a time and make sure you have access to boxes as shipping materials ahead of time. Having a scale helps for calculating shipping costs. If people want to pay with Paypal goods payments, make sure you include insurance costs in the shipping estimate and buy the insurance. If you don't have a premium PayPal account, I think you can only get $500 out a month. 

[no3Ljm]

Yeah. Just like JVM said, it's best to list down all your Valks esp the ones you want to sell. Keep the rares for now. List the original prices and recent prices seen online so that you can compare and have idea.

And yeah, I second on the PM Davidwangchoi advise.

Hang in there, sir!

 

[jvmacross]

Kenny Rogers' wisdom works well for collecting too! 

 

Edited June 12, 2017 by jvmacross

[spacemanoeuvres]

You may want to check the "Wanted" subforum as well. 

There are folks actively looking for items that will be motivated to buy something before it's listed in the "For Sale & Trade" sub forum.

[Fortress_Maximus]

@ ErikElvis:  Good advice shared so far.  I hope you are not experiencing any life-threatening health or financial pressures.  I want to share the following ideas:  Have you decided what do you ultimately want to achieve from this situation beyond buying a new truck?  Debt elimination?  Clutter reduction?  Peace of mind?  Increased savings?  Lifestyle changes?  Can you elaborate what 'getting ahead' means to you? 

In my experience, focused actions are largely dictated by what you setting up as your goal(s).  How you begin executing the selling is relatively easy.  This may seem like a daunting project, but it ultimately comes down to objectivity, organization, and patience.  So, take a full inventory of your possessions.  Take pictures, and create a database, noting the condition (MOSC, MIMSB, MISB, etc), product details (limited, ed, etc), purchase price (what you paid), comparables (range you see same being successfully sold online), and note, if you have used or even thought of the item in the last year.  In my experience, if I have not even touched or thought of an item within one full year, I do not feel I need to keep it; I sell it ASAP because demand for most collectibles can quickly wane or steadily depreciate.  With all of this information, you will be able to clearly identify what you no longer need and even prioritize what you can hold onto and perhaps eventually sell under conditions you can better control.  Ultimately after the dust settles from selling, you will have more monies, less things, less clutter, and the remaining items should be what genuinely brings you great joy. 

Lastly, this is a great opportunity to also examine your entire financial situation (debt, saving, retirement) and, even your mindset towards consumerism (buying cool stuff on impulse) in general.  If you have more questions feel free to PM and keep us posted on your journey.  Cheers!

Edited June 12, 2017 by Fortress_Maximus

[seti88]

I also think of these questions at times, but then bandai releases a dang nice chogokin and they pull me back in again! 

With the mind tho, if it does crimp part of other aspects of your life, then the realization to throttle down should kick in. After all collecting should be fun (altho some may have other reasons hahah), so sometimes going slow and enjoying the ride is better.

 

 

 

[seti88]

12 hours ago, jvmacross said:

Kenny Rogers' wisdom works well for collecting too! 

 

Never tot i would be imagining valks on a poker table used as chips.. 

 

 

[mickyg]

Also worth noting that it's really nice to sell your stuff to members of this community, where you know they'll be appreciated and if you're like me, develop a friendship with some of the folks here.  It's almost like your collection gets to stay in the family.  Might not get you the absolute top dollar but it's a lot less work to sell to "friends" here and the satisfaction of making someone else's collection complete or just helping out, is a nice added bonus in my book.

[ErikElvis]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I should have elaborated. My goal is to get every single credit card paid off. The total now is up to about 20k. For what I pay as a minimum payment every month that basically covers interest.  The principle barely moves.  I could have had a new daily driver.   My health is fine thanks. Its just this hole I dug with credit card debt is a constant weight on my shoulders. It all started about 10 years ago when I had a crazy girlfriend that drove me nuts and didn't really help with any bills.  And it's just got worse from there.  Oh and actually I had a lot of German ww2 items that I had to sell to cover bills at that time and it steal eats me up inside. I feel like I may get that feeling from selling some of my valks. I do have a lot of random anime stuff I've collected over the years that I'm necessarily into but I liked that could go.  It's just getting started. I hate getting rid of things. And as far as the forum I'd rather sell here than eBay.  Searching through all the cardboard boxes of stuff I have will be a daunting task. 

[Vifam7]

Maybe you should consider getting a personal loan to consolidate your debt and get a fixed monthly payment at a lower rate? A couple of months of belt tightening might be more preferable than letting go of your treasured collectables.

[Slave IV]

If you are able to get one, transfer your credit card balances to another one that has 0% interest or anything lower than what you currently pay. Those promotions usually last a year or more so it buys you some time without more interest to pay. 

Then, start going through your stuff and sell what you don't think will bother you as much first. Also, save your money and use it to pay off those debts. 

Good luck!

[seti88]

Erik, are you still buying collectables? If you are, hope you consider stopping completely until you get out of credit card debt.

On the selling part, its up to you but you gotta keep the expenses down.

gd luck...

[ErikElvis]

Yeah it's a tough decision.  (Cough) I still have Roy premium on order and max.(cough)Need to preorder Millia. I feel I have to get them. But is did cancel a lot of other preorders. 

[Lolicon]

Yeah getting out of CC debt should be your top priority. You're just burning a lot of your money for nothing paying those high interest rates. As others have suggested, getting a lower interest consolidation loan or transferring them to some 0% interest cards to help pay them off are good options. Cutting back on luxury expenses to help pay your debts off faster will be best for you in the long run, even if you have to cancel some preorders today.

As a curiosity, would you be willing to sell me your soul for $5? 

[anubis20]

I sell other stuff to buy the stuff i really want. I went through nearly 2K recently trying to finish my VF-1 collection and I did complete it. I bought them all with my CC but sold a ton of my transformers ETC and paid them off right away. Only things I finance are things I can get at 0% apr and I do one thing at a time. I got a new laptop at best buy a few weeks ago and got 0% on it for a year. I will not use that card again until its paid off completely.  

[spacemanoeuvres]

Holy crap, 20K of debt that started 10 years ago!?!

I think most folks would say it's in your best interest to skip the $300 "premium finish" plastic toys until you get your debt under control.

Do what you want of course but damn. 20k of high interest credit card debt is no joke.

[F360]

20k is no joke. it might be best to just cancel all the preorder, or maybe just keep the Roy premium .  The interest you are paying will be enough to buy your valks later to offset the difference.

Besiding selling your toys, you should take a looks at your other bills like cellphone, internet, tv. 

you can switch your cell to mintsim to save monthly. https://www.mintsim.com/

shop around for a nice internet service but low cost. 

for TV , use a antenna (works quite well for local channels)  and you can add services to watch over the internet with services like directv now, sling box, youtubetv, etc.  

also are you paying for a storage unit? is it expensive?, are the items inside worth the monthly yearly fee? 

 

Back to the valks and toys, if you are not sure of the value, you can try to use amazon.jp (looks at their 3rd party sellers).  it will give you a nice current market rate of the macross item in japan.  And then you have to look at the end of SOLD auctions in ebay.  compare the 2 and list it for cheaper here since you don't have to pay ebay fee, amazon fee, etc.

[ErikElvis]

Ok came into a little money and paid a good chunk of bills.  Sort of intoxicating. Still feel the need to go forward and sell some toys. I'd have to inventory but I do think I have a 3rd yf-30 in box.  They seem to be doing pretty well second hand.  Unfortunately I do not have a business mentality. I'd rather pass things on below worth to some one who appreciates it.  I have so many toys to go through....

[spacemanoeuvres]

10 minutes ago, ErikElvis said:

Ok came into a little money and paid a good chunk of bills.  Sort of intoxicating. Still feel the need to go forward and sell some toys. I'd have to inventory but I do think I have a 3rd yf-30 in box.  They seem to be doing pretty well second hand.  Unfortunately I do not have a business mentality. I'd rather pass things on below worth to some one who appreciates it.  I have so many toys to go through....

NIB and/or never transformed YF-30s regularly sell for a 50-75% markup on yahoo auctions. Used go for closer to MSRP. 

Here's a closed auction search:

https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/closedsearch/closedsearch;_ylt=A7dPDjNnlEJZDwoA5W33KP97?p=yf-30&aq=-1&oq=&ei=UTF-8&auccat=0

Edited June 15, 2017 by spacemanoeuvres
A word

[ArchieNov]

2 hours ago, ErikElvis said:

Unfortunately I do not have a business mentality.

I suffer from this as well, but mainly because of my impatience. I end up buying high and selling low just to both get or sell what I want fast.

[chyll2]

Never bothered to open this since I though it was an OT post. Really good advice every one and having a debt really takes toll on our mind. I think most of the valid points are raised. It is up to you to decide on what you will do.

 

 

 

[Hiriyu]

I successfully sold a pretty large toy collection here at Macrossworld a couple of years ago. It was a little bit difficult for me to initially get "over the hump" with regard to a decision to sell, and it required significant time and motivation to catalog, organize and prepare all of the items for sale. But once I got started, I actually really enjoyed the process for multiple reasons:

Selling required me to to give each item a thorough check out. In the case of toys that had been stored in boxes for many years, there was a kind of rediscovery of what I liked or didn't like about any given piece similar to what I had experienced when I had first acquired them. It was kind of like "new toy day" for each item all over again. It rekindled my enthusiasm for the items and made researching prices and writing descriptions more of a fun exercise. An enthusiasm for the item you're selling helps you "sell the item".

Selling the collection required me to photograph each item - now that it's all sold I may not have the physical items anymore, but I do have a nice photographic record of it. The photographic record does a better job of reminding me why I loved that stuff better than sealed and untouched boxes in storage ever did.

Selling at MW in particular is fun, because there are a lot of great like-minded people here who share your enthusiasm. In many cases I'd end up having long chats/dialogs with other members outside of the scope of the sale itself. It's good to make friends.

Finally, I found the process kind of liberating once I had made the firm decision to sell. I was able to de-clutter, reclaim a pretty fair chunk of $$, and no longer had any vague worries about the mountain of vintage plastic in my closets slowly and quietly yellowing, degrading and devaluing.  

[Sandman]

7 minutes ago, Hiriyu said:

I successfully sold a pretty large toy collection here at Macrossworld a couple of years ago. It was a little bit difficult for me to initially get "over the hump" with regard to a decision to sell, and it required significant time and motivation to catalog, organize and prepare all of the items for sale. But once I got started, I actually really enjoyed the process for multiple reasons:

Selling required me to to give each item a thorough check out. In the case of toys that had been stored in boxes for many years, there was a kind of rediscovery of what I liked or didn't like about any given piece similar to what I had experienced when I had first acquired them. It was kind of like "new toy day" for each item all over again. It rekindled my enthusiasm for the items and made researching prices and writing descriptions more of a fun exercise. An enthusiasm for the item you're selling helps you "sell the item".

Selling the collection required me to photograph each item - now that it's all sold I may not have the physical items anymore, but I do have a nice photographic record of it. The photographic record does a better job of reminding me why I loved that stuff better than sealed and untouched boxes in storage ever did.

Selling at MW in particular is fun, because there are a lot of great like-minded people here who share your enthusiasm. In many cases I'd end up having long chats/dialogs with other members outside of the scope of the sale itself. It's good to make friends.

Finally, I found the process kind of liberating once I had made the firm decision to sell. I was able to de-clutter, reclaim a pretty fair chunk of $$, and no longer had any vague worries about the mountain of vintage plastic in my closets slowly and quietly yellowing, degrading and devaluing.  

Wow, i actually remember that thread. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago but it's coming up to 2 years. Do you sell the rest or do you have some stuff left over?

[Universe1010]

I hear you. I'm planning to sell everything starting next month because I'm having a hard time even keeping track of stuff I bought sometimes. We are also planning to buy a new home since we have young kids as well.

[Hiriyu]

3 minutes ago, Sandman said:

Wow, i actually remember that thread. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago but it's coming up to 2 years. Do you sell the rest or do you have some stuff left over?

It's all been sold, except for one Takatoku Gerwalk Nikick KO that never found a home. Send a PM if you'd like to adopt

[no3Ljm]

35 minutes ago, monishb said:

I hear you. I'm planning to sell everything starting next month because I'm having a hard time even keeping track of stuff I bought sometimes. We are also planning to buy a new home since we have young kids as well.

Ooooh! Summer Sale!

 

But seriously, I know and understands everyone's pain here when it comes to financially. I really don't sell that much unless I see members who needs something and that's the only time I offer them what I don't need anymore. And if I do plan on selling I will start probably on small stuff which I know most here don't collect. But will do post it when I know it's the right time to sell it... and if I really need to since I always planning on giving it to my son when the time comes.

 

[shogun221]

Lots of good advice here. I'll add this: eBay has a search function that allows you to view recently completed/sold listings. If you're looking for an idea of what individual pieces of your collection might be worth, it's a good place to start.

Edited June 15, 2017 by shogun221

[spanner]

I have this thought every now and then with my stuff.. Though atm I have no plans on doing so but sometimes the thought of selling up or a collection trim and the benefits of recovering a significant amount of money does appeal but I'd be torn as to what or how many things I'd actually want to let go of.. 

I know a lot of guys in here would jump at some of the stuff I have!

Better not to think about it too much or I'll go nuts!

Edited June 15, 2017 by spanner

[no3Ljm]

56 minutes ago, spanner said:

I know a lot of guys in here would jump at some of the stuff I have!

You know which ones I want from your collection, right? Remember, I'm always here bro. 

 

[Universe1010]

3 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Ooooh! Summer Sale!

 

But seriously, I know and understands everyone's pain here when it comes to financially. I really don't sell that much unless I see members who needs something and that's the only time I offer them what I don't need anymore. And if I do plan on selling I will start probably on small stuff which I know most here don't collect. But will do post it when I know it's the right time to sell it... and if I really need to since I always planning on giving it to my son when the time comes.

 

Look forward to it. My kids have no interest in the toys yet and we will likely need the funds. I believe change is good which most don't like doing.

[Sildani]

Well, I'm looking for a VF-4, VF-11, YF-29b, and, mostly, super parts for the VF-27. Not the Valkyrie, just the parts.

[Archer]

I feel this on a lot of levels. I have to take out loans > $30,000 a year just for school, and I will need to continue to do this for the next three years at least (with no income to offset this).

I have cut back on collecting. However, I don't want to completely abandon what I'm interested in. My strategy is to buy a figure that I want, keep it for a few months, and then sell it to make up the cost of the next figure I'm interested in. This has kept costs low, while letting me experience a lot of different figures. 

I'm not particularly attached to any one item, so this is easy for me, but may be more difficult if you're interested in holding on to everything you buy. 

[spanner]

7 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

You know which ones I want from your collection, right? Remember, I'm always here bro. 

hehe! I knew you would be the one to comment on what I said! But yeah sure bro I'll remember you when I go to sell off everything!