Holding an off-site auction….
Removing the collection to an auction house has the advantage of getting your home back to order more quickly but the expense of packing and shipping to the auction house becomes your expense rather than that of the buyers at an on-site auction. You have reduced your risk of having bad weather limit the crowd. The auctioneer can usually do a better job of advertising and many folks may be familiar with the auction house and the place may have a location that is more convenient for out-of-town buyers.
Holding an auction at or in conjunction with a vintage radio conference….
This may be one of the best ways to dispose of a collection but it may also be the most difficult to locate folks willing to do this. Since these conferences are staged by groups of volunteers, it may not be possible to get them to invest in the considerable amount of time necessary to hold the auction. It could be great from your perspective because of the extremely high percentage of qualified buyers that would be present at such a conference. The down side would be in the fact that these are only held once a year and so you might have to wait a long time to get your money. If you do choose this route, insist on a written contract detailing all of the relevant issues mentioned in the rest of this article.
The rage today is to auction items on the Internet….
Stories abound of sky-high prices bid for notable items and of ordinary items that still bring very high prices. This takes someone with a lot of experience in this new method. You have to make arrangements to ship items and deal with disputes regarding methods of payment and of folks that find that the goods you deliver are not up to their expectations. It may be difficult to sell the less desirable items by this method since there is so much high-dollar stuff being offered on various web sites. Many buyers use the low-ball bid strategy to pick up the lesser items.
Donation to a museum or club.
Depending on your financial status and personal interest, you may elect to donate specific items or the entire collection to a museum or fraternal organization. There can be certain tax benefits to the estate as a result of such donations. The terms of the donation must be well documented and the organization receiving the donation must give you written proof of their tax status in the form of their 501(c)3 certification if you are to make a secure claim for tax credit. Recent IRS rules prevent museum staff from appraising the value of donated artifacts. If the total valuation of the donation is over $500.00 the donor will have to have the items appraised by a third party. Many museums will supply a list of appraisers who will do this for a fee or at no charge.
You should be aware that, in most cases, the items you donate will be free of any obligation on the part of the museum to place the items into their permanent collection. It is common practice for the museum or club to sell off items to finance other acquisitions or for helping to cover general operating expenses. If you wish to donate items only for a
