This post is submitted by guest blogger Michele the E-bay Seller:
As a long time eBay consignment seller and trading assistant, I’ve had a lot of collectibles pass through my hands. I’ve also been invited into many homes to review and value collections of items for owners seeking to sell at profit or who are seeking to immediately liquidate items for needed cash on the spot. I’m often shown many collectibles and keepsakes, just for “show”, but I’m told they’re too dear to the family and not for sale.
Time and again I’m struck by how little people do to protect these collectibles and heirlooms that they insist they could never part with for any amount of money. Surely then, they’re worth a very small amount of money to protect and preserve them against the damages of water from hurricanes, torrential rains and flooding? Certainly also, collectible objects should be anchored to protect against breakage from being inadvertently bumped or, heaven forbid, shaken from their shelves and wall mounts and such in the event of an earthquake or other disaster.
As a dealer in a lot of collectible paper items I, sadly, sometimes go to see a collection only to find it badly damaged from moisture and mildew or from light exposure. It breaks my heart and it pains me to have to tell people that what they’ve spent years and money collecting is essentially worth very little to anyone but them.
There are such simple steps anyone can take to preserve their precious keepsakes and collectibles. When I mention things to the people I meet like anchoring shelves to walls, or anchoring collectibles down to shelves or using archival plastic bags for photo albums and so on, I’m often given what my mom used to call the $10 stare. Lately I’ve been mentioning Scott’s book, How to Save Your Stuff from a Disaster…, to the people I’ve been meeting with. If people aren’t prompted by my advice to them, maybe they’ll at least buy a book and take action after they see what I’ve said to them reinforced in print.
Thanks Scott for letting me share!
Michele
You are welcome Michele. Thank you. Btw, here’s a quick video to illustrate just how easy it can be to protect and save paper items: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A_7h4yTskE
Collectibles in need of protection from hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados
I love to collect vintage prints and artworks and I make sure that I protect and preserve them at all times. Priceless (heirlooms?) collectibles are worth protecting because they are actually much more valuable than those collectibles which can easily be bought and replaced. So, I have priorities.
This article is very nice to my surprise!! My collectibles are very important to me. Thanks for the links to the videos.
Protecting your collectibles seems like a no brainer. Thanks, really great write-up.
The discussion of setting value on something is interesting. I have heirlooms that I can sell for much be mean the world to me… I’d be SOL if I depended on an insurance policy to protect me. Thanks for making me think about this more.
WOW! what great info for collectors.
I wanted to thank you for this great read!! Good stuff.
Thanks for sharing this good info. I teach a class that will enjoy this blog.
Thank you very much for posting and sharing this great article about value of collectibles and memorabilia. Its always a questions especially when all a collector hears is the sales pitch of the store. It is so interesting.
Great info and thanks for this. I’m trying to be a good collector and not buy junk but this article helps me think about it a little differently.
Great information about taking care of collectibles. Even if they are “just” memories they are still worth protecting. Interesting blog and topic.
Very nice post! Very good info on the idea of value of collectibles. Thanks.
Its really an impressive article. I loved it.
Great article about the value of collectibles and memorabilia. Many many thanks. I always have the discussion about whether its clutter with my husband.
Certainly, an exclusive piece of writing and I enjoyed every bit of it. It can be result in the shape of very positive and profitable impact throughout the world.
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I have a collection of old paintings and coins with myself. It is very nice to have collections. Old things are pieces of history which keep us connected with our ancient past.
So true! I like this site whery much, it’s just hilarious!!! Post more such things:)
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Every collection is priceless for its owner. It i svery important to save each collection, so that all people can enjoy it.
Hi , i don’t know if there is any thing i would like to add in this post but i will say that this post has made me think that am in know everything or should i start exploring this kind of content on internet so that i can have more information to add up . Like online shopping we all must have different reviews for education which i would love to discuss over Click here
So many people like to invest in art and antiques and your info seems so important. Thank for the help.
Of course they are worth collecting. Otherwise, why would people collect them.