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Need Help

I've been collecting since 2010' have some 300 pcs. now. I've at various times tried reaching out to different people about perhaps selling my collection. S.M.K.W. J. Parker spoke with never called me back two different people on Ebay wanted me to mail it all off to them just like that, Knifegirl did give me her husbands phone # & said to call with a list. But I haven't even gotten that far I've tried I got picture file of everything & know it probably off the top of my head but haven't written it all down. I wanted to get the description's correct the correct sizes & all but cant get any help & it just overwhelms me. Spoke to a guy that advertised they buy collections on-line & he insulted me mister big shot said he spent hundreds of thousands buying & selling & he wasn't interested & said I paid to much & had all new items. He read the first page of the list I did get put together then quit. My first few purchases where from Cutlery Corner I saw on late night TV not knowing nothing from nothing the learning curve was steep. But I'm proud of the collection I have now & know that there's interest in what I have. Great Eastern's -Devon Thomas #15 pattern, Tuna Valley's SFO Clock parts in Blk. Epoxy Gunstock pattern, Queen's Dan Burke Cattleman. Linder's PPP Kris Bld. Dirk's. Does anyone know someone that would seriously take a interest in buying my knives from me. I don't have a phone of my own nor a car, that's what I wish to change. E-mail-maximstooge@hotmail.com

Tags: Fair, Help-Wish, Honest, Individual, Need, With, deal, to

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Permalink Reply by Alan on June 25, 2016 at 12:00

Brian,

Slow down, take a big breath... It can become overwhelming. My advice is set aside an hour each week to list a few knives at a time. Describe them as best as possible. Do not sell as an entire collection you will loose your shirt. Sell them off individually, chances are you can recover significantly more than the entire collection as a whole.

It may be wise to Spend $30.00 and sell them on Blade Forums or one of the such websites. Ebay is a rip off and will eat up additional money so it would not be a good choice.

Best of Luck

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Permalink Reply by Brian LeClair on June 25, 2016 at 12:21

Blade Forums has a one time fee to list items? Good advice but I just keep buying watching my life tick away. I want to see the Grand Canyon, Pacific Coast Highway, Route-66, Flagstaff Arizona, Rocky Mountains before I'm too old.

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on June 25, 2016 at 15:28

Brain,

You can also list here for free, listing in both may be a smart move. The only downside to that is keeping up the posting of what has sold. I can help you with that here. Just send me an email when you sell something and I can do the update for you.

The problem with all the guys buying collections out there is that you have to remember it is their business to buy wholesale so they can sell retail.

Alan is correct, take a breath, an hour a week should get you where you need to be without being WAY to overwhelming.

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on June 25, 2016 at 15:40

Posting a sale on iKC is here Brian

Knives for sale or trade

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FeaturedPermalink Reply by dead_left_knife_guy on June 25, 2016 at 16:06

Brian, Alan's right about slowing down. You didn't amass this collection overnight, & you're not going to sell it off overnight, unless you're okay taking some pretty serious losses.

If you're okay taking the losses (& you might be, it sounds like you want to leave collecting behind & go out & explore the world, which I commend you for), you could just do a few big "group photos" with a clear list of everything in the collection & post it with no reserve to eBay. You'll pay something like 11% of the total sale price to eBay, & the rest you can just ship off in one big box to the buyer.

I'd doubt you'd be able to sell the collection for $1,000 on eBay (unless there were a substantial number of stellar pieces in there), though I'm no expert at eBay sales & wouldn't say "never", but my guess is you could recoup maybe a few hundred per post, depending on what you have.

A lot of us that buy knives online also shop around for knives online. Currently, I steer clear of really low-buck knives (BudK, Maxam, Fury, etc.), but I started out collecting by buying knives from some of these brands. However, I would always plug the name of a knife that I was considering into an eBay or Amazon search, just to see what I could feasibly buy it for elsewhere. I'm not going to buy a knife used that I could buy new at a similar price. With the low-grade knives, you have to expect to take a loss. I have been planning to get together a bunch of BudK-purchased knives to just sell them as a lot on eBay, but have not done so yet so I cannot speak from experience other than that the low-buck knives don't maintain their value.

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FeaturedPermalink Reply by dead_left_knife_guy on June 25, 2016 at 16:09

Out of curiosity, what all do you have in your collection? You could post that list here, & if there's interest in specific pieces, you could photograph them & post them as well. Just start a Word document of the knives by name, & you can alphabetize the list as you add items; or you could start a spreadsheet then have the program alphabetize by name.

The pieces that are more in demand will be obvious for the most part pretty quickly. Others you might just have to sell for less than you'd like, and then there will be those that you feel like you have to pay people to take off your hands.

If you're caught up on recouping your funds, that's something that might take a really long time (or never), though if you were desperate I'm sure you could find someone to pay you far, far less than what the collection is worth just to take it off your hands. My guess (& my hope) is that you're shooting for something in between.

Go piecemeal -- an hour a week is a good goal to start, though you could go five or ten hours per week or more as well. It's overwhelming if you think of doing it all at once, or if you can't accept anything less than the amount of cash you put into the collection.

Given your goal of wanting to get out to see the country, it might be best to remember this addage: "Done is better than perfect." If you're planning to fund these trips with the proceeds from your knife collection sales, that might take a little longer.

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Permalink Reply by Bryan W on June 29, 2016 at 11:23

I have to agree with most of the above, but as an EBay buyer and seller, while the rates can be annoying, depending on what you have, how you price your items and what you charge for shipping, you can do all right. Expect to take a hit if the knives are newer, lower cost brands, or "common" knives that can be purchased almost anywhere, especially if you sell in a group.

I would consider listing the knives here as indicated above, selling off individually or in small groups to get the most for your money. Best of luck, and very curious to see what you have!

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Permalink Reply by Michael D. on July 1, 2016 at 8:08

Brian, a lot of good advise here. Try a few forum "for sale" threads and eBay. But I know your pain when you're looking to get cash quickly.

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Permalink Reply by Carl Bradshaw on July 3, 2016 at 10:10

Just be ready if you want to sell your entire collection at once, you're going to get about 40% of what they are actually worth. The best way to get the most $ is to take the time and sell them 1 at a time on different forums, or Ebay, with clear descriptions and photos of each one.

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Permalink Reply by Ron Dumeah on July 19, 2016 at 18:53

I agree with Alan. I have been selling some of mine and I am going slow. Remember, knives are an investment and the pay back can be rewarding if you do some homework first.