The pitfalls of collecting too much stuff

[wsdstan]

Sometimes I buy too much stuff.  Especially in the case of knives.  No rhyme or reason to the stuff I have collected, just buy what I like and sometimes make what I want.  Yesterday I got out a few boxes of knives and sorted out the ones I wanted to keep (too many) and made a list of the ones that gotta go down the road.  How I wonder.  Well there is Ebay and maybe Craigslist.  Maybe get a table at a gunshow.  Maybe consign them with somebody.  Anyway here is a list of what is going to go sometime and somewhere and somehow.  I am not looking to sell these on here but rather I am looking for suggestions on how you would sell a lot of knives.  I think higher priced ones like a Randall  are easy to sell on Ebay and some of the other knife forums.  Others, for instance a Barminski are regional knives.  He died a long while back and his knives are only well known in Colorado for the most part.  Knives like a Jeff White with Robert Jones sheath go easy on about any forum also. 

What are your thoughts?

 

[crashdive123]

A collector (if you can find one).  Short of that, your ideas are as good as any. I used to get Blade Magazine. There were always ads for buying collections. I?m sure that offers would be well below true value, but maybe another avenue to explore.

[wsdstan]

I agree with that Crash.  One is probably better off to just take their time and list a few at a time.

After thinking about it I am going to delete the list of knives as it serves no purpose in this thread.  Thanks for the reply.

[windy]

I just sold most of my collection; found a collector who owned an antique store and sold most of my oldest knives and sheaths, my bamboo rods and old fly reels, a bunch of re-enacting garb and an 1800's .36 Ohio halfstock boy's rifle.  Mama parted with her fanciest capote and buckskin dress, some mocs and beadwork and foofaraw--stuff we hadn't worn for years; some for decades.  Kept stuff that had been gifted to us; notably a John L Kemp knife that shows its Randall relationship, a couple of bowies that were customs (I made the checkered rosewood scales for the copy of the sandbar blade; a blacksmith friend did the steel), and, of course, several of my Russell Green River working hunters and skinners.  We could still outfit for a short rondyvoo; kept our working frontstuffers and throwing hawks & knives.  Got several K for the stuff, and find the display spaces have drifted full again, just with less exotic paraphenalia.  Still got the itch to pick up a coupla knives for users, and there's still one exotic that I hid when we were gonna be gone fer a month that I can't find now, but the stuff I collected for the show and tell lectures is gone and mostly forgotten.  Dang schoolkids'll hafta larn about it elsewhere.
mind yer topknots!
windy

[Dabberty]

I have a similar issue with axes, and I found it works better to sell them 1 by 1 instead of several grouped together. Also not putting everything you have for sale at the same time but, really 1 by 1.
Good luck with the knives selling !

[Mannlicher]

Too much stuff?  I just installed a new shed in the back yard for the overflow.

[wsdstan]

I have sold about ten knives so far.  Some locally but most on Ebay or other forums.  The problem is that I took some in trade, bought a couple new ones, and could not bear to part with some others.

I will let my heirs worry about this. 

[Sarge]

Glad to hear you sold some, Stan. If you sell some, get new ones, and it makes you happy then that?s great. If you decide to keep them ? well it doesn?t cost anything to keep them.

Got plenty of knives I could live without and some I wouldn?t part with.

My most ridiculous ?collection? by far is fishing tackle. For years, I?d buy the latest, greatest bait that won the last big bass tournament. Then I would never really learn to fish it and keep reverting back to a few baits/techniques with which I was comfortable. Now I have totes and trays full of stuff I never use. I use the same small handful of comfort baits. They only latest/greatest I ever really kept tied on is the Ned Rig. It is the real deal!

[wsdstan]

I understand that.  I had a fly fishing bug bad for thirty years.  Still have tons of stuff but I lost my bass to a flood a couple of years back and haven't fished since. 

You're right about knives.  If they make you happy there is no problem.

[xj35s]

I agree with windy. I think you should save for barter. In today's world it might net you better results to trade for goods. I just recently found an antique dealer that has very high quality stuff in the shop and is very stringent on what he takes in. It's a 2 hour drive but I can't wait to go down there. I'm taking 2 two man saws and a double bit axe. I am hoping for a grian mill. Maybe an old fashioned hand crank deal for making flour.

My point is if you're not in need of the money, then hold onto them until there is something you NEED, and are willing to trade for.

[madmaxine]

We had to get a new washer.  To get the old one out and the new one in served as a catalyst to clean out the "collection" garage.  Kelly took a car full down to Thanksgiving dinner with her family and got rid of a ton of clothes and shoes.  I already gave away skateboards and camping equipment.  I have a nephew that loved rendezvous. He's gonna get a real nice Christmas bonus.  LOL.

The best part of this is I have an old oak desk that will be my work table out there.

 Whitewater stuff goes next spring.

[boomer]

Glad to see I'm not alone in having "too much stuff". An associated problem for me is i don't tend to sell stuff but rather pass it on. I figure there are plenty of folks who might appreciate this or that thing acquired for whatever reason but is now unused. Donated items to folks in need are an easy call but some things are more difficult. I don't care for selling stuff even if buying it was never a problem.

Moving from a 2200sf place after 30 years into a 323 sf cabin is going to force some changes for sure. Way it looks now whatever I'm not using in the cabin or in the camp based on season and weather is getting passed on. A whole rack of Pendelton stuff might be nice but i cant begin to wear it all. So it goes.

May try to trade the wall tent for a range tent though now that it think about it. Love that wall tent but don't love wrestling it so much these days and the cabin is the middle road in terms of dwelling anyway. That'll still leave me with more than i need in the way of tents.

Excess firearms went to the son and other stuff to the daughter. Gave them land too. Wasn't hard at all once I realized, while browsing an outdoor store some time ago, that I didn't really need anything else.  What i needed was less.

I recall George Carlin had a good riff on " stuff".

These days the more I unburden myself the less I need. Doubt I'll ever get back to having all my stuff on a motorcycle but I'm kind of heading in that direction.