In a recent comment, I used the word “Philistines” to describe potential Craigslist buyers who expect to pay $20 for a NRFB AH-6 Little Bird Nightstalker helicopter. I apologize for that name calling.
The vehicle being mine gives it no greater value than if it were in a store. When I buy toys, if I get a great deal, I feel pleased and proud. Oh such luck! Oh I am one smart cookie. Imagine finding this item at that cost! All positive. I don’t think that the store owner might feel slighted that I was paying less than the item’s original cost. But the thought that something once precious of mine could be sold for less than the original cost, well, the thought stank.
Selling items from our collection can be difficult. Perhaps we *know* the market value of the thing. More important though is its meaning for us. That lingering attachment can hurt our sales. We forget that the item is, well, an item. Stores like Target or Walmart can slash prices because the toys are stock that need moving so that newer items can be brought in. Collectors attribute value to items that demands respect for the item that others may not perceive. My helicopter won’t be sold at that price. However, the Craigslist buyer seeks a bargain because that is the nature of that list. Even more than toy shoppers in a store, Craigslist buyers expect and seek reduced prices.
So I need to remember that Craigslist buyers are not villains out to insult the quality of my collection. They are just people doing what I do when I shop for doll and action figures: grab bargains.
2 comments:
What a thoughtful post! To me this is one of the interesting parts of the hobby - how adults can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a doll that, to most other adults, is just a hunk of plastic or resin and a few bits of cloth. On some level, it doesn't seem quite rational to me, but as a collector it always makes sense. The parts of collecting that scare me a bit is that I *do* become emotionally attached to an object (or several in the case of a collection). I do find selling difficult at times, though I seldom seems to truly miss anything that I have sold.
Thanks, Kim!
I, too, find that once something has been sold, I get over the loss. Makes me wonder how strong some attachments are ... but then, there are some things I cannot imagine selling under any circumstances. I've sold several Momokos lately. Petworks dolls that I doubt I could recall, but then I have others that I could never sell. It's not relative to the cost or even rarity of the item, but to the hold that a particular object has for me.
And no, non-collectors do not begin to comprehend. Shrug. Oddly, I feel that inability sad ;-}
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