Sell Memorabilia For Mom?

[pjhando 10]

Dad was a great scouter but left little life insurance for mom. He collected a lot of scout stuff over the years - national & world jambo belt buckles, neckerchiefs, patches, mugs, pins, etc. I would like to help mom out by selling the items and giving her the cash. What is the best way? Ebay looks like a lot of work for little return. Ethical to sell at a traderee/swap meet? If I donate to a council auction can she get a charitable donation credit on her taxes? How would one value the items? From ebay? From auction proceeds? Thanks.

[Fuzzy Bear 12]

Scout stuff has worth but only to the individual that collects it. It takes times to find those individuals, so you must be willing to take your time to get the most out of it.

 

Start by finding out the market prices. Buy a book and take some time to list the items and prices. Arrange the list by price (*highest to lowest). You will be amazed.

 

Dumping to one individual is the fastest but the return will be the smallest.

 

Ebay is the middle ground but it takes allot of time to post, wait and then package to send. Set up a middle man type system to collect the money. You will be able to sell it all but only at daily market prices.

 

Trade-O-rees are fun but generally you must travel, get a hotel, eat meals out, and then you most likely will not sell it all. You will then be tempted to dump the remainder for a low price.

 

There are a few people that have businesses that will sell it for you and will take out about 25% and give you the rest. They know the current market prices and will handle all of the marketing to shipping. That is the easiest but the return is modest.

 

Look for some individuals in your Council that collects Scout stuff. Talk to them but just talk. Make it clear that you do not intend on selling it. Let them know you are only searching for information. They may give you some insight that you had not considered.

 

One last note: Consider a combination of the above mentioned methods. I have given you several clues.

 

FB

 

 

FB

[scoutldr 732]

The first thing you need to do is catalog, date and value the collection. A good reference to use is "Guide to US Scouting Collectibles" by George Cuhaj. You can get this on Amazon.com, or on Ebay. Scouting collectibles by themselves are relatively inexpensive, which is good for collectors, but bad for you. Depending on what you have, an item could be worth 5 bucks, or a thousand. Some first edition OA flaps go for $1ooo or more. Most go for $5-10. Other items can be grouped to bring a higher price, e.g. if you have a complete set of items from a World Jamboree, or a complete uniform from the 1930s. As with anything else, the key to value is rarity and condition. Preferred patches will be "mint and unsewn".

 

If you have questions on specific items, feel free to send me a Private message, and I'll be glad to look it up for you. Just a caution...most antique dealers have no idea what scouting items are or what they are worth...I have seen a wide range of prices in shops, most of them way too high.

[SemperParatus 1]

From the tax standpoint...once you have valued the items based on the above posters' suggestions, you can certainly donate them to a charity - may be a local scouting museum would be interested. The fair market value of the donation would be the amount she would claim as an itemized deduction on her personal return. The actual dollars to her would probably be less than if you sold the items. For example, if she is in a 25% combined federal and state marginal tax bracket then a donation of $1,000 of scouting stuff will only net her $250 in actual cash through tax savings. Make sure you get a receipt from the donee organization. If the value is in excess of $500 you need to file and attach a Form 8283 to the return. If the value of the donation deduction exceeds $5,000 then you need to attach an appraisal from a qualified appraiser.