@Mr. Humphreys your first post... thank you for even considering me. Having had to undertake this, due to the loss of a parent, I do understand both the sentiment and the task. It does make you contemplate these things. In spite of being the originator of the post above, I have only scratched the surface of populating my personal database. As has been said on this thread, my collection still gives me a lot of pleasure and the ideal would be for it to move in whole, or in part, to people, or persons, that it has the same effect on. Part of what I had to deal with was a smallish collection. It was not bequeathed to anyone in particular, so I did my best to place pieces with people whom I hoped they would have meaning to... unfortunately, they weren't to many people's taste and I go to a stage where I had many pieces left and no remaining family members, or friends of the deceased, to offer them to; therefore, what seemed to make the most sense was to find a way to donate them to a charity relevant to the passing of the deceased. I did consider selling the pieces individually but that felt wrong; however, donating them to be sold and the funds benefiting the charity seemed slightly better. All in all a bit of an emotional mine field and certainly one that made me want to avoid leaving a similar issue for someone else.
^^^ "As has been said on this thread, my collection still gives me a lot of pleasure and the ideal would be for it to move in whole, or in part, to people, or persons, that it has the same effect on." I feel the same way, Ideally it feels right to get them to the person(s) who would love them and derive the same magic sense of happiness. As you mentioned preserving a special grouping "feels right" (i.e. the butas, racers, and Tigers especially) and also archives a bit of toy history. In some cases, it is a physical database of a line of toys, that may be nearly impossible to duplicate again (from a "completeness point of view). I don't mean to sound high fallutin about my collection, but it would be nice if they lived on intact for others who share the passion, to enjoy. Falling short of this, then sale and cash going to a good charity/charities would be the way to go. ...and, you are very welcome re. the Racers. I haven't come across anyone as obsessed as I am
I’m still relatively young enough that I’m not quite looking to Unburden myself before my twilight years; but If I were to pass on suddenly, there are two or three friends that my wife would contact to help her sell off/give away most of my collection. The pricey stuff would most likely be sold, and the remainder given away to the other toy friends I’ve made through the years. To remember ole hellopike by. If I get to be an old man, I’ll probably lighten the load if I can. Whatever is left when I die will go to my numerous nieces and nephews to sort out. I don’t have any real belief they’d end up in a museum type setup, forever on display… they’re just toys and a super niche of a niche. Maybe if I win the powerball I’ll start a trust and a museum for soft vinyl toys and everyone’s collection can live on forever. Lol
By the time I die I will already be a millionaire so I would have my body and toys launched into space.
Hopefully before I die I can take a lot of these toys back to japan myself- I feel strange hoarding vintage relics in America that will never see the homeland again
This is my plan as well (assuming I die in the relatively near future while these toys hold any sort of value).
I've actually thought about this in the past few years. I've really no solution as of yet. I have no kids to leave the toys to. My nieces and nephew are not collectors of anything, although my nephew (teenager) is in that Supreme/Nike/BAPE (are they still relevant) phase so maybe he will jump on the sofubi hype train. I've thought about leaving it with my brother since he is the closest family member to me (in distance and relationship) but he doesn't collect sofubi. He sort of understands why they are the price they are at retail but not after market. I have thought of starting to sell little by little so we shall see. I have thought of taking a few to the grave.
My wife says if i should die young, she would keep it all. My daughter gets dibs if she’ll keep them, but i will rent a wood chipper just in case she doesn’t want them. Then I’ll work on my free throws. i really don’t know. Probably should figure it out.
Leaving instructions and/or a catalog behind for what to do with your toys is very helpful to your loved ones. Even better if you can point them to local collector friends who can help guide them through the process of identifying and liquidating things. I've been called on to help with this a couple of times and the families are always grateful for the help. Also, hopefully this thread serves as a reminder that it's always a good thing to create and/or update a will, living will, and power of attorney documents. Doesn't matter how old you are, if you're married or single, whether or not you own property, etc. You don't want to burden your loved ones with difficult decisions.