Man dies leaves over 30,000 model cars in his house to church

[GOTWING]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2016/03/21/minnesota-house-of-cars/82075114/

[TruckDriver]

Most I bet, are given to kids that will have no clue they are ment to be looked at and not played with, and like we all do as kids, most will be wrecked by being played with 

[billssuperbird]

 

[Aero426]

I have a fair amount of car stuff in the house.    But I have to remind my family that there are people who have more.   A LOT more...

Great story.

[ITSA426]

It's a local story.  He also has a full size '66 Rambler, a model T Ford and a 59 Edsel.  I understand the church is trying to determine how to sell the collection off.

[Aero426]

It's a local story.  He also has a full size '66 Rambler, a model T Ford and a 59 Edsel.  I understand the church is trying to determine how to sell the collection off.

And THAT is the hard part.   The cars and particularly the vintage sales literature are pretty easy.    But what do you do with such a massive collection of what appears to be mostly modern diecast?    Selling in bulk, it is pennies on the dollar for that stuff.    

[GOTWING]

and my wife thinks that I have a model collection problem !  

[Aero426]

and my wife thinks that I have a model collection problem !  

Yup.   Know what you mean. 

[ITSA426]

I don't know how much of it is modern diecast.  He started collecting when he was nine years old.

[stripedelete]

Orphanage, giving tree, etc.  30,000 kids get a car for Chrismas this year.

[Aero426]

I don't know how much of it is modern diecast.  He started collecting when he was nine years old.

I'm sure there is some old stuff in there.  But the photos show mostly newer diecast.   I have stuff from when I grew up.   But it is a small fraction of what I acquired later.  (Having more spending money as an adult helps!)   I would say that in the last 20 years, the total selection of cars available has grown many times over compared to what we had growing up in the 1960's.   

If he got started early, his sales literature collection would be really cool to go through.  No doubt he was an experienced collector and was probably well known to the local vendors in the area. 

[Mytur Binsdirti]

It's a local story.  He also has a full size '66 Rambler, a model T Ford and a 59 Edsel.  I understand the church is trying to determine how to sell the collection off.

[cbrestorations]

idiot...i wouldnt give anything of value to a church

[Chargerguy74]

idiot...i wouldnt give anything of value to a church

Why's that?

[440]

I think leaving stuff to a church is a good idea, would you rather it go to the state?

If you had no next of kin why not? The church gets to either use what's given to them, donate it to people in need, or sell it and put the proceeds to good use.

[HeavyFuel]

Pic 7....70 Charger

[1974dodgecharger]

Just read the article wow......glad it's going to a church.....vs state. 

[Brock Lee]

They need to bust that lot of diecasts up into several lots of hundreds each and dump them ASAP. 30,000 is not only a pain to deal with one at a time, but it will also likely get to a point where a fair amount will not be that desireable and sit around. May as well blow them out mixed in with the good stuff.

[odcics2]

Worth the most melted down...   

[crj1968]

I think the Church should sell each car for $20.  You send in $20 and get a random car in the guys memory.

Maybe $10 for a matchbox sized one.

The church will put the money to much better use than the state, that's for sure.

I couldn't count how many kids and families my church has fed and helped out over the  last 15 years. Thousands....and that's just in the US

[triple_green]

I think the Church should sell each car for $20.  You send in $20 and get a random car in the guys memory.

Maybe $10 for a matchbox sized one.

The church will put the money to much better use than the state, that's for sure.

I couldn't count how many kids and families my church has fed and helped out over the  last 15 years. Thousands....and that's just in the US

[Mike DC]

        
The number does seem ridiculous.  30,000?  I love all different toy/model cars too, and I can't imagine wanting 1000 of them.  

He could have bought (and housed, and maintained) several 1:1 scale classic cars for what he spent on that collection.


A few 1:1's would have also passed a lot more value on to the church when he died.  Does anyone think this collection will bring $30,000 total, no matter how it gets sold?  That's an average of $1 per car and it's probably way too optimistic to hope for.      

[Brock Lee]

       
Does anyone think this collection will bring $30,000 total, no matter how it gets sold?  That's an average of $1 per car and it's probably way too optimistic to hope for.      

I totally agree. While not toy cars, or this magnitude, I have encountered similar deals where people die and leave huge "collections" behind (hoarding). Even in cases where there is some demand for the stuff, having that much enter the market at once murders the market. The surge of supply comes at the expense of demand. While there may be a few really exceptional things in there, a larger number will not be. Those will sit and probably never even bring enough to cover the time and expense of selling the item.  

I think the Church should sell each car for $20.  You send in $20 and get a random car in the guys memory.

Maybe $10 for a matchbox sized one.

The church will put the money to much better use than the state, that's for sure.

I couldn't count how many kids and families my church has fed and helped out over the  last 15 years. Thousands....and that's just in the US

The church will sell some at that price, but not a significant percentage of the 30K. Most people will want to feel like they are getting a $50 value item for a $20 donation. That is just reality. If they offered them at $1-10 each, depending on size, they would unload a bunch. But it still would require donations of time to pack and ship.