The desire to sell

[Hobgoblin 1059]

Every so often I tidy up my work and storage area in the spare room. (I put my toys back in the toybox  ) and dependant on mood I occasionally get the urge to have a really brutal clear out. 

This is unfortunately made easier to entertain at the moment because prices are at an all time high what with mass demand for toys and trinkets to elevate the boredom.  My wife & I are finally coming up to the point in savings where we're meeting the deposits required for a house and the scrabble for any spare cash to wait a hopeful market crash. 

But I like having the cars  Except I don't like having them stored in plastic boxes because what's the point then? I currently have six cars and a fair collection of parts, that takes up a huge amount of room in our small flat. I only have two "out" and normally a third being worked on.  And it feels very crowded. 

I tend to justify keeping them due to some tangential emotional attachment but I'm not convinced that it's silly past a point. 

I have my first, which will never willingly go and the Futaba FXT Which is a bit too rare to expect to find again for sensible money but the rest are probably just valuable to me for the time sunk into them and the happy memories of places I worked on and ran them in.  I have the idea in my head that it makes sense to sell them whilst the market is good and the space I have to enjoy them is small because I can easily replicate them later once I'm in a more comfortable position - a mortgage would leave about £400 a month better off which should trickle down into a nice bump for hobby/workshop budgets. 

Has anyone else had this back & forth? Have you been able to sell and replicate layer without regret? They are only things after all but humans can be very complicated with attachments to possessions. 

[dannymulder 766]

I have it al the time, I buy cars run them, tinker with them and after a while when I get more and more cars I sell them and reduce the cars that I have and then start over again with  buying cars , building,  tinker and  selling. 

A lot of times I sell cars that I run not much, or when I do not have the money to buy something new when I want a new car.

I am never regret it, I am not a person that get attached on things or get emotional with stuff, for me they are just things that I can replace.

When I started this hobby 4 years ago I think I had about 30 cars in that period of time, now I own 10 so I sold about 20.

[Mrowka 496]

I own only one car, but I cannot sell my helicopters. My children have assigned names and genders and personalities and relationships to each of my helicopters, and they made a "helicopter house" festooned with crude renditions of helicopters and drones for the helicopters to make their home.

Needless to say, my buggy also has a name.

[J@mes 2326]

I should sell about 15 based on available space and how many get used but it never happens! I managed to sell 1 & that took some doing.

[matisse 1581]

I regret selling a few cars, but mostly I’ll sell one to buy another, it’s a one in one out kinda deal 

[Rich_8717 114]

I bought my first house last year and can fully relate to what you describe. Several times I've had a 'clear out' of things that I enjoy owning but can't really justify having money tied up in especially when I was paying money out every month on rent whilst trying to save a deposit. Some I now regret and wish I had kept, some I'm not really bothered about.

The advice I will give you is to ask yourself why you bought them in the first place, was it on a whim or was it nostalgia?  What are you going to do with it if you keep it? Will you eventually be able to display it or is it just going to sit in a box forever? If you don't have any real attachment to them then just sell them on but don't under sell, as long as you get what they are worth then you are less likely to regret it.

Another point I'll make is that you may be looking forward to buying your first house but at the end of the day when you get the keys it's just going to be an empty building, what makes it your house is having things you enjoy inside of it and you might regret having sold all your models when you finally move in and want them back - be aware that you probably won't be able to afford them for a while unless you buy a brand new house as all houses need some work and it's crazy how expensive silly things are like paint and curtains. There are still a few cars I would really love to own but now I can't justify spending 500 on a new model when I could replace some double glazing or buy a piece of furniture instead.

I sold pretty much all my models I had when I was younger but I have managed to slowly rebuild a small collection over the last few years whilst I was saving a deposit. I now second guess every purchase and have only ended up with cars I really want. I think the main danger with this hobby is that people get too caught up buying the newest thing or just for the sake of having the 'whole set' and then you end up with tons of cars you don't really cherish but aren't worth selling on either.

tldr; keep what you really love and will enjoy owning and sell the rest.

[Hobgoblin 1059]

I think my thing is more going to be separating what can be replaced later on (everything is just a question of money, If i decide I really miss it then it can be a save up and stump up for it) 

Try and find a sensible line between having nothing and hoarding everything. Just funny how the feeling comes and goes!

[Nobbi1977 1793]

I tend to think of the money as spent as soon as I buy something so if I sell it, even at a loss I am up.

I like to build so space for new stuff is worth as much as the selling price

[Saito2 6686]

I have had this debate myself. Selling cars in my area is such a painful slog of getting beat downs on price that I'm pretty much done selling cars. I have some that really should go but... Luckily, I did part with 4 over the winter like my Blizzard and my Emaxx. When they sit for several years with no sign of renewed interest on my part, its time to go. When they sit around because I don't have the time/space/money at that moment, I hold onto them. Those aspects can change in time. It sucks to sell something only to buy it again a couple years later because circumstances have changed.

BTW, these aspects can help you be a better consumer/shopper. You really have to narrow your focus and only get things that you find fulfilling rather than impulse buys. I began to sell off newer stuff like my TRF201s because (as cool as they are to assemble) new stuff is too sterile for my taste and my love affair is mostly with the first 100. When the Konghead came out, I totally wanted one but I held off. I still think its cool as heck but now that I've settled down, I know my life isn't any worse off without it.

Another thing is money is fleeting and only worth what you can buy with it. I got offered $20 for a perfectly good re-re Hornet I had (I think I was asking $45-$50 at the time). That $20 would be gone in a flash on something meaningless. That Hornet though had a few memories, but more importantly, the potential for more fun. Years later, my daughter now claimed it as hers and has a blast with it. That beats $20 (or even $50) in my book.

[DrGoatboy 132]

Tempted to tell you that selling is a great idea and you should sell me your bear hawk.... 

I think the market is actually cooling a bit with people going back to work and those who wanted vintage stuff having got things. The cars I have been keeping an eye on on eBay are definitely a bit cheaper than they were 3 weeks ago. (So glad I missed out on some very overpriced junk)

Putting money into your mortgage pot is never a bad idea and having less stuff to move when the time comes is always a bonus. But make sure you don't sell stuff that you will definitely miss....

[Wooders28 4723]

I've a good selection of things to sell, but no, big ticket, items. 

So by the time you faff about, taking pics, and writing the blurb, messages telling my the postage is high (I've been left out of pocket in the past, by the time you've bought a ,Jiffy bag, bubble wrap etc) , then having to queue in the post office (which is the part I'm not comfortable with atm), to end up with a few quid 🤷‍♂️

I say a few quid, I sold 30+ items a few months back, and they brought around a tenner each (average), and would probably have made more in today's market......🤔

[junkmunki 846]

I think you need to see a doctor and have therapy for that problem...

The interest you get on your money in a bank is rubbish, so you may as well invest in things you enjoy, plus they will go up in value over time.

J

[Hobgoblin 1059]

2 hours ago, DrGoatboy said:

Tempted to tell you that selling is a great idea and you should sell me your bear hawk.... 

 

Well that would be first up on the chopping block! Rather see anything go to a TC member than a faceless ebay bidder.

Too true on the interest being horrible. we even had a letter from the bank a few weeks back informing us its dropped from it's current pitiful rate, but that we have the option to open a savings account at about half the interest of the one we have already! 

I dipped my toe in the water today, I decided to give the shove to a couple of bodies I had laboured over a few months back and not really enjoyed since. The Ad was up about 6 minutes before they were snapped up so that sort of made things easier in a way!

 

[Wooders28 4723]

I'm blaming you @Hobgoblin !!

I've thrown a couple of bits and bobs on eBay last night, really do hate having to spend all day sorting through stuff ,

yeah I'll sell that-

no I wont -

yeah I will.....

Then the pics and the blurb take all night.....😭

I tested an old Trinity motor, and it started to smoke, so took a vid for a laugh, and posted it on the Glasgow RC club group chat, just so happened, it's one of the motors a club member used to use bitd, and wanted one for his old car, to sit on the shelf!! 

SOLD 😂😂