Thinking about leaving the hobby and sell all, who has done it and regret it

[vintagebackyardrc 135]

Been here (and sold).

Did most of it because I needed the money.

It makes me sad now (had a very nice collection).

1st time it was necessary (bought a house) and I was glad I had some bits that gained value.

 

A few years later when I was racing touring cars & I lost interest in collecting...I sold a larger chunk because I needed money to fund the big time expense of competitive

R/C touring car racing.  This was a choice not a necessity (It was the wrong choice).

If I did not need the money I would not sell off.

Personally...I keep coming back for more. I love the nostalgia and memories. I am so very mad at myself for selling off cars I could be using for the channel right now (that I will NEVER be able to afford again) ...or showing my kids what I loved about each car and why they were important to me.

.

 

[InsaneJim69 1584]

As above, I have lost count how many cool and rare TA03 cars I have had over the years and eventually sold them as we needed the money at the time. God I regret them all !!! 

Do not sell everything if you don't need the money. Maybe thin out what doesn't get used at all and go from there. Keep a few to run and enjoy. 

James.

[Re-Bugged 10151]

Hummmm tough choice as everybody’s situation is different.

I’ve seen on here so many times stories of people selling, then regretting it later, through either necessity or just because.

I would advise as above, maybe sell your least favourite to see how that goes first, then reassess.

Something else you might like to try is getting into a bit of photography of what you have already. I’ve really enjoyed that aspect, especially since I’ve learnt how to use my daughters proper camera rather than a phone. I’d say I’m more a builder than a runner, but I get just as much pleasure, if not more, by taking out a favourite car or two to a nice spot and click away as I do from running them. Sometimes a couple of hours will pass in a flash. Playing around editing photos at home after is enjoyable too. I must have over 2000 photos now of just 12 or so cars, I keep saying to myself I’ll delete some but haven’t yet. 2000 photos on a SD card doesn’t take up much room compared to a physical collection, and can be flicked though regardless of the weather 😉

[Juggular 4964]

11 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

These things comes in waves

Oh yeah, that sounds about right. 

Just like any proper addiction, it comes in waves. (I've been saying how I have a 2 year cycle in my hobbies.)  When the pandemic hit, I thought I'd get to all my projects.  The opposite happened.  I didn't do anything RC for about 15-16 months.  I did other things like building a computer, baking bread, building a laser-cut plywood kit, and catching up on Star Wars books.  

One day, I discovered how TC members were buying XV-01.  I wanted it for years but it was always out of stock.  So I got one, fully knowing that I wasn't going to build it anytime soon.  Then I wanted MF-01X.  That, I built, and that's how I got back.   

I even bought an autogyro the other day.  It has no instruction. But I figure I could build it, even though I only have a vague notion as to how it works...

It should turn out like this:  

RC is a hobby.  It's not a job. It's not an obligation or commitment. It's the hobby's job to serve your purpose, not the other way around. You have absolutely no duty to stay with RC. 

Also, I'd be aware of survivor-bias. Only those who came back to RC would say, "I regret selling my stuff."  There could be a dude who built a yacht in 1 year and sail around the world with his girlfriend right now.  Or who bought a used airplane for $35,000 and fly around the country.  They would not visit TC and say, "I don't regret selling all my RC cars" because they are not in RC anymore. They are out there, not regretting anything.  

What if you don't get enough when you sell it?  I'd think that'd be fine too.  The way I see it, every time I build something, the fun is worth $30.  Every time I run it, the fun is worth at least $7.  I own it. I use it. I break it. I fix it.  I am not just a middleman for holding it for the next person.  If I ran it 10 times, I've got my $100's worth.  If I sell a $130 kit after a year?  I'd be okay with $75, especially if I don't find it fun anymore.  But of course, I'd deprive myself of future fun, so I don't sell.  But if you want to sell everything, why not?  If you want a violin or a drum set instead, get it.  Do what's fun and right for you because YOU are the main character here. (Just don't become a supervillain; they usually don't get to the "happily ever after" part. Be a superhero.)  

 

[Re-Bugged 10151]

1 hour ago, Juggular said:

Also, I'd be aware of survivor-bias. Only those who came back to RC would say, "I regret selling my stuff."  There could be a dude who built a yacht in 1 year and sail around the world with his girlfriend right now.  Or who bought a used airplane for $35,000 and fly around the country.  They would not visit TC and say, "I don't regret selling all my RC cars" because they are not in RC anymore. They are out there, not regretting anything.  

 

Such a great angle to view from that I’d never even thought of 👍🏻

[Frog Jumper 3661]

2 hours ago, Juggular said:

RC is a hobby.  It's not a job.

 

Bears repeating.

[simalarion 2196]

27 minutes ago, Re-Bugged said:

Such a great angle to view from that I’d never even thought of 👍🏻

Also, as i mentioned in my litle «take» on this, if you have other hobies/plans you always wanted to do you should just do it, and if thst means selling you RC stuff it really comes down to how much you really enjoy RC compared to your new plans. 
 

So if i was in overal sitting on a pile RC stuff that just bored me and i always had this dream sauling around the world but lacked money, the choice is rather easy

[rwordenjr 1890]

I would not sell them unless you're desperate. I have sold many items before because I was bored of them and or hardly used and as soon as they were gone, I wanted them back. Find a space in loft or garage and put them away. When you have the itch, they will be there. 

[djmcnz 754]

Sorry, I didn't read all the posts in this thread but this...

1 hour ago, rwordenjr said:

I would not sell them unless you're desperate. I have sold many items before because I was bored of them and or hardly used and as soon as they were gone, I wanted them back. Find a space in loft or garage and put them away. When you have the itch, they will be there. 

...is true. Quit the hobby if you wish but, if you can afford to keep and store some of your favourite kits, do so and you won't regret it. Either you'll come back in some years (I was once 12 years out of the hobby then back in) and relish the kits you still own or you won't come back and can then still sell what you have if you have no interest.

 

[Re-Bugged 10151]

1 hour ago, simalarion said:

So if i was in overal sitting on a pile RC stuff that just bored me and i always had this dream sauling around the world but lacked money, the choice is rather easy

It was the Sailing reference that stands out at the moment. My Nephew went travelling the world with his girlfriend 4 years ago, and has been stuck in Canada since Covid, they even got the Brazilian strain themselves. Both have recovered and worked/saved hard, this week they are flying to Florida to Sail the Bahamas for 6 months in yacht they just bought there for $50,000. There’s no time like the present to live your dream while you still can however you have to do it.

He had no connection to RC but sold his beloved Kite Surf to fund the start of his adventure. 

[futureworks 864]

There’s a lot to be said for a life primarily filled with enriching experiences and interesting people, more so than possessions 🙂

[Grumpy pants 4485]

Yep it’s just stuff that was a moment in time.

Sell most of it, unburden yourself of over thinking and hold back 2-3 all time favourites for shelf duty and the odd beach run.

Unless something holds a emotional tie to a person or a particularly fond moment it can be replaced in my modest opinion.

Health, family and then pretty much everything else is the order you want is the way to go 😊

[Fuijo 880]

18 hours ago, dannymulder said:

Then if you wan't to sell cars and stuff it is hard to sell it for a fair price

I'm not so sure about this. Short-term possibly. But if it's a nice example of something reasonably popular or desirable, either new-built or in the patina catagory rather than the scruffy catagory, things are selling fairly well just now.

And absolutely everything, including RC, is going to get much, much more expensive in the not-too-distant future (long overdue interest rate increases, paying for Brexit, paying for Covid, many countries printing cash like it's monopoly money, the fact the 2009 fanancial crisis just had a sticky-plaster rather than a fix, etc etc).

Unless you are desperate to raise money right now, I would simply keep advertising at a small profit and don't accept less than a break-even price.

Then it's just about patience. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Kol__ 3377]

14 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

You do know that most RC stuff from 20 years ago are actually worth more today and will probably worth even more in 20 years time. Your body parts on the other hand... 

Lol @alvinlwh, yeah old kidneys ain't worth much!Someone had a good point on here the other day when they said something on another thread along the lines of, when we're dead and gone the people who grew up with this stuff, desire it and are willing to pay good money for it will be dead. So, taking that into account one can assume there will come a point in time where the vintage Tamiya from the 80's and 90's will peak in value and I assume then drop off for dramatically, with only some choice classic examples remaining desirable and high value. I wonder the same thing about a bunch of original Star Wars stuff I have stored in the loft, when should I sell? When will I get the best money? Have I missed it already?

With regards to Tamiya, I guess the rere's (and the latest Star Wars revival movies with regard to that franchise and it's collectibles) mess with the above surmising some what. Due to new generations being able to get into these old models, as well as us lot again as well, perhaps those young'uns will also be looking for this stuff again in 30yrs time!

@dannymulder, I would echo the thoughts of many of the responses here. If it were me, I wouldn't sell up. As some have said maybe thin it out a little and store the rest away maybe. The hobby will then be closed off somewhat in your life, but all the time and effort you've put in over the years will not be lost forever. That way if or more likely when you revisit the hobby in the future you won't have any regrets. I found my old Hotshot 2 from my youth maybe 5 years ago, with a 2nd parts car in the box as well. I sold it on eBay for a little over £100 iirc. Now I've found myself back into the hobby after 25years away, I kinda wish I hadn't sold that car without any real thought, it's certainly worth more that that now. That said I'm not actually much of a fan of the Hotshot family, it was acquired by convenience rather than choice in my youth, so I'm not too bothered not to have that in my collection.

Anyway, good luck with deciding how to proceed, you'll make the right decision for yourself at the time, wising you all the best mate

[Collin 1956]

I would start selling the models I am least connected with until having an essence of what I like.

When the rc virus hits me I told myself staying on one chassis I am connected with since childhood. Also I like tuning them which gives you lot of fun and exercises building your own parts and modification.

Also I sold models whe I found one in better condition, sometimes with a bit of a win.

For me less is more and now I know where I belong too. TRF early 90s racing buggys.

I spend lot if time doing research about former Team drivers, race reports, setup sheets, used gears and modificatons ect. Best, this is for free (until you start hunting for periode correct electronics and so...)

You should re-define what you want from your hobbie and put a focus on something you are very interested in.

Dont give up everything, the next wave will catch you and you have to start from zero.

 

Good luck mate!

[Willy iine 18806]

2 hours ago, Collin said:

You should re-define what you want from your hobbie and put a focus on something you are very interested in.

Excellent advice, Collin.   Speaking RC alone, I too think just focusing on a type of car or a theme or even just building specific custom cars or parts is best..and challenge yourself to try a new technique each time where possible.  

And for the other types of cars, enjoy looking at pictures of other folks' masterpieces here on TC.  

 

[Collin 1956]

1 minute ago, Willy iine said:

Excellent advice, Collin.   Speaking RC alone, I too think just focusing on a type of car or a theme or even just building specific custom cars or parts is best..and challenge yourself to try a new technique each time where possible.  

And for the other types of cars, enjoy looking at pictures of other folks' masterpieces here on TC.  

 

This is why I love how crazy you are about WWs

[dannymulder 766]

Thanks for all your replies, that is what I like about this forum.

For now I keeping all my cars and parts and just take a break for some time, I don't need the money or the space,  I am going to do other stuff what  I like at the moment, building lego and playing videogames, I think I decide later from now what to do with my rc hobby, maybe after a break I get the spark back and enjoy it and if I do not I still can sell everthing, so I give it 6 months to a year maybe, if after a year or so still feel like selling everything then I now what to do.

[Willy iine 18806]

@dannymulder If significant money was put into the hobby, I would hold off selling for 5 years if you can.  GL!  

[hIghQ 149]

I periodically lose interest in my RC cars as well. It's usually once a year and lasts a couple of months. Sometimes 2-3, last winter, during COVID lock-down it spread to about 6 months. During that time, I just didn't care for the hobby at all. Never touched any of my stuff, never even looked at it, come to think about it. Didn't bother with checking news or forums... I really was completely out of it, mentally. Come spring, nicer weather, COVID restrictions a little lifted... BANG, it was back with full intensity, form one day to the next.

So, would I recommend selling your stuff now? badword no! Do other stuff, don't bother with RC, until you either feel the itch again, or are sure (after at least several months) that the love is truly gone. You can still sell then.

[jonboy1 2943]

So I grew up being one of those strange kids who would play with his toy cars, but then put them back in the box, very carefully refitting the little plastic clips that held the wheels to the card base etc etc. That progressed into me becoming a collector as I got older, with everything staying BNIB, sealed, often still in it's shipping box, in the attic. Long story short, things happened in my life that made me reassess what was important, and when I got around to this huge pile of boxes that had never been opened, each containing something wonderful that I had paid a lot of money for but never even actually checked to see if what I'd paid for was in there, I decided to open everything. It. Was. Fantastic. Since then I have decided that if I see something I want, that I can afford, won't prevent my wife and I from doing something else together and I can justify as not being a waste of money, then I'll buy it and will not leave it in it's box, but will get some actual interaction with it in the manner it was designed for. For me, life is too precious to be worried about getting a return on a purchase 10 years from now that I could/should get enjoyment from now - I have a pension and savings accounts for that! Don't get me wrong, I totally understand the appeal of having something still boxed up and precious - I love that! But if that starts to prevent me from enjoying it or something else now, then I have to wonder about how valuable it really is to me, and how much assumed value I am putting on it.

My point is, if you are holding onto something because you don't want to lose too much money on it, and that may also be preventing you from doing something you would enjoy, then just get rid of it. The value you sell anything for is only ever going to be a snapshot in time - who want's it at that point, how many others do too, how many of the same items are out there, what's been in the media about it lately - so many variables. There's never going to be a perfect time to sell it, it's just not possible. @Mad Ax made such a good analogy with the cinema ticket - you've got to look at the value that item has to you right now, not what you might be able to sell it for when you've finished with it. If you are driven by this, A: you'll never be happy and B: go and buy some gold and put that on your fireplace - you'll get a much better result than you will with rc stuff!

As others have said, if you don't need to sell them, hang on to your rc stuff, pack it away safely and maybe revisit it in the better weather. In the meantime, go and enjoy your Lego, or maybe try a new hobby? If you have to sell it, as many have said, just look at it as you got some enjoyment out of it so it's had some worth and value and as a bonus you are getting some more back through resale - you can't do that with a dinner out!

Don't let the potential for profit stop you enjoying something if you don't have to. Last example: When I was 20, I went on a backpacking holiday with my friend up around the west coast of Scotland. We stopped into a fantastic little whisky shop and I saw this bottle of a limited edition single malt that had been priced up wrong - far too cheap. So I instantly bought it and decided that I would keep it for a special occasion. 3 years later I was married, but I didn't open it - we went straight from the reception to the airport for our honeymoon so by the time we got back it felt like the occasion had passed. A couple of years later we bought our first house, I didn't open it when we got the keys because it was a fixer-upper, so I wanted to wait until it was finished. Of course, that never happened! Many other occasions came and went, and I found I was making excuses not to open it - a better occasion had been missed, something better might come along etc. Fast forward to a few months ago (over 20 years later) - the bottle is still unopened,, on the end of a bookshelf in the spare room with a thin layer of dust on it. I got a new brother in law last year, who is also a whisky connoisseur, so I gave it to him last month as a 1st anniversary gift (had to let him prove himself for a year first!) I could've got a nice chunk of money for it if I sold it, but it didn't seem right to me to just buy something else when I couldn't find a good enough reason to enjoy this. Instead I got a lot more pleasure from giving it to someone else who would enjoy it. It's not all about money at the end of the day is it? All that said, when my wife asked him last week if he'd opened it yet he said he was saving it for a special occasion...... 

 

[Nobbi1977 1793]

To look at this from another angle.

I look back at the motorcycles I have sold and sometimes wish I had kept them. But then I think what selling them allowed me to buy and experience so I am not too sad. 
 

I have to many hobbies for the time and space available so I have to rotate passion’s. It costs money but I don’t smoke or gamble so my out goings are minimal (apart from motorbikes, but I don’t see them as a cost, they are life)

[SteelRat 46]

Interesting topic this.  Can definitely relate to your original point of "getting a bit bored with RC" and "play for 10 minutes then come home".. exactly where I was about 10 years ago.  In terms of the hobby, I've certainly moved on from the level of border line obsession I had back then, but I think it's something that'll always be in your blood.  I don't think it's as black and white or all or nothing as "keep everything and wait" or "sell everything and then regret it later", assuming that things like space or money aren't determining factors.  Certainly putting them away, doing other things and coming back is good advice because when you come back you can actually be more objective about your "herd thinning".

My situation now is that needing the space is kinda forcing me to make needed choices (I have about 25 cars in total) and be realistic about what I need to sell and what I definitely cant let go and some of those choices are definitely more difficult than others!

Perhaps the take away from that is that maybe regret comes from a snap decision at a specific point in time and that sometimes if you're able to put it on hold for a length of time and think about something else, your sub-conscious will take care of it.  Ironically, as I'm going through this I'm finding that the list of cars "I really can't sell ever" is actually shrinking.