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Selling my LZ Collection - any tips?


stacilayne

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Hey, Folks!

After holding onto several things since my crazy-collector years as a teenager in the late 70s and early 80s, I'm ready to part with it. It's been in storage for some 20 years, so obviously, there's no reason to keep it anymore.

I haven't gone through all the boxes yet, but off the top of my head, I remember I have the Jimmy Page "She Just Satisfies" original single, the "Hey Hey What Can I Do?" picture disc, foreign pressings from the 70s, all the tour books starting with 1969 (hardcover) and ending with Knebworth (softcover, I think...?), tons of books (a French one by Alain Dister, collector's manuals, unauthorized bios, etc.), magazines (Rolling Stone cover issue from 1975, Creem, Hit Parader, etc.), plus some Robert Plant crew tour tee shirts, Page an Plant tour official merchandise, etc., etc.

So, I have two questions:

1. How would I figure how much these items might realistically be worth? I can't find some of them online, so there seems to be no point of reference.

2. Secondly, is eBay "Buy it now" or eBay "auction" the smarter way to go?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. And, of course, I will post photos here, and give any forum folks who might be interested, first crack. (I'm hoping to have the time to go into my storage space within the next week to 10 days to start cataloging and photographing).

Thank you,

Staci

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Contact Rick Barratt who is an expert on LZ Collectibles.

Hey, Folks!

After holding onto several things since my crazy-collector years as a teenager in the late 70s and early 80s, I'm ready to part with it. It's been in storage for some 20 years, so obviously, there's no reason to keep it anymore.

I haven't gone through all the boxes yet, but off the top of my head, I remember I have the Jimmy Page "She Just Satisfies" original single, the "Hey Hey What Can I Do?" picture disc, many foreign pressings from the 70s, all the tour books starting with 1969 (hardcover) and ending with Knebworth (softcover, I think...?), tons of books (a French one by Alain Dister, collector's manuals, unauthorized bios, etc.), magazines (Rolling Stone cover issue from 1975, Creem, Hit Parader, etc.), plus some Robert Plant crew tour tee shirts, Page an Plant tour official merchandise, etc., etc.

So, I have two questions:

1. How would I figure how much these items might realistically be worth? I can't find some of them online, so there seems to be no point of reference.

2. Secondly, is eBay "Buy it now" or eBay "auction" the smarter way to go?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. And, of course, I will post photos here, and give any forum folks who might be interested, first crack. (I'm hoping to have the time to go into my storage space within the next week to 10 days to start cataloging and photographing).

Thank you,

Staci

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Hi stacilayne!

Nice to see you here.I am sure you have quite a collection! Yes, there are probably a few of us here who would love the opportunity to have first crack. Very kind of you to to extend the offer. When you are ready send me a PM:-)

Roger Berlin might be interested in some of the magazines. I cannot speak for him, but his print collection is amazing. His thread here is one of my favorites.

Hope to see you around more :peace:

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Well, as for tips.

Are you sure you want to sell your collection, starting a new collection is rather expensive. :yesnod:

If it is something self-published or a fanzine try to contact the writer, you never know, (In England this is known as the J.R.Hartley effect.)

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As far as the auction or buy-it-now choice, it depends if you are just looking to make extra money of if you need to get rid of everything. If it's the former, I recommend Discogs for the records; it's cheaper and less of a hassle than ebay. When you auction, you will want to try to get as much up at the same time as you can. If that's not possible, make sure to get all the like items up, like the programs or the fanzines. I also recommend listing everything with a low starting bid and no reserve; it may be a little nervewracking to think you may have to sell something like the Page single for $15, but I can assure you if you put it up for $700, it may get one bid but if you put it up for $7, it will get fifty bids and end up selling for a thousand. You should take advantage of Mr. Jones's offer to appraise them and make sure you account for condition. Also, if you have never sold on ebay before you should seriously consider consigning it to Rick Barrett or some other heavy hitter - I assume he'd charge 40% but his reputation and years of service means he will get 40% more for your stuff, plus you won't have to deal with the hassle of mailing everything.

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Also, if you have never sold on ebay before you should seriously consider consigning it to Rick Barrett or some other heavy hitter - I assume he'd charge 40% but his reputation and years of service means he will get 40% more for your stuff, plus you won't have to deal with the hassle of mailing everything.

Sounds like a raw deal, if you ask me. Selling on eBay isn't that complex...you could have someone help you for much cheaper than that.

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Sounds like a raw deal, if you ask me. Selling on eBay isn't that complex...you could have someone help you for much cheaper than that.

It wouldn't be worth it if she already has an ebay history with a 100% positive feedback score and a few hundred transactions. If her feedback score is zero, bidders will definitely find her lots' appeal more selective...

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Rather than go through the stress of selling your collection, which is a traumatic time for any Led Zeppelin fan.

Have you thought about donating your collection to someone, because I ermm "a friend" would be willing to curate your collection for you, free of charge I might add.

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I once cataloged and appraised a MASSIVE Zeppelin collection....I remember it was 41 pages hand written out, insane stuff I have never seen since. Took me 3 days to get it all in. This was 1989. I have been collecting concert posters since, and there is VERY little I have never seen. If you want a second opiunion on your stuff's worth, let me know.

Also if you happen to have any concert posters I have offered up to $10,000 for the right ones.....but you dont mention having any so I doubt you do. Either war, my offer is out there

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Thanks, everybody. I appreciate the advice. It's a lot to think about! My day job is Film Journalist, so I'm going to be camped out at the AFI Fest for 8 days straight pretty soon... after that, I will start cataloging what I have. I am pretty sure there are no posters; but there are lots of books, magazines, tour programs, some vintage tee shirts, and vinyl. I'd love to just unload it all at once (I am seriously downsizing my storage space), but I fear putting everything on eBay (or Craigslist) might flood the market and dilute the value. Maybe doling things out bit by bit is smarter (but... slower). Lots to consider! Thanks again.

Staci

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  • 1 month later...

Hey, Guys -- Strider has helped me get my collection cataloued... at least, I'm finally seeing beyond the tip of the iceberg. I am going to start listing the 70s and 80s tees and all the magazines and stuff online first (we're still trying to value some of the vinyl and the books). And I have a question, just throwing it out to you all: a good friend of mine is interested in these two tee shirts I bought in the early 80s. They are *very* well worn, and I don't think they're anything all that special. She asked "How much do you want for them?" Always hard to answer, for a friend. Do you think if I told her $50 for the pair that would be too much, too little...?post-13200-0-89701600-1387044387_thumb.jpost-13200-0-33836600-1387044426_thumb.j

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Unofficial. Not concert shirts. Very worn. As a buyer, I would not pay much more than $10 each for the shirts. I offer my opinion based on a large LZ collection, and a large concert tee-shirt collection, of various bands an eras. They really are on the low end of the value spectrum, IMHO.

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Thanks! Yes, I know they aren't concert shirts. That's obvious. Just was wondering, because they are so old, if they'd be worth anything. At any rate, she bought those -- I'm listing some other ones on eBay too. I haven't gotten around to the official concert tees yet (I have some from The Firm, Robert Plant Principle of Moments, and another Robert Plant concert tee made for Crew only [Lighting Crew - "Varilite").

Staci

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Hey, Guys --

I am beginning to list my collection on eBay. I'm awaiting Strider's expert opinion before I begin posting the vinyl, the books, and the intact magazines, etc., but here a few things... mostly lots of items grouped together because I am a lot more concerned with getting rid of boxes from my storage than I am taking months and months to sell each and every item.

My user name on ebay is 15DollarsOnly (ebay.com/usr/15dollarsonly) if you're interested in taking a look. It's going to take me at least a few weeks, maybe a month or so, to get everything listed.... The things up there now are basically hodge-podges of articles, clippings, press photos, bootleg tee-shirts from the 80s, original art work and "misc".

Thanks,

Staci

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I finally started listing stuff. This is going to be a very long process! I have 7 things up now (mostly the stuff I want to off load in "bulk" form as lots). As time goes on, I'll start to fine tune and auction off the individual items and the vinyl.

Thanks, all, for your input. It's sad letting go of things I've collected since 1980, but it also feels go to clear out the storage space! :)

Staci

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