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Dealers say many are selling treasures to make ends meet, but few are buying
By Robert Annis
Posted: February 27, 2009 Harry Ford actually played with the first Star Wars toys he bought soon after seeing the original movie in 1977. Then his interest turned serious and, over the next 30 years, he amassed a collection of more than 2,000, many of them still in their boxes. Now, after months on medical leave to treat pancreatic disease and faced with looming mortgage payments and bills, the 43-year-old Plainfield man has made a painful choice: He's putting his collection up for sale on Craigslist. "It's like losing a family member," he said. "I've been a Star Wars fan for nearly my entire life. It's going to be tough letting go." With joblessness hitting a 25-year high in Indiana and likely to worsen, Ford isn't the only one parting with a cherished collection. Auction houses, sports card shops and collectibles dealers say they've noticed a huge increase in the number of people looking to sell their comic books, pottery and other collectibles. The bad economy dogs them even in their desperation, though: Few are buying. "People need to eat more than they need to look at stuff," said Lisa Cornwell, co-owner of Earl's Auction Co., who has seen a 40 percent increase in collectibles business during the past year. Dave Humes, manager of the I Sold It on eBay store in Fishers, said he's seen a marked change in his business during that same time. "We've seen a big pickup in business, as well as a change in our customer base," Humes said. In the past, many of his customers had bought, say, a new cell phone and wanted to sell the old one. "Now we're seeing people who need money because they've been laid off." Ford's home brimmed with Star Wars figures until his wife moved in. Then the collectibles were boxed up and put into storage. Now his garage and a nearby shed are testaments to his obsession, stacked floor-to-ceiling with dozens of cardboard boxes, each packed with toys. From droids to Wookiees, he collected nearly every action figure issued, up until money started getting tight for the WXIN (Channel 59) employee. Most remain in pristine condition in their original packaging, including several rare figures that Ford figures are worth as much as $750 each. He hopes to get up to $20,000 for the collection but admits that's unlikely. He'll probably be forced to take whatever someone is willing to pay. Martinsville resident Christopher Goodnight, 28, knows the feeling. Last year, he said, he sold the bulk of his painstakingly amassed comic collection at Half Price Books for about a tenth of its value. "I started getting into comics in 2004, and I fell for it hard," he said. "One time, I drove three hours down to Evansville to get an issue of 'Astonishing X-Men' I couldn't find in Indy." Between losing his job last year and finding another at half the salary, Goodnight started falling behind on his bills. He'd just bought a used car, and it already needed new brakes. His action-figure collection went for less than half of its $1,500 value on eBay, too little to solve his financial crunch. Seeing no other alternative, Goodnight kept about 200 comics, mostly X-Men and Daredevil, and sold the rest for $700. "I probably could have gotten more if I would have sold it on eBay or something, but I needed the money right away," he said. "As soon as I'm able to get a new job and handle on my bill situation, I'm going to track down all the ones I sold." Humes, the Fishers eBay store manager, has seen so many people trying to sell collections that he's had to become picky. He turns away most comics, baseball cards and die-cast NASCAR vehicles in favor of designer merchandise and vintage collectibles, such as Lionel trains. He's sold off some high-end stuff in the past few months: A watch collector recently asked him to sell about $20,000 worth of designer timepieces, and a vintage-guitar aficionado recently liquidated about half his collection. There's been a substantial rise in the number of people bringing in expensive Lladro and Hummel figurines. People also are trying to unload what once seemed the hottest of collectibles. "We're getting a lot of Beanie Babies," Humes said. "They're definitely selling low on their investment, although, let's face it, they were never coming back. "It was just a craze at the time." http://www.indystar.com/article/20090227/LOCAL0505/902270389 |
![[eBay Illustration]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/PJ-AO341_pjCRAN_D_20090128213048.jpg)
Hal Mayforth
