We have often commented in various Pylons over the trials and tribulations of selling off collections (and hoards), and now we see that it has been raised as a thread on the Barton Forum. It is a problem that is never going to go away so we have put together some of the options and attendant pitfalls that can arise. We are often asked to advise in such situations and there is no clear cut answer as so much depends on the individual situation, yet over the life of OTW we have been aware of, and even involved in the disposal of at least 12 major collections, of which four could legitimately be described as 'eclectic hoards of stuff'.

A word of caution though, tax rules and inheritance rules are very different across the world, so we can only be specific about the UK, but even here the goal posts have changed significantly in the last year and are due to the election here will change again, and not to the benefit of those involved either.

There are two clear situations where collections are to be disposed of, firstly when the owner wants (has) to downsize, rationalize or raise some cash. The one advantage is that they usually have time on their side so can pursue whatever avenue will produce the best results for them. The more complex is where the avid acquirer has passed on and a family member or members find themselves the owners of a huge collection of assorted 'stuff', or an unconnected executor is tasked with sorting and disposing of it all. Even worse is as has happened recently on a couple of occasions where an unsuspecting distant relative is lumbered with it all as the person in question died intestate.

First of all the situations that can arise. A spouse becomes the legal owner of everything, no problem, it is theirs, and no immediate pressure, unless they want to raise money or 'get rid' in which case there is no tax liability until they come to dispose of it, as there are clear rules as to what can be sold from an estate without incurring charges but this does not include collections. In every case, the assortment of 'stuff' would have to be included in the estate for probate, giving it a finite value, probably way below its real value increasing the CGT liability?

A single legatee is in exactly the same position, again the relative luxury of no time constraints as they are now the owners. Where it gets very complicated is when the estate has to be divided between more than one person, by either a legatee as an executor or an unconnected third party executor. Human nature can be very fickle when family inheritances are involved, and most want as much as they can get as soon as possible.

So, what are the options? Well, one suggestion on the forum was that the collector has told his children to put everything in the recycling bin. This they may well do, unless they become aware of the potential value of what they are scrapping? We have mentioned before the mother and daughter who put an entire collection of several hundred engines in the bin so that the daughter could have the fitted cases. Would they have still done it if they knew what they had potentially been throwing away? We have met two large scale hoarders who have told their children that it is all theirs to do with as they like, but as none of them have any interest at all in engines, it was suspected that they might well end up in the skip? Again, if its yours, you can do what you like with it, but if two or more people involved then there might be objections to this route. After all, even a modest collection now can be worth in excess of £50,000 and who keeps receipts or is even totally honest about how much they paid?

From there on it becomes a numbers game, just how big and varied is the collection or hoard? The problem multiplies rapidly as the numbers, variety (and potential value) goes up. There has to be a note of caution as well as what follows does depend on the honesty and integrity of those involved, which sadly, has not proved to be the case on occasions.

If the new owner who has inherited goodness knows what that they have no interest in, they might just want rid, and the simplest answer is to contact existing dealers or individual and ask them to make a bid on taking everything, ie. no honey deals. The downside is that they might be offered as little as 10% of the value or even less, especially if they are totally unaware of the possible value. The dealer then has to do all the work, will probably make a hefty profit but over an indeterminate time scale, but the house and workshop are clear and there is a wodge of money. We have brokered deals of this sort and are aware of many more, sadly, at least three that we had no part in at all involved the widow being royally 'stitched up', hence our warning about honesty.

It then comes down to how much you want to be bothered, how much time you are prepared to spend, and whether your knowledge is up to the task? The simplest solution is an auction, only suitable for a finite number of items though and they will not get rid of the assorted and unidentifiable spares and bits. Bear in mind how much of the late Miquel de Rancougne's collection was consigned to a second and lower profile sale and the items that the auction house binned?  This is further complicated now by the shortage of specialist auctions and valuers, and in some cases, their insistence on a minimum value for each lot. There is also the small matter of lotting fees and seller's premium, but it does mean that they are responsible for the identification, photography, description and the entire selling process. You just sit back and get a cheque at some stage. Relatively few options now, although the BMFA does provide a good outlet at minimal cost, but they are restricted in the number of items they can process in just two auctions a year.

Otherwise, it is down to doing it yourself, if you are the main beneficiary, or enlisting the help of a knowledgeable friend, but it is unrealistic to expect them to do the work for nothing. Ebay is the most obvious route as it gives you the widest audience and will realise the best prices, but everything is down to you including the comeback if the buyer is not happy. You can of course enlist an 'ebay friend' but these don't come cheap, up to 40% of the sale. There is now a further and serious complication in the UK in that ebay, etsy and all other auction platforms have to pass sales records to the tax man as this is now regarded as 'side hustling' and rendering you liable to income tax after sales over £1800, about four good engines (or two yellow jackets) in a year. There is also the side issue of not flooding the market, say ten engines a fortnight max so a two or more year process in prospect that other legatees might not be happy with, although this will also render the seller liable to tax on the whole amount and possibly even Capital Gains Tax on top. One of our correspondents has suggested that it could take up to five years to clear what has been inherited, and that is with two of them working steadily on it via ebay and swapmeets.

The final options all involve producing a detailed list with all items identified, condition and any defects clearly noted. One Swedish seller actually produced a full colour A4 folder with every car and engine for sale, two photos of each and prices, an enormous amount of work. Once the list is complete then there is a choice, to price, or not to price, depending on the next step. Over the years we have become aware of two interesting variations, the 'silent auction' where the list is circulated, either widely or to a restricted group who are then asked to bid, the highest bidder wins, unless the seller did not consider the bid high enough or derisory as was the case with another Swedish collection. An extension of this is the concept of the 'Nazareth style auction' where the highest bidder does not win, as all other bidders are given the chance to improve their bids, which can go on for ages, time consuming and hardly appropriate if you are trying to shift 500 motors.

We are firmly of the opinion that items should be priced, which brings us to the route we favour and that has been used by a number of sellers in the last few years. Price every item, circulate the lists, used to have to be done by post but can now be online, wait to see what sells and update lists regularly. Of course, prices do have to be realistic, especially if you are looking to clear as much as possible. Like the auctions, this will leave you with a lot that there is a very limited market for, bits and pieces and the assorted detritus that can be acquired over a lifetime of collecting (hoarding). Then it is down to the swapmeet or sadly, the skip.

Swapmeets are not great for disposing of collections in one go, turning up with 1500 or even 500 engines will not endear you to other traders and neither are there enough punters to make a dent in that number, and that applies at auctions as well. A table full of odds and ends, priced to sell will clear what can be, but after a couple of goes, the skip is the only other option. When engines that are being offered for free are still in the box at the end of the day, that is a clue as to their desirability.

Ultimately, unless you are prepared to identify, describe and photograph anything up to 4,000 engines or more, deal with the sale, pack and post said number and deal with post sale problems, then the options open are very limited. Also it very much depends on the personal relationship with the engines, and ultimately who gets the cash, especially if you are a non benefiting executor or acting on behalf of more than one legatee when it can get very messy.

What does help immensely is a bit of forethought where what can be put together is, correct engines in boats and cars and everything labelled. If it is yours, then you will probably know exactly what it is and the history behind it, but if it 'aint written down then its guesswork or worse for whoever is sorting it, which can affect values considerably.

It is a sad fact that at present the quantity of items awaiting disposal is absolutely staggering, especially as some of the very largest collections are already on the market via various means or will be so in the very near future. Difficult to believe but OTW is aware of over 15,000 engines alone that will have to be sold or otherwise disposed of.