Models and charity

[kpisnuts]

Hi all a friend of mine (who has gone on to be a millionaire and incredibly successful, let's face it he could sell freezers to Eskimos) (I mention that only to point out he knows what he's talking about when it comes to promoting stuff)

He asked me what I did with my models and I said they go in the shed in the garden and then get used for parts in new builds or in the bin. I said a while ago I gave a load away for spares or repair (the bloke who had them came from a long way away) he said have you thought of auctioning them for Charity and I said no, no one would want them, I put 2 1/6 bikes on ebay and they went for £4.70 for the 2vof them. I told him I would rather have set fire to them if I thought that's all they were worth.

He said if I had said the proceeds were to go to charity the result would have been very different, so to cut a long story short do you agree. Is it worth putting my models up for auction (the only one I have available atm is the 1/12 Airfix Bentley boat tail, which is covered in spray dust but could be cleaned off fairly easily)

What do you think.

[digger303]

Nothing ventured nothing gained and he maybe right. By all accounts he is successful so you should probably listen to him.

[Panzón]

I'm not sure if I understand your question, but recently, in an effort to tame my stash, I pulled 10 kits that I no longer had an interest in building. I didn't really want to sell them, preferring to try to find an organization to donate them to that would distribute them to someone who might want them. I located an organization called Models for Troops (this is in the US-- I believe there is a similar organization in the UK called Models for Heroes), which collects kits and modeling supplies, and donates them to veterans occupational therapy programs and to recreational programs for deployed troops, and I donated the kits to them. That way the kits will be put to good use, and I didn't have to deal with putting them up for auction, and then donating the proceeds.

[kpisnuts]

Hi Mike my thinking was that instead of sitting in the shed waiting for the bin ot to be dismantled for something else if they could benefit a charity it would be a better use of them, my question really was would they be worth doing that with, I mean as I said if they only got 4 or 5 quid they can stay where they are but if doing it for charity got more for them then it would be worth it.

[Panzón]

I misread your initial post-- I thought you were talking about kits, not finished models. Here's another thought for you: in my area, local charities often hold their own auctions to raise money. They auction off donations from local individuals and businesses. Often, inexpensive items bring in ridiculous amounts of money for the charity, as your friend suggested. Perhaps you could find a charity auction in your area to which you could donate the models.

[NoelSmith]

Auctioning made up models for charity might be the way to go if you simply want to offload old models relatively quickly.
It is a sad fact that big auction houses like Bonhams and Christies would probably not be interested in plastic models no matter how well built, apart from perhaps the big old Pocher classics. They tend to look for scratch built models made by the likes of Gerald Wingrove for their type of clientele.
I have looked from time to time to see how much the built up Pochers fetch but was surprised to see that built up ones did not appear to attract much more than for an unbuilt kit on Ebay. Don't know about local auction houses, but you would need to place a reserve on them to stop them being sold for next to nothing if selling for yourself. This is probably not the encouragement that you might be looking for. Selling off unmade kits is generally the best way to offload stuff and make any money. Best done in the Kit Swap at Telford or from under the table at local model shows, but you need to sensibly price them or they will not move!