Ah, So That's What That Feels Like

[woodwardiocom]

-I've been selling off stuff on eBay to make up for being unemployed. Books from my library, old comics, assorted CDs, so far entirely things that I don't miss. Up to know I haven't really considered selling bits of my Magic: The Gathering collection. I haven't played in, oh, probably eight years or more, but I have fond memories of messing about with MtG with my friends. But, things are getting tight, and while I have nostalgia for the Library of Alexandria and Urza's Power Plant, I really don't care much about the Fallen Empire cards I have, or The Dark.. So, I extracted those cards (I have a complete set of each), sorted them out, and did an eBay search to see what I might get. A complete set of The Dark might go for $100, a complete set of FE, $33. Worth doing, certainly. Going back, the next expansion before those two was Legends, which I have a near-complete set of. Out of curiosity, I priced that one, too.

$875 for a full set. Individual cards going for $80. So I shuffled out the Legends, too. While doing that I lingered over some of my Unlimited edition cards, like my three Moxes, and my Black Lotus. None of them are mint, but they're in pretty good shape. I don't really want to sell them; they're part of my geek heritage. But, I did the search anyway.

-Lotuses are going for over $500, if near mint. I can make a few hundred, easy, on that one card. And my set of Unlimited is complete, except for two Moxes -- I've got Chaos Orb, and Time Vault, and a bunch of other cards that got banned from tournament play for being too cool.

-So now I'm wondering: Can I sell off these bits of paper and ink? What am I actually selling here? Am I just conquering my nostalgia in the name of practicality? Or am I genuinely selling a tiny piece of my geeky soul?

-What really kills me is that it isn't even that much money, compared to what I made back when I had a job. My Lotus is worth about one day's work as an experienced software engineer, before taxes. I'd feel better if the price for my geek spirit hadn't sunk so low.

-And maybe the most worrisome part is that I don't feel that bad. A bit sigh-ful, a couple regrets, but I'm not really going to miss those cards much. They were in a box in the back of a cabinet that I never opened. So most of me just shrugs.

Comments

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

Maybe you're realizing that it's just stuff. You are you and stuff is stuff. Your stuff doesn't make you "you." I hope you feel lighter as you release more stuff into the world. :-)

[hawkegirl.livejournal.com]

Perhaps if you look at it as selling it off now, but when you're gainfully employed later if it still seems important to you, you could buy new ones.

[signsoflife.livejournal.com]

Oh, for crying out loud. They're not your "geek spirit". They're your aquisitive spirit. I know a lot of geeks identify themselves by the physical trappings of geekhood, but that's just as much an illusion when its books and cards and toys as when its houses and cars and clothes.

Of course, you could always move in with Mom and Dad and keep your stuff.

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

-Hey, I'm having a trauma here! Sheesh.

Of course, you could always move in with Mom and Dad and keep your stuff.

-No, actually, I probably have to move and sell my stuff. But thank you for the tough love.

[unquietsoul5.livejournal.com]

It doesn't sound like you are selling off things that you are actually currently using or experiencing, but which you have tied memories to in some manner.

Having spent a number of years as an electronic nomad in the past (at one point changing my physical address 4 times in a single year) and having had to jetison things with each move over a period of 5 years, I can feel your pain.

Long ago I did things like sell off my comics collection, coin collection, stamp collection, SF/Fantasy novel collection, etc. because of the needs of moving and of space. And I generally discard clothes, magazines, books, and such once I know that I have gleaned all I can from them and gotten as much use as was possible for me.

It's hard, but you really do need to assess yourself in regards to what is important and what is simply a memory anchor that you will not use again. By divesting yourself of the anchors you allow yourself to move onward and become more than you are at present.

I quote Snoop Dogg: "I feel you, nephew."

[(Anonymous)]

I simultaneously salute your shrewd liquidation strategy, and totally share your pain at letting those talismanic objects go. I've only halfheartedly embraced the "stuff is just stuff" mantra -- if it's just stuff, why do I like having it around me so much? Even stuff in the back of a drawer is hard to get rid of, b/c when you pull it out it evokes nostalgia. However, the tough lesson is that nostalgia is forever, while objects can be traded for value, sigh. I sold my entire collection of Sanrio lunchboxes, which I had held onto tooth & nail for years for no real practical reason, for a LOT of money, and I made the buyers very very happy and myself enriched, when I really needed it! It helped me to look at it as "recouping my investment," since it's not like I threw the stuff away. But it was kind of hard nonetheless: for collectors, it's always preferable to say, "I have one of those, right here on my shelf!" instead of "I used to have/always wanted one of those." But in the end, money talks -- at least it's talking to you! :) My $0.02 -- emily

[ultraferret.livejournal.com]

I feel your pain in this (in a Bubba Clinton sorta way).

But I also have to figure out how to get myself over the hump and start SELLING stuff like you did. I have all sorts of stuff that I have been meaning to seel on Ebay for years now - and unlike true collectibles like some of yours, I have realized that some of it (electronics, camera gear, etc....) has actually radically DECLINED in value while I have procrastinated......BUMMER.

Do you have your sales and shipment system streamlined in any way that might be helpful in inspiring me to get going on actual sales? Do you use a Mail Boxes etc or anyplace like that to pack and ship? Or do you just buy supplies and do it yourself?

Any tips appreciated. And I totally RELATE to the the hanging on to stuff you have only a very cerebral or nostalgic attachment to even though it's been unlooked at in a drawer or box for literally YEARS.