My grandma taught me something that has bearing 
on my cel collecting, even though she neither 
knows about what cels are or cares. That is, a 
collection is for it's owner. ONLY it's owner. If 
someone else in the family is interested in it, 
peachy, but (no matter how contained it is) don't 
expect anyone to want to inherit it when you're 
gone.

You see, she collects match holders. A few of the 
ones she has were her mother's, and the things 
cover whole walls in her house. Very interesting 
to see, but none of us would be interested in 
owning them. That doesn't bother her. She has 
gotten her own enjoyment from them. She's already 
asked us all to let her know if anyone would like 
one or two before she sells them off. (I've 
already told her the one I want, more a momento 
than a need for a match holder -- I think it's 
been years since I've used a match.)

So, no offense, but unless someone already has an 
interest, don't expect anyone to care about your 
cels once you're gone, no matter how many notes 
or lectures you leave to "educate" them. To tell 
you the truth, for someone who doesn't care about 
them and simply wants to get rid of the things, 
being left with even a small stack of high end 
stuff is just as daunting -- if not moreso -- as 
being left with what I've got (a larger, more 
mixed bag). Unless interested in them, your 
family probably won't want to keep the cels for 
years to slowly sell them off "properly". That's 
exactly WHY dealers buy collections, why they 
sell things on consignment.

It's not a bad idea at all to keep track of what 
the cels' current value is -- that can only help. 
But in the end, which I've always said about 
selling cels, the money is ALREADY SPENT. What 
was paid isn't as important as the fact that some 
of it (even if only half) is coming back. That 
holds even more true for inheritors who don't 
want to take the time to deal with it.

The point to everyone is: collect whatever and 
however you want. If you want the collection 
disbanded in a particular way and/or at maximum 
value, then expect to have to do it *yourself*. 

It takes a lot of time and energy to become savvy 
in buying/selling within ANY hobby. . . I would 
even add, ESPECIALLY cels. Unless they're already 
interested, your family most likely would rather 
take a smaller payout than invest the time.

Many Sharp Smiles,
--Drac