[pawelk]

Niche collectible markets can be really fragile. Just a few people interested in a particular topic can skew the price expectations, and then someone trying to liquidate a large collection while prices are high can single-handedly burst a bubble.

> I think the only feasible way would be to use them as retirement income rather than a lump sum, by trickling them onto the market at the rate you needed for your weekly income.

I know of a guy who has inherited an ENORMOUS collection of old hand tools. He's been dripping them into the market via online auction website for well over two years now. Every week he just lists a few chisels, some hand planes, a saw or the like netting, by my estimate, around the average salary.

While this is a good strategy - he gets the fair market value of each and every tool, instead of selling in bulk at a huge discount - this is also almost a job: taking pictures, setting up the auctions, accounting, packaging, and sending the packages, possibly resolving disputes.

[pmiller2]

What do you mean “almost a job”? That is a job by any reasonable definition. He’s effectively operating an online store, but he just doesn’t have to source inventory.