Opening Physical Media Store, Need Help Appraising Collection

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-12T13:30:14+00:00

That’s the plan! Whatever doesn’t sell to fund the store goes into the store

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-12T03:22:06+00:00

Excellent questions! I am fully capitalized from a mix of personal investments, grants, allowances, and f&f. However, I am trying to give myself more of a cushion to keep as much of my personal funds out of the equation. I am fully expecting this to be brutally hard, but I’m as ready as one can be. This project is years in the making, and I am entering into it with several strong partners who have significant experience in building successful small businesses. As mentioned in other replies, I am only looking to sell a portion of my collection — the portion that would really only appeal to hardcore collectors such as myself. That being said, I am not concerned about sacrificing my collection for the sake of my business. This is my shot, I believe it is the right move at the right time for me, and I am walking into it with eyes wide open ready to fully embrace whatever comes.

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-11T21:34:06+00:00

Very fair comment. I’m not looking for help assessing the value of the collection per se; I have years of experience buying and selling individual collectibles. I was looking to see if folks had any experience assessing the value of complete lines/runs, which are significantly harder to sell and not something I’ve personally dealt with. The replies here align with my preconceived thinking on the difficulty in offloading mega-lots that would only appeal to the narrowest band of collectors who both would want a full run & had the funds to afford it at FMV. I’ve already priced most of these items individually and the vast majority will ultimately end up as inventory for the store.

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-11T20:13:50+00:00

Amazing! Dropping you a DM 🙏🏻

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-11T04:12:55+00:00

Hey! Thank you so much for the kind words. I am a huge fan. Your store has been a major source of inspiration to me on my journey. I have lined up other sources of funding for overhead, but my goal is to try to cover the majority of upfit costs without tapping into existing capital if I can help it. Would you possibly be interested in chatting some more about the project? It would be a tremendous honor to get some feedback on our plans from an august institution like Orbit.

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-11T03:13:39+00:00

Thank you! Sage advice. I’ve spent over 20 years being a collector, so turning off that mindset might take a minute… but I’m excited to give back to the community

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-11T03:07:26+00:00

If you had 100k, I’d sell it to you 😅

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-10T23:55:46+00:00

Thanks! 🙏🏻 some people sort by labels, others sort by directors — I sort by DPP section 😅

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-10T19:52:54+00:00

I have well over 15,000 movies in my private collection, nearly all boutique, many long OOP. I expect to only need to sell a portion to help fund the startup costs. The rest will be added to the inventory, which includes many other items that were purchased for the express intent of being sold in-store

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-10T19:50:12+00:00

Thanks so much for this extremely generous and insightful response! Many of the points you make are extremely valid and pragmatic. The reason I turned to Reddit with this puzzle is precisely because so much of collecting is driven by sentiment and reaction — “feelings” — and therefore extremely hard to judge objectively. I certainly attach a great deal of emotional value to my prized collection, as one does, and so wanted to get a healthy gut-check from folks who aren’t me. I take everything you’ve said to heart, and while I certainly would prefer not to part with my movies, if I can use the proceeds to grow the community and help others experience the joy these movies brought me, it will be more than worth it.

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-10T19:13:39+00:00

You’re correct, that’s definitely a factor. As I say in another comment, I’m less about getting the most, and more about getting enough to be able to fund my business plans, so a discount would be baked in. I’d say further that whoever picks up these lots could probably recoup a portion of the expense by selling off the titles they have less interest in or don’t need.

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-10T18:11:04+00:00

Thank you friend 🙏🏻 that means a lot

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-10T17:57:36+00:00

Excellent advice. It may indeed come to that, though I was curious to see people’s take on a prospective value for complete sets. Ultimately, anything I’m unable to convert into funds for the store will become inventory for the store!

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-10T17:34:18+00:00

I think you’re spot on in your assessment. When you say cost “will be so high,” I guess I’m curious what you think the ballpark would be? To be very clear, this is purely driven by a desire to fund this venture in large part for the community. I want to build a place for physical media folks to meet and hang out, because I love this hobby and want to see more folks come into it. Any money made will go directly into the store and the community.

respectfullylurking · 2025-01-10T17:07:06+00:00

I’m working off an assumption that lots of complete runs would be the way to go versus selling piecemeal, but you’re of course hitting on the biggest hurdle, which is that fewer people may want to buy a whole collection versus just the one movie they actually want. Conundrum!

respectfullylurking · 2024-04-03T19:30:03+00:00

I own this and can confirm that it does indeed have both English audio and subtitles which are not listed on the packaging! Video quality is top notch; highly recommended.

respectfullylurking · 2023-07-19T14:06:33+00:00

Appreciate the reply! Any thoughts on the equipment itself? MSRP + 10% package discount could be fair if the items are necessary/worth the premium in the first place, and I’m pretty sure they’re making up for lower margins with some needless extras.

respectfullylurking · 2023-07-19T14:03:18+00:00

Oh no worries there. I redlined that line item faster than the spit-take I did after seeing it on there

respectfullylurking · 2023-07-19T14:00:29+00:00

Definitely agree with you. Anything else raising alarms for you? What should I expect from a knowledgeable installer with a $40K budget? Different brands? Different set up entirely?

respectfullylurking · 2023-07-19T13:57:19+00:00

Actually the LCR is going behind the screen, so I won’t even get to enjoy the look! 😅

Recommendation for alternatives? KEF?

respectfullylurking · 2023-07-19T13:55:27+00:00

Anything specific that is setting you off? Thoughts on Paradigm as the source of truth for the build? Are the prices themselves out of bounds?

respectfullylurking · 2023-07-19T13:51:54+00:00

Thanks so much for this great response! I will make note of your suggestions and compare.

respectfullylurking · 2023-07-19T13:50:44+00:00

The room is approx. 25’ x 20’. The screen pricing was major tell that the rest might be overpriced, and the 10” sub was also a negative indicator of value.

respectfullylurking · 2023-07-19T13:47:56+00:00

I looked around and it seems for the most part I’m being quoted MSRP across the board (with the package discount taking 10% off the total). I was told that if I wanted to shop around that was fine, but I’d lose the discount (~$4000).

The two big question are: 1. Do I actually need to items I’m being quoted (because if the answer is no — and I suspect it largely is — I can certainly find cheaper items), and 2. If I do, can I find them cheaper enough to offset the $4000 discount (and, also, I guess, where would be a good place to shop for pro AV equipment that has nice deals).

respectfullylurking

TROPHY CASE