Help- audiophile husband just dies

Call Albert Sportis owner of Precision Audio and Video in Chicago at 773-720-1542 and tell him Larry Edwards from Denver sent you.  He is a large dealer and he might buy all of the equipment and resell it.  He is honest and can offer you some advice.

Sorry to hear the loss of your husband.

Do not sell to a dealer for obvious reasons. I think that other members need to understand that you should treat your late husband's equipment as an investment and should approach selling it as you would any other commodity. I would be more than willing to buy the entire collection but I am going to offer you an amount which allows for a fair degree of profit when I sell the collection. You want to reach enthusiasts that want these items for their personal use not as a vehicle of profit.

Thank you for the advice! Do you have an auction service to contact? I may need to sell quicker than what national exposure would allow for but worth investigating if feasible. Thank you again.
julie

Julie, 

I am sincerely sorry for your loss. My best advice is not to do anything in a hurry. When you feel up to it, record the brands and model numbers for future reference. Take some time to contact some of the people named above. Albert Portis, or Larry Edwards would probably be a good place to start. Although we have no way of knowing what equipment is in your collection, it could be valuable.

Above all, resist the temptation to have well-meaning audiophiles hurry to your home to evaluate what you have. Get a few quotes so that you can decide who, or which method, will bring you the highest return. It may be that the best method will be auction. If possible, try to contact one of you husband's audiophile friends (assuming he had some). Just remember the old adage: Decide in haste, repent at leisure. Best of luck in whatever you decide!

I don't really get the warnings about accepting help from local audiophiles.

Sure, be on the lookout for grifters, but getting a full list of items is useful. They'll give an estimate of value and Julie can have Tammy @ audiogon look up the average resale price of each item to get another opinion. Then it's just a question of how quickly she wants to sell. If not in a hurry, posting online and waiting for offers will maximize profit. If in a hurry, selling everything to a dealer will do.

Regardless, getting the list and then average resale will allow all offers to be considered for fairness and she will not be taken advantage of.