Asking To Buy Knives From Family Estate?

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I would like you all to comment. Is it ethical and okay to ask to buy knives from a family estate or relatives who have a family member that died or is that a boundary that should not be crossed? If yes what is the kindest way to ask without offending?

Example. Say you know someone who has collected knives since the 80s and their family is not into knives. That person left behind choice items that you want. How do you approach this?

[bobnikon]

Is this a serious question?

How old are you?

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Is this a serious question?

How old are you?

Why would that be a controversial question? It's logical.

1 The dead person has no use for the knives.
2 In this case the family are not knife people. They have zero use for sporting knives.
3 They do have use for money.
4 You and me like knives. We have use for them.

It seems straight forward.

The Potential Controversial Point:
Human beings get very emotional about death and dead relatives. If I was in the same shoes I would have no problem at all.

Example: If my relative had a garage full of old cars and you like cars and said,"Hey SEF can I buy one of those or all of those cars?" I would want to make sure I received a fair price but I would have zero problem selling the car or cars to you. Same thing. I would not be offended in the least. But some people get upset at such things.

[bobnikon]

Okay, you do you.

Sounds like you answered your own question.

[Ankerson]

I would like you all to comment. Is it ethical and okay to ask to buy knives from a family estate or relatives who have a family member that died or is that a boundary that should not be crossed? If yes what is the kindest way to ask without offending?

Example. Say you know someone who has collected knives since the 80s and their family is not into knives. That person left behind choice items that you want. How do you approach this?

There is no way to ask....

If they offer them to you 1st, that is the only way.

[Naperville]

I'd just be very polite and ask.

Whatever their answer, be respectful.

[RustyIron]

Say you know someone who has collected knives since the 80s and their family is not into knives. That person left behind choice items that you want. How do you approach this?

I've been collecting very niche items for many decades, and this dilemma comes up all too frequently. Many times, friends back off and give the family space. When they think enough time has passed, the vultures have already swooped in and cleaned out the whole collection. If the guy was a friend of yours, he'd probably have preferred that you get his stuff rather than unknown opportunists.

My recommendation is to talk to whoever you need to talk to, and let them know that if they ever think of selling the collection, to please give you a call first. If six months or a year pass and you haven't heard anything, maybe touch bases again.

If they do give you a call, it will be up to you to figure out the price because you're the expert. Offer them a fair price. If they're not quite as affluent as you, you might want to be generous in your offer. After all, the guy was your friend.

[xceptnl]

I think it's just good etiquette not to ask about anything. Offer to help, offer information about the real value of items, offer to help sell them or sort through what could be valuable vs sentimental. If they appreciate the kindness you may be rewarded. It is an integrity moment that has proven rewarding on many levels for me in the past.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Thank you all, this helps.

[Larry_Mott]

I don't/wouldn't find it "tomb raiding" to offer an estate help with selling off unwanted property/knives. I would put it as being a collector myself i can help getting market price as opposed to someone offering a lowball offer for the whole lot. I would also be transparent that i would buy the knives i wanted for myself and take care of selling the rest at fair prices.

[Enactive]

TLDR: please offer more specific and less hypothetical questions if expecting "real" and useful responses.


In my experience, vague hypothetical questions tend not to engender the most useful conversations.

Alternatively, reality-based questions with very specific detail allow for more useful responses from the reader-- otherwise there is too much room for each individual reader to project their own contexts and experiences into the vagueness, which is not necessarily useful to the OP, nor the forum broadly.

As evident in this thread, the OP's approach can be frustrating to folks who might otherwise offer a useful and productive response.

[Scandi Grind]

I see useful responses here. The only ones that aren't useful are the people who evidently didn't even want to contribute to the conversation. I don't understand how someone can be frustrated by replying to a topic that they are not obligated to reply to. If you don't have anything to say, then apparently you don't need to say it. I'm not trying to be rude here, but I'm trying to be real. Also I'm not pointing fingers or anything. I just think that it would actually be more pleasant for everyone if you just gloss over a topic if you don't like it or have an interest in it.