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I need advice!

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TomOtattoos
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I need advice!

#1 Post by TomOtattoos »

Hey folks, well it's been a little while since I was very active here. I sort of took a break from models and the kit world after my friend Ray (Razorwyre1)died. It was just more fun when he was around. That entire time period was rough. I spent the past two years trying to mainly focus on my tattoo shop and canvas painting. When Ray died he left me his collection and I have finally started the process of sifting through it all after not touching it for two years.
This part is difficult to admit but it's true. When Ray died he had nothing set up in terms of burial, and it HAD to be a burial as he refused cremation. There was also no one but me to arrange it all. Ray's cancer was very advanced when he was diagnosed and he sort of went into an 'eff the world' state. So I had to do the GoFundMe thing and sell off a few pieces just to see him through his last days and ultimately get him into a nice cemetery. It was not easy. Even with fundraising I still had to cash in a major favor with a lady I tattoo who happens to also be a funeral director. She was able to set it all up with the cemetery and waved over $2000 in funeral home fees so that we could get it all done with what I had, which we did. The only thing I didn't get was the grave marker. This particular cemetery only allows the flat bronze plates. They told me I had to wait till the spring before I could put it in, but that Spring came and went...so did summer, another winter, and now here it is Spring again, and I just can't take it anymore. I am very troubled over the fact that his grave is still unmarked. I am a small business owner, and father of three, and there just hasn't been a time where I had the extra thousand bucks that didn't need to go to something in my life.
So, I think selling some of his kits is the way to go here. The problem I face is that I find selling kits to be a little stressful. There seems to be a lot of politics involved and it isn't as cut and dry as I'm selling this will you buy it? I put a few things on EvilBay, but I don't have much experience there. I want to sell here, but I am always afraid of breaking a rule, or ruffling feathers. I am not aware of all the info when it comes to the resin I have, and I'm afraid this will affect possible interest. I'm also very nervous about dealing with people through EBay, because some of these pieces are pretty rare and valuable. And ultimately I just don't have much time to really be a hardcore seller.
I know...many of you probably figured all of this out on your own. I'm not even sure if I'm posting this in the right area..lol, but I'm just looking for a little direction.
Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffin glue

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motherhen
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Re: I need advice!

#2 Post by motherhen »

sorry.........

What I can do is help with photos and getting them set up here if that helps at all.
It's not that I think stupidity should be punishable by death.

I just think we should take the warning labels off of everything and let the problem take care of itself.

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Re: I need advice!

#3 Post by tay666 »

First of all, good to hear from you again.

Sorry things have been so crappy for you. I do understand. I lost my mother a year and a half ago and am still dealing with estate stuff, and covering bills, etc. It's tiring, it's draining, and it just kind of makes you want to just stay on autopilot.

As far as selling here, I don't really foresee you running afoul of the rules. You are already a registered seller. And as long as you are honest about what you are offering, there shouldn't be any problems.

Many here will understand the some of the stuff you've got, you don't know a whole bunch about.
At least I would like to think they would. And any time you aren't sure what you have, you can always ask in the garage, I know there are many that will jump in and give you information.
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TomOtattoos
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Re: I need advice!

#4 Post by TomOtattoos »

Thanks, sorry for the long-winded post. Kinda wish I had just pm'd a mod. Oh well...
Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffin glue

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Re: I need advice!

#5 Post by Heavy Metal Spike »

Hi Tom

Sorry to hear about all the stress you've been under - even though it was to be expected, it doesn't make what you've been through any easier.

Well done for following through on this.

Best of luck with the sales - and for what it's worth - I often think of both Ray & yourself when trawling through this place.

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TomOtattoos
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Re: I need advice!

#6 Post by TomOtattoos »

Heavy Metal Spike wrote:Hi Tom

Sorry to hear about all the stress you've been under - even though it was to be expected, it doesn't make what you've been through any easier.

Well done for following through on this.

Best of luck with the sales - and for what it's worth - I often think of both Ray & yourself when trawling through this place.

.
Hey bud, glad to hear from you. Honestly, I'm feeling better already just by reconnecting here. : )
Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffin glue

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Re: I need advice!

#7 Post by tay666 »

TomOtattoos wrote:Thanks, sorry for the long-winded post. Kinda wish I had just pm'd a mod. Oh well...
Nah. Probably better this way.
A bit more cathartic.
Trevor Ylisaari

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To find your way back home."

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Re: I need advice!

#8 Post by Tim Fortuna »

Wish I had the Garage history knowledge to help you out, but unfortunately I don't. Hopefully a few people can step up and help out on identification and prices on what is there. Obviously a list/catalogue would be a great help.
I think some people here (I know I would) would be pretty keen on having a "piece" of Ray in their collection. I purchased a CFTBL garden statue from him and I think about Ray every time I see it.
I can offer posting pics if it'll help get things moving for you.
"There are several sacred things in this world that you don't ever mess with. One of them happens to be another man's fries..." Louis Fedders

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Re: I need advice!

#9 Post by TomOtattoos »

Tim Fortuna wrote:Wish I had the Garage history knowledge to help you out, but unfortunately I don't. Hopefully a few people can step up and help out on identification and prices on what is there. Obviously a list/catalogue would be a great help.
I think some people here (I know I would) would be pretty keen on having a "piece" of Ray in their collection. I purchased a CFTBL garden statue from him and I think about Ray every time I see it.
I can offer posting pics if it'll help get things moving for you.
He would be happy about that!
Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffin glue

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Re: I need advice!

#10 Post by Heavy Metal Spike »

Tim Fortuna wrote:Wish I had the Garage history knowledge to help you out, but unfortunately I don't. Hopefully a few people can step up and help out on identification and prices on what is there. Obviously a list/catalogue would be a great help.
I think some people here (I know I would) would be pretty keen on having a "piece" of Ray in their collection. I purchased a CFTBL garden statue from him and I think about Ray every time I see it.
I can offer posting pics if it'll help get things moving for you.
Absolutely (nicely put Tim).
  • . . . and please DO let us know if ANY of us can help Tom.
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Re: I need advice!

#11 Post by Stormheart »

First, very sorry for your loss and for the sorrow and stress it's caused you! I didn't know the gentleman, but it seems several members here did...and he's missed. As for your other problem, I would like to think that as long as your up front about what you know (and don't know) about a kit people will buy accordingly. If the provenance of a particular kit is questioned, you can always pull it from your sales post without effecting the others. I certainly wouldn't hold it against you...especially given your situation.
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Re: I need advice!

#12 Post by raydrz »

you've got the hearts and support of all the admin & moderators here, Tom...

God bless you for doing the right thing...Ray is certainly smiling down on you from his place in Heaven...

be honest about the items and your knowledge or lack thereof...and help will be forthcoming, hopefully this will make it easier for you to handle/deal with...

i'd be honored to draw first blood...i think a lot of us would feel special to be involved as much as possible... 8)
JOHN PETIK
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Re: I need advice!

#13 Post by Jim Mc »

This also needs to be said.... If you don't here it from anybody else, thank you for dealing with this. I cannot think of many other things that could be more of an inconvieneience, or many other things that would be more of a burden.

In my book, you get a damn big "attaboy" for doing the right thing (sadly, that attaboy, and 2 bucks still won't get you a good cup of coffee...). This IS a big deal, but I am sure it will work out in the end. Once more, THANK YOU.
Jim Mc, from the southern shores of Lake Erie

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Re: I need advice!

#14 Post by TomOtattoos »

Thanks guys, well so far I've sold a couple things and am happy to say I'm close being halfway there. I am also feeling much better about the whole situation. I think a lot of it had to do with just knowing it was time to get the ball rolling, and I just haven't been in the loop much in the past two years. But since I've started organizing things I can already feel a weight being lifted. Thanks for the support!
Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffin glue

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Re: I need advice!

#15 Post by tay666 »

You are welcome.
Sometimes all you need is to get things moving. Once you overcome the inertia, it just feels like you are kind of back to normal again.
Trevor Ylisaari

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"Nothing like a trail of blood
To find your way back home."

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Brian McGuire
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Re: I need advice!

#16 Post by Brian McGuire »

Are you installing the marker yourself? If so, I may be able to help you out to get a good price. I'm an embalmer, and good friends with a monument dealer. If you are doing the installation, I may be able to just have them ship you one for a cost below what they retail.
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Re: I need advice!

#17 Post by Tim Fortuna »

Brian McGuire wrote:Are you installing the marker yourself? If so, I may be able to help you out to get a good price. I'm an embalmer, and good friends with a monument dealer. If you are doing the installation, I may be able to just have them ship you one for a cost below what they retail.
=D> :bow:
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Re: I need advice!

#18 Post by TomOtattoos »

Brian McGuire wrote:Are you installing the marker yourself? If so, I may be able to help you out to get a good price. I'm an embalmer, and good friends with a monument dealer. If you are doing the installation, I may be able to just have them ship you one for a cost below what they retail.
I was told that I had to go through the cemetery itself. They only allow the flat bronze plates, and they told me I had to go through them. The story is actually kind of insane. Ray asked me to be the executor of his will maybe a year and a half before he died. I said yes, as long as I wouldn't be financially responsible for anything because I know these things can get expensive. He told me that his mom and grandma took care of everything, and that all I had to do was make sure things went as planned. Well, after he was diagnosed with cancer I started digging into it a little because I needed answers while I could get them. Ray wasn't much help in the end, he became despondent, but I was able to get the info about what was set up by his mom. Basically he had a plot and headstone next to his mother and grandmother in Kentucky, but we're in Michigan, and what I found was that there was much more to it. To get a body from Michigan to Kentucky was going to cost thousands of dollars. I would've had to have a funeral home in Michigan receive the body, then pay for the trip, then have a funeral home in KY receive the body before it could then be buried. This was the exact type of scenario I warned Ray I wouldn't be able to take care of. Ray wasn't broke, and he did well as a designer, but he had no insurance, and his savings were quickly eaten up with the cost of his meds, care, rent, bills, etc. so in the end I had nothing to work with . I realized that burying him in KY was almost impossible so I explained all of this to him one day. After a very uncomfortable conversation, he agreed to be buried in Michigan, but refused cremation, which was the most doable scenario. So I started a Go Fund Me fundraiser, which many C.H. members donated to, and put together what I could. I remembered that I had tattooed a local funeral director who I went to high school with, and after explaining everything, she waived the funeral home fees and was able to get him into a very decent cemetery for almost exactly what I had. It was the best I could do. I even contacted the cemetery in KY. and asked them if I could drive down and get the tombstone and drive it up, but they said no, which didn't matter because the cemetery in MI. wouldn't have allowed it anyways. So after everything was settled, I still had one last thing to do, and that was get the plate marker that they accept, and the cheapest one is $1000. So ...sorry for the lengthy reply, but it's kind of a complicated story. I hate knowing that there is a grave somewhere in Kentucky with Ray's name on it. He used to tell the story of when he went to his mom's burial, he literally tripped over his own grave, something that really freaked him out. Anyways that's the story in a nutshell. I really appreciate the offer man, but I should be able to handle it. I'm already close to halfway there. I just need to sell a couple more pieces. Thanks!!
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Re: I need advice!

#19 Post by Brian McGuire »

Ok buddy. They must have some strange laws to allow that in Michigan.
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