It's not sad, it's life. I just hit this same thing. As we move my mom into an assisted living, her HUGE collection of Ron Lee Clowns and Betty Boop stuff just won't fit. And while they may not be as sought after as when she was collecting them, there are some that are still valuable and there are enough to give someone an amazing collection. But what to do with them and one of the options was to rent an antique stall, eBay, Craigslist/Facebook, toss them in the trash, or consult with an auction house. In her case we retained an auction house who will add them to their upcoming auctions for the two collections plus some artwork.

But it comes back to someone who can't/won't collect or needs to liquidate their collection. Everyone's rationale is different, the amount of time they have is different, and how to best maximize the revenue is different. Some of the things from the house were tossed, donated, or if they had some value like these are being auctioned/sold.