To an extent I agree with Dressel. At least with respect to the waiting aspect. I know it's a pain in the ass to hold onto the stuff but I'd suggest waiting until the cartoon or TV series rev up and interest peaks again.
Every time the movies came out, interest peaked and prices climb. Collectors get fired up again and new collectors roll in, trying to fill holes with old stuff. About a year or so after the movie has been released, shortly after the DVD release, interest starts waning and keeps going lower as the bandwagoners steadily jump off and there's a glut in the market. Prices drop and stay low.
So my suggestion is if you're really wanting to unload stuff, get rid of the stuff you can get good money for now and hold the rest until something sparks interest. Really, that Episode I Palpatine on a minty cardback is going to be either a throw in or generate you maybe a buck right now. It's never going to be worth much anyway, but it might climb to $2 at the right time (yeah, I know, probably not).
I'm in the same boat, wanting to really downsize on a lot of my collection, at least notably the Hasbro side of things. My mentality falls somewhere between yours and Mikey's. I'm not about to abandon my loose figures entirely but I too have no real interest in most of the carded figures, save maybe the VOTC stuff.
If you are going ahead, I agree with Bill, do lots. It'll save you grief in the long run in terms of more boxes, more buyers, more things to keep track of. And like I said, those Episode I carded figures will just end up being throw ins that are largely zero dollar generators but you'll get rid of them.
In a charitable sense I might also suggest that the really craptastic stuff you'll have a hard time selling for even a buck would make a great donation at this time of year to a gifts-for-kids program of some sort. That's my plan for some of the stuff that's not worth the hassle of listing/shipping for minimal return.
