Years ago I lent a company money and they gave me gems as collateral. When they defaulted and I got the gems, I found they were much harder to sell than I expected. (yeah, it sounds like a scam to me also, but it wasn't) An auction house is willing to sell them for me, but I have to travel across the country to set that up. Can I deduct the travel expenses from what I sell the gems for when I calculate my loss on the loan?