Hi,
I have been lurking these boards for a bit and I have a question. I just moved to an area where most people have lived for about 50 years and when I told them I sell on Ebay they have been offering me alot of antique stuff and telling me I can keep 25% of sale price after listing and selling cost. I was wondering if there is a database that can tell me the price of antique items. Let me know I have more stuff than I know what to do with.
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Consignment
6 posts
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just find an antique dealer in your town, they can quote you price etc.
or take photos of your items, try find antique dealer online, send photos and they can tell you how much it is worth
hope this helps -
Why don't you do a completed items search on eBay? I don't know of any other free database besides eBay's; there are ones you can pay for, though, like kovels.com.
It's doubtful antique dealers will give you multiple free estimates. They're used to people going into their shops all the time wanting that. -
If I am appraising something, I go to the library if I don't already own the reference. The way auction prices change, it is hard to keep current. I am not talking eBay auctions, but Christies, Sothebys, Swan etc.
There are tons of books, newspapers, and collector organizations out there. Believe me they are not equal.
By using the library, you can see pictures. Most of this reference material is out there, but no one has scanned and entered it into websites. You have to do the legwork. You might be selling a bowl on eBay, when in fact you have hard to find dish that belongs to a unique pattern of Waterford.
eBay has so many listings in the antique field, that buyers have to rely on good titles by sellers to find their items.
I know many of the people on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, they are experts in their field. And they had time to research and prepare before stepping before the camera with their appraisal. In my opinion, their prices are not accurate in most cases. Antiques are 100 years and collectibles are 50 years.
Go to the library and do your research to find out what something is. Or tell your customers to bring some provenance with their items if they believe it has great value. When you write up your consignment sheet for each customer, it would be a world of difference if you had a duck print compared to a First edition Audubon folio. Maybe $10,000. And will you get that amount on eBay? Doubtful, but possible.
You have a good idea and I have seen it work many places. Make sure you have a good contract and everything spelled out and signed before you accept the consignments. If something sells for $10 and a week later they see someone else's sell for $100, you need something to protect you.
When it comes to appraisals, you get what you pay for. And not all antique dealers know what they truly have.
Good luck. -
I have a friend who was given three storage units and a 2 car garage full of stuff his new father-in-law had collected from estate sales. Mostly glass.
He decided to sell it on the net and local collector shows.
When I was at his house one evening we went in the dining room and he had a stack of books nearly 4 feet tall sitting by the table, which was covered with glass items. He had gotten the books from the library and was learning old glass. He would pick up two items that I would have sworn came from the same set. Wrong! One worth a quarter, the other a couple of hundred. Without my glasses I couldn't see any difference even after he told me.
As ArtBroker says, the library is the place to go. He lives in a city of about 150,000 and had at least 10 thick books from the library. -
Try attending a live antique auction- go in and browse prior to the sale--if they have something to offer like you have you'll get an instant apprasial.
P.S. An antique is an item that is at least 87 1/2 years old as definded by the US Gov't.
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