How to Price Antiques and Collectibles
Learn more about your item., Browse antique stores in your area., Check online auction sites., Check online price guides., Decide what kind of value you want to find out in your appraisal., Don’t alter your item before you have it valued.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Learn more about your item.
It’s important to have a baseline of knowledge about the kind of item you want to sell.
If you’re selling your grandparents’ old dining room table, it might be useful to find out what kind of table it is (style, material, and, if possible, who made it).
You can find this kind of information in general reference books on antiques.
Most libraries have a section on guides for antiques and collectibles.
Once you identify your item and get a ballpark value, it will be easier for you to figure out a good price for that item. -
Step 2: Browse antique stores in your area.
Look for items similar to the one you want to sell.
Compare the condition of the items for sale to the condition of the one you have.
Check for any differences in style, material, or maker.
Then check how much the dealer is trying to sell the item for.
You might even want to talk to the dealer—ask about why they priced the item the way they did.
Beware:
While antiques dealers can be helpful in determining a ballpark price for your item, you should ever ask them (or allow them) to appraise your item unless you know for sure that you will not sell your item to them.
It is considered a conflict of interest for a dealer to appraise an item they intend to buy.
If a dealer offers to buy an item after valuing it for you, say no. , Ebay, Amazon, and Craigslist are all useful sites for finding out how much people are willing to pay for items like yours.
On Ebay, you can search for similar items which have recently been sold.
This will help you to see what people are actually willing to pay for items like yours.
Keep in mind that these sites are highly competitive, so their prices tend to be on the low side.
If you want to get the most money possible for your item, online auction sites aren’t the best gauge. , Price guides list different types of antiques or collectibles along with a range of prices you can expect to get for them.
Kovel’s is considered to be the best online guide for antiques and collectibles.
You can get a free subscription or pay a yearly fee for its premium services. , Appraisers can give you several different kinds of price values, depending on how (or if) you want to sell your item.
Auction Value – The auction value is the amount that your item would be expected to sell for at an auction.
Very rare or valuable items are often sold at auction because people are willing to spend more.
However, items that are less rare or valuable tend to go for less at auction than they would at retail price, because there is not much demand for them.
Retail Value – Retail value is the amount of money your item would sell for in an antique store.
If your item is not rare and you don’t expect its value to be high, the retail value is likely to be higher than the auction value.
Remember, though, that an antique dealer will not buy your item from you at full retail value; if they did, they wouldn’t be able to make a profit.
Insurance Value – If you decide that you don’t want to sell your item, an appraiser can also assess its insurance value.
This is the amount of money that you would need to replace your item in a “reasonable amount of time” if it is destroyed or stolen.
This is useful is your item is especially valuable. , Many people think that their item will be worth more if they clean it up before having it appraised.
However, “restoring” or otherwise altering an item without talking to an expert first often has the effect of lowering the value of the item—sometimes by a lot.
Keep your item just the way it is—flaws and all. -
Step 3: Check online auction sites.
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Step 4: Check online price guides.
-
Step 5: Decide what kind of value you want to find out in your appraisal.
-
Step 6: Don’t alter your item before you have it valued.
Detailed Guide
It’s important to have a baseline of knowledge about the kind of item you want to sell.
If you’re selling your grandparents’ old dining room table, it might be useful to find out what kind of table it is (style, material, and, if possible, who made it).
You can find this kind of information in general reference books on antiques.
Most libraries have a section on guides for antiques and collectibles.
Once you identify your item and get a ballpark value, it will be easier for you to figure out a good price for that item.
Look for items similar to the one you want to sell.
Compare the condition of the items for sale to the condition of the one you have.
Check for any differences in style, material, or maker.
Then check how much the dealer is trying to sell the item for.
You might even want to talk to the dealer—ask about why they priced the item the way they did.
Beware:
While antiques dealers can be helpful in determining a ballpark price for your item, you should ever ask them (or allow them) to appraise your item unless you know for sure that you will not sell your item to them.
It is considered a conflict of interest for a dealer to appraise an item they intend to buy.
If a dealer offers to buy an item after valuing it for you, say no. , Ebay, Amazon, and Craigslist are all useful sites for finding out how much people are willing to pay for items like yours.
On Ebay, you can search for similar items which have recently been sold.
This will help you to see what people are actually willing to pay for items like yours.
Keep in mind that these sites are highly competitive, so their prices tend to be on the low side.
If you want to get the most money possible for your item, online auction sites aren’t the best gauge. , Price guides list different types of antiques or collectibles along with a range of prices you can expect to get for them.
Kovel’s is considered to be the best online guide for antiques and collectibles.
You can get a free subscription or pay a yearly fee for its premium services. , Appraisers can give you several different kinds of price values, depending on how (or if) you want to sell your item.
Auction Value – The auction value is the amount that your item would be expected to sell for at an auction.
Very rare or valuable items are often sold at auction because people are willing to spend more.
However, items that are less rare or valuable tend to go for less at auction than they would at retail price, because there is not much demand for them.
Retail Value – Retail value is the amount of money your item would sell for in an antique store.
If your item is not rare and you don’t expect its value to be high, the retail value is likely to be higher than the auction value.
Remember, though, that an antique dealer will not buy your item from you at full retail value; if they did, they wouldn’t be able to make a profit.
Insurance Value – If you decide that you don’t want to sell your item, an appraiser can also assess its insurance value.
This is the amount of money that you would need to replace your item in a “reasonable amount of time” if it is destroyed or stolen.
This is useful is your item is especially valuable. , Many people think that their item will be worth more if they clean it up before having it appraised.
However, “restoring” or otherwise altering an item without talking to an expert first often has the effect of lowering the value of the item—sometimes by a lot.
Keep your item just the way it is—flaws and all.
About the Author
Samuel Ruiz
Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in DIY projects and beyond.
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