Pricing an item for sale

[paulb104]

Hi!

My father-in-law passed away and we're helping my wife's mom sell some of his vast collection. I'm wondering how other people who sell antique silver price their items. We're doing well with non-precious metal antiques.

What do you do with a sterling silver figural item. For instance, we recently just found a sterling carousel.

How does weight factor into the value, if at all? We've been gathering all the precious metal stuff and putting it aside, but that pile is growing. We have four drawer file cabinet and it's almost full of tea sets, tableware, spoons, boxes, medals, tokens, and more. We don't want to scrap the stuff but we don't know how to sell it properly. Not necessarily on ebay, either. We haven't really ventured to ebay. We've been sticking to the antiques side of things.

Any advice?

Thanks

 

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[Mackaydon]

If I had what I think you have, I'd start here: https://www.ha.com/
Heritage is the world's largest collectibles auctioneers.
I've used them before (on French cannons from the early 1700s) and I was quite pleased with their people and results.
Click on the box marked: Request for free appraisal.
Don........

 

[paulb104]

If I had what I think you have, I'd start here: https://www.ha.com/
Heritage is the world's largest collectibles auctioneers.
I've used them before (on French cannons from the early 1700s) and I was quite pleased with their people and results.
Click on the box marked: Request for free appraisal.
Don........

Don, thanks, but that doesn't help at all. We're already customers of Heritage and have sold stuff in their auctions.

Maybe I should rephrase my question.

Lets say I have a sterling item, a box. It's got all the appropriate hallmarks so I know it's authentic sterling from 1865. It weighs nine ounces. I want to sell it, myself, not give it to an auction house.

How should I valuate that box? I'm no sterling box expert and I haven't seen that box online, nor have I seen anything similar to that box. Does the weight of the box factor into the value? Is it totally aesthetic value?

 

[Mackaydon]

IMO, the intrinsic value of the silver will give you the least value for the box compared to its collector's value--with the appropriate hallmarks. Even the historic, educational and conversational values will each be greater than the value of the silver itself. You might post a pic of that box with its hallmarks and see what the TN members think of it.
If you decide to sell it, you can also put a reserve or minimum bid price on the box. Good luck.
Don........

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

I realize you are trying to save the auction commission, but it is difficult to know comparative values without research. Another option would be to get a paid appraisal on the higher valued items, but there is a cost incurred there also. If it's truly antique sterling, an auction will be the best way to reach the buyers that will pay more than melt.

Wayne

Metal Detector Sales Rental | Treasure Hunting | Metal Detecting Stuff

 

[cyberdan]

Don, thanks, but that doesn't help at all. We're already customers of Heritage and have sold stuff in their auctions.

Like Mack said go to HA get an appraisal that is a start. You have never done ebay but it is also a good place to go. You can do a BUY IT NOW where you set the price. If someone like it you may sell that way. remember the ebay and paypal cut could be around 13%

 

[paulb104]

No, it's not that I'm trying to save the auction commission. That's not it at all.

Sending a piece to auction isn't pricing anything anyway. It's gambling. I've seen items at auctions that were worth thousands sell for hundreds because there was nobody at the auction to bid against them. It's the opposite of a bidding war, where a twenty five dollar item sells for ninety two.

I want to LEARN.

We have an offline venue that we can sell antiques. Things like tokens, medals, silks, portraits, advertising, and everything else that isn't precious metal we're good with valuating and putting a price on. We have family friends, and their friends, that are known experts in their fields to help us with the tougher items, or to confirm what we've done. It's just that the knowledge regarding the pricing of sterling items and gold items have eluded us for years. That's why we keep putting them away in a pile. That pile keeps getting bigger and eventually I will have to deal with it.

This is why I want to learn how regular people price their sterling items for sale.

 

[AlienLifeForm]

Very hard to do if you have a one of a kind item with no sale results to compare to.

 

[FC-Treasure]

So you need comparable auction prices. I use eBay and I select "sold listings" on the Left Hand Side. You have to get your search terms right. It is an iterative thing. Of course you would never sell for below scrap, but I'm guessing your stuff is going to be worth much more? So for instance, sterling silver carousel animals by cazenovia: cazenovia carousel in Collectibles | eBay

There are ways to explore the market on eBay and not lose your shirt. A high Buy It Now with "best offer" enabled is one way to let people who are really interested negotiate with you. If you have something particularly popular, a .99 cent auction with a high reserve price is good.

 

[paulb104]

Very hard to do if you have a one of a kind item with no sale results to compare to.

I think this is where most of our stuff will fall into. We don't have years of experience to have gained a gut feeling to go by.

...and the occasional time we do go searching on the internet for something, we come up with nothing. Not in google, not in ebay us, uk, ie, or ca. We check'em all. Also hakes, ha.com, worthpoint, and a few others I can't recall at the moment.