I have antiques to sell or I need to liquidate an estate. Can you help?
We can definitely help! When you’re ready to sell, contact us and briefly explain what you are looking to sell. Texting or emailing photos is great if you can. No need for super detailed, close-up photos, just general photos of the various rooms or pieces will work. If you need some help or instructions on how to email photos, give us a call. Be sure to include some general info on what you are looking to do, your location and the best time and method to reach you.
What is my stuff worth?
This is perhaps the number 1 question we get as antique dealers! Often, as soon as someone hears that we are “in the biz” they immediately think of something they’d like to know the value of. The truth is, value of an item is determined by many factors. Condition, rarity, local market conditions, time of year…you name it, it affects the value! Basically, the short answer is, an item is worth what someone is willing to pay at the same moment you are willing to sell.
How do I get the most for my stuff?
Nobody wants to leave money on the table! There is a direct link between the effort and time invested and the final selling price. Only you can decide how much effort you want to put into liquidating your stuff. On one end, you can simply call a charitable organization and take your tax receipt. On the other, you could learn how to sell on eBay, slowly build an account with great feedback, list and relist your items until someday you get the top price you hoped for. Obviously, the right answer for most people is somewhere in between the two extremes. When you sell to us, you are receiving payment right now, and we are taking the gamble that at some later point we can make money on it too. We have to make a profit, so when we buy we need to try to make sure that there is something left for us.
Do I have to bring the items to you?
No, in fact, we prefer to come to your home. Often, while we’re there looking at the pieces you called us about, we see other items that you may not have considered to be of value. And remember, you’re always welcome to email or text photos.
Do I need to clean or discard items before calling you?
NO! Often, customers who try to “help” by discarding items from the estate or collection have in fact lowered the value of the estate! Surprising items can have value; sometimes significant value. We suggest that you only remove personal items such as photos, letters, banking and financial statements, medical info, prescription medications, and similar.
What about collectables?
As a rule, anything that was sold as a collectible, isn’t. There are occasional, rare exceptions. Franklin Mint and others sometimes crafted items in sterling silver; they rarely have collectible value, but the silver has intrinsic value. Outside of that, sadly, many types of items that were collected have nearly no market now.
I was always told that _______ is very valuable. Now you say it isn’t…what is the deal?
Unfortunately, many items, including family heirlooms, were valued and considered precious to the owner because of sentimental reasons, not factual, market-based data. Nearly every estate we see has “The Curio Cabinet” full of items that were special to the owner but not special to the rest of the world. Maybe there is crystal stemware that was a wedding present, or a trinket box that was a courting gift…to the owner, they had a value beyond money. To anyone else, they are dusty, impractical tchotchkes. We aren’t in the business of hurting feelings, but we are in business. Expect that some items will underwhelm us and disappoint you with their value.
Should I call an auctioneer instead?
We have a hard time recommending auctioneers. They may be the right answer for some; in fact, we occasionally use their services to unload large volumes of low-value items. But we never expect a big payday when we do so! Basically, if your options are renting a dumpster or calling an auctioneer, maybe call the auctioneer. Just be careful; most bill or charge you for their time, labor, hauling, advertising, helpers, etc., on top of the commission they take on the sale price. It is not impossible to wind up owing the auctioneer when it is all said and done.
Do you cherry-pick the good stuff and leave us a mess, or what?
We buy one item or truckloads. If you want to avoid headaches and hassles, we offer our “swept floor” clean-out service. That means we buy everything and we remove everything, junk and all. When we are finished, we even sweep the floors! Keep in mind, if there is a large amount of “no value” stuff involved, that will factor into our purchase price. We often have to rent a dumpster for trash, coordinate with charities and non-profits to dispose of household items, and box up piles of stuff.
Are you a consignment service?
No, we buy outright. Consignment means they take your items and sell them for you. They do not buy the items. Once the item sells, the shop takes a commission, with the amount usually depending on the value of the item and the length of time it takes to sell it. They also very often will charge you to transport the items to their location, or require you to bring the item to you. Usually they have a provision in the consignment agreement that requires you to pick up your item after a certain amount of time, or the item is considered donated to them. We have heard of some consignment shops deliberately over-pricing items so they don’t sell, counting on the fact that many people will not pick their item back up. Once the item belongs to the shop, they lower the price and pocket 100% of the selling price. Additionally, shops are generally not responsible for theft or damage to your items. Of course, there are plenty of reputable consignment shops out there. We suggest you use caution and ask around to be sure the shop you’re considering has a reputation for integrity.
Can you help me with donating items from the estate?
Sure! We frequently work with local charities to dispose of unwanted items. As a matter of course, we donate items from estates all the time. If there is a large amount of furniture or other large items, we can assist with the removal and transport to the charity location Please contact us for rates and more information. We also strongly suggest you consult with your accountant to learn more about charitable giving.
Do you conduct estate or tag sales?
No, we do not. If, however, you wish to conduct your own, we offer consulting services to assist you on pricing, valuations and set-up. Please contact us for information on estate sale consulting services.
Do I have to have a price in mind before I call you?
It is helpful to both you and us if you have some idea of what you want to get for your stuff. Obviously, you may not be certain, but as the seller, you have to have some idea. We try to avoid traveling to you, examining the items, making an offer, all to find that you aren’t looking to sell, you simply wanted to know the value. We are always ready to buy, so if you are ready to sell as well, we can do business! If you are primarily interested in nothing more than learning the value, we suggest you consider our appraisal services.
How far in advance should I contact you?
Generally, we prefer to schedule and show up within the same week. We find that our schedule needs to be fairly flexible to accommodate our customer’s, so we try to avoid getting booked up far in advance. But do not hesitate to contact us in advance if you need to have things scheduled, we can work with your needs.
I have jewelry, coins, sterling silver or similar items to sell you. Should I polish or clean them first?
Definitely don’t! Improper cleaning can destroy the value of antiques; your best bet is to do nothing more than blow the dust off of them. The same is true of everything else you are considering selling. We don’t care about dirt, we care about damage; leaving things “as found” is the safest course of action.
What is an appraisal?
People often confuse the terms “appraisal” and “estimate”. If you are wanting to sell something, you actually need an estimate of how much we would pay for the item. We do not charge for estimates, assuming you are ready to sell.
Sometimes people really do need an appraisal, usually for one of the following reasons: they’re getting ready to sell the items; to settle an estate; or for insurance needs. A true appraisal is when we come to your home, examine your items, take measurements, photos, etc. and then write a report detailing the items’ information (age, scarcity, material, type of wood, artist, etc.) along with a fair market value. When we’re doing an appraisal, we are not buying anything as this would be a conflict of interest. We charge hourly to do appraisals. Sometimes we must charge for travel as well, depending on location.
If you just want a rough idea of value, a quick, off-the-cuff “best guess”, we can do that too. We are always happy to examine items for a reasonable per-item charge. Our quick evaluations are not to be used for official purposes such as probate, insurance, etc. Please contact us for more information on these services.
You can find out more info on our appraisal services here.
What about free appraisals?
There really isn’t such a thing. Any dealer offering you a free appraisal is really offering to tell you what they would be willing to pay; it is an estimate not a formal appraisal. They may be willing to guess at a value for you on an item they aren’t buying, but that still falls short of an appraisal. A true appraisal is impartial, with supporting documentation you can present to your insurance, for example.
Suppose you offer to buy something today, but I don’t want to sell it. Will you still be interested in buying it later?
We understand that sometimes you need some time to make up your mind. We prefer that you are ready to make definite yes or no decisions, but sometimes that isn’t possible. We may be willing to purchase the item later at the same price, a lower price, or even a higher one. Or we may no longer be interested; we often purchase based on our current inventory and needs. Keep in mind that we value our time; if we have to make a separate trip for the item, we probably can’t pay as much as we could have when we were there the first time.
Are all appraisals the same?
No. Depending on your needs, you may want a valuation based on fair market value or replacement value. A fair market value appraisal is defined as “what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller.” Fair market value appraisals are based on current and recent sales of similar items. These appraisals are typically done for estates or for people who are selling off their belongings due to downsizing. Although we may assign a value to an item, there is no guarantee that you will get that price when you try to sell the item. But it is a useful guide for you to use should you want to sell the item.
An appraisal for insurance purposes is a replacement value appraisal. Values assigned for replacement value are typically much higher than those in a fair market value appraisal. In this case, the value is based on what the owner would have to pay should he need to go out and replace the item due to a fire, theft, damage during a move, etc.
I still have questions. Can I call you?
Sure! Feel free to give us a ring, send a text, or email us!
