Have a Collection to sell and don’t know where to start?

niknakvintage
Sep 13, 2022
4 min read

Updated: Sep 14, 2022

Many of our clients here in the Pacific Northwest can suddenly suddenly find themselves dealing with a large collection: be it a cabinet full or a WHOLE HOUSE FULL!

Friends or neighbors helping to downsize someone in preparation for a move
Family members inheriting a loved ones prized possession
Collectors planning ahead or dealing with financial burdens.

The stress that comes from a collection can be mentally and physically demanding. But we can provide some helpful tips from our years of experience representing and buying collectibles in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and beyond!

The first goal is to sit down with your items and begin to understand what you will be able and unable to do. Going through a small questionnaire might help you begin taking those first steps in dealing with such a daunting task:

Are you able to inventory the collection? Many people may have a few dozen items to deal with, so making a list and taking photos might be a much easier process. Identifying items can be a challenge if you are unfamiliar with your items but we will touch on a little more below.

Are you unable to inventory the collection? Sometimes a collection is far too large and you may need outside help to even organize or sort through something as massive as a collection filling up a home.

The first steps may be as simple as separating what is valuable from what is not (pro tip: did you know that on many occasions an original Lionel train box can at times be MORE valuable than the actual train model? On numerous occasions we have had to stop clients from discarding a box they thought was only worth being recycled, only to reveal it was worth $100+! Point is: be careful throwing everything away)
After discarding or discarding the valuables from the non-valuables you can then get a better sense of what your colleciton size might actually be.... but even then, it MAY STILL BE TOO LARGE.

Some dealers or collectors will take the time to visit the collection to get a better sense of what you have for sale and may make their own inventory list or make you an outright offer based on the contents in person. *note: make sure you are always dealing with reputable businesses or buyers with some degree of visibility. This is to ensure you are taking the right precautions before meeting and showing your valuables to just anyone.

Now that you've gotten an idea of what you are dealing with in terms of a collections inventory, you should determine how you will be able to sell it?

Are you able to make time to sell the items online? Marketplaces such as eBay, Facebook or Craigslist are essential to selling your items online or even locally. The reach on these platforms can be incredible and if you have the time to spend photographing, shipping and listing your items individually you will net the best returns. Identifying some of those hard to find items can be a challenge but sites like worthpoint.com are a great starting place for finding just about any item. ebay.com is also helpful for getting quick data or pricing info about an item (just remember to check the SOLD section to make sure you get a good idea of what something actually sells for). There are many other selling tips we can offer in a future blog post for those taking on the sales task themselves! *note: selling your items can be like a full time job so be prepared to spend the time to learn even the small details like packaging, shipping rates and understanding tax liabilities. It can be a complicated process so be sure to think through the steps from beginning to end.

Are you unable to make time selling your items online? Depending on the size of the collection or the amount o time you can commit, you may come to realize that selling a collection online or individually is FAR too time consuming. This is where you may want to consider simply researching your items or having outside help appraising the value alongside you. Getting a ballpark figure of your collections value will be invaluable, especially if you need to sell the collection as a whole. Armed with a sense of value you will be better able to approach dealers and collectors who might be able to offer on the collection. Be prepared to give yourself a little wiggle room but always try to understand when someone may be low-balling you. Selling a collection can be like a full-time job so dealers will always have some sense of margins to work with, but you should never be willing to accept something like 20% of a collections true value. The best types of buyers are always collectors who may pay closer to true value but always understand most collectors rarely need EVERY item in a collection so you may need to consider partially selling one lot at a time

If you find yourself struggling to even start in this process due to the size of your collection or other challenges, we would love to speak with you your selling goals. We have tons of experience helping to buy and sell collections so please reach out if you need any help!