30 Sept-Oct 08 � Mesa � TREASURES From <strong>The</strong> Past ANTIQUES Anniversary Sale ~ 14th Year Oct. 9th-12th, Thursday-Sunday Drawings • Refreshments • Savings up to 50% off 480-655-0090 106 E. McKellips Mesa, Arizona 85201 Open 7 Days A Week • Monday-Saturday 10-6 • Sunday 11-6 • Thursday 10-8 www.antiquetreasuresaz.com
Sept-Oct 08 � Feature Story � Some Considerations When Selling A Specialized <strong>Antique</strong> or Collectibles Collection I frequently am approached by individuals seeking advice on how to best sell a specialized antiques or collectibles collection. Whether the inquirer is the person who assembled the collection, a widow or widower or the executor of an estate, my answer rarely varies. First, seek professional advice. If the asker is the person who assembled the collection, this is doubly true. A collector is too intimately involved with his collection to objectively evaluate it for sale purposes. He needs advice from a neutral party. Fellow collectors are not neutral. Since they are potential buyers, they should play no role in developing a dispersal plan. Historically, when faced with the sale of a specialized antiques or collectibles collection, the standard approach was to do one’s own research by going to a local bookstore and/ or public library and obtaining one or more reference books and/or price guides. This approach is no longer valid. <strong>The</strong> secondary antiques and collectibles resale market has grown in complexity during the past two decades. <strong>The</strong> Internet, especially eBay’s impact on pricing, rapidly changing collecting and decorating trends and development of a global marketplace are three primary reasons. This complexity requires (1) all prices, especially those in a price guide, be interpreted; and (2) a wider search for sale opportunities is necessary. <strong>The</strong>re are a small, but growing number of independent appraisers and other individuals specializing in collection disposal management. <strong>The</strong>se individuals are not dealers and have no ties to specific auction houses or other sale sources. <strong>The</strong>ir clients are their only interest. Beware of individuals who offer to help for free or request the right of “first” buy from the collection for their services. Alas, America is a “do it yourself” nation. Most individuals faced with the disposal of a specialized antiques or collectibles collection will ignore the above advice, primarily because they do not want to pay for something they feel they can do just as well themselves. <strong>The</strong> next step is the same, whether done by the professional or the amateur freelancer. Second, make a list of the collection using Excel or graph paper. Allow for four columns to the right of the descriptive listings column on the left. Record condition information (graded on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 the worst and 10 the highest grade) in the first column, pricing information obtained from a price guide in the second, pricing information found on eBay or other Internet sources in the third, and an estimated “reasonable” secondary market sale price in the fourth. If the person who assembled the collection maintained a purchase price journal, create an additional column with this information between the third and fourth column. This information is essential before developing a dispersal plan. Pay careful attention to the pricing differences between price guide values and those from Internet sources. Assume eBay prices are retail. Do not fall into the trap of equating eBay with a standard auction house. 31 By Harry Rinker Dealers purchasing for resale are one of the main auction buying groups. Since they wish to profit , they have to place a higher value on these items when offered for sale at their mall, shop or show booth. When a collector is the final purchaser, an auction price can reflect full secondary market retail, but not always. Even collectors find bargains at auction. Is there a specialized price guide for every collecting category? While the answer is no, not for “every” category, over two-thirds of all major collecting categories have been the subject of a price guide at some point in the last twentyfive years. <strong>The</strong>re is the rub. Although specialized price guides exist, not all specialized price guides are current. Always check the copyright date of any specialized price guide before using it. Specialized price guides appear when a market is strong and disappear when it is weak. No one likes purchasing a specialized price guide whose prices indicate the value of their collection has decreased. Specialized auction catalogs, general auction catalogs with substantial listings of a specific collecting category and sales lists from collectors’ club convention auctions can be helpful, especially when no printed price guide exists. In order to obtain the price received by the seller, subtract the amount represented by the buyer’s penalty (remember, it is not a premium as far as I am concerned) and the auction house commission for the final sales price. Take the same approach with pricing information obtained from eBay. Prices realized do not include shipping. When shipping exceeds five dollars, bidders will deduct the shipping cost from their final planned bid, not something they would do when bidding if present at an auction or contemplating a buy at a mall, shop or show. EBay has layered fees. Again, these need to be deducted from the final sale price if one wishes to obtain an accurate price realized by the seller. <strong>The</strong>re are many electronic pricing sites, especially in the fine arts area. Go <strong>Antique</strong>s’ PriceMiner covers a much broader market spectrum. I recommend it. Third, understand where value rests. Value is not spread evenly among most collections. Typically the top twenty percent of a collection’s value represents more than half of the collection’s total value. If the goal is to sell the collection as a unit, this top twenty percent is a primary inducement for the buyer to purchase the whole. Allowing one or more of the top items in a collection to be cherry picked, i.e., sold separately, disproportionately diminishes the value of the entire collection. Understanding where and how value resides in a collection is critical to deciding whether to sell a collection as a unit or break it apart and sell it singly or in smaller groups, either privately or via auction. Identifying and understanding sale opportunities is another. Fourth, study the antiques and collectibles secondary resale marketplace. Focus on these two truths: (1) the resale Continued on page 43...
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