Selling Antiques, Collectibles & Fine Art Part II: Where to Sell Common, Everyday Items

What do you do when the item you want to sell isn’t worth a fortune? Placing it on a shelf and waiting for someone to come and find it isn’t the answer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you can’t make money with a shop or booth at a mall, but we’re aiming in a different direction. We’re aiming to transform our lives into a life of wealth secured over time. This simply can’t be achieved today by waiting for customers to find your item.

In today’s business environment, waiting for customers will limit you tremendously, and hamper your prosperity. It’s completely opposite of the guidelines I write about in my book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles, and opposite the guidelines 31 Club Members follow to build wealth buying and selling antiques, fine art and collectibles. I’d compare the “waiting for customers” thinking that some have to those who think the horse and buggy will be the transportation for the future. Today, you must market your items where they best fit.

Where to Sell Your Antique, Collectible, and Fine Art Items

Today, there are many places you could choose to market your more common and less valuable antiques & collectibles. Let's tackle the biggest fish first, eBay, and then some of the others.

Ebay
Without this company, I wouldn't be in the Antique Business today, but I only use them on a “when needed” basis. I’ll explain. After I’ve researched an item, if I still don’t know its identity, then I list it on eBay. You see, with the following eBay has, nothing listed there will go totally unnoticed. The pros will see it listed, and even though it might not bring retail, my item will get a fair price. Yes, eBay’s commissions have skyrocketed, but if you use it selectively, not listing items that more than likely won’t sell, this is still a good venue to use. But, listing items that have a high probability of not selling will eat up your profits on the items that do sell. It cost money to list, and it’s not as inexpensive on eBay as it once was. With the kind of items I buy, eBay is usually my last resort, and as you ascend the steps of our program and are buying and selling more rare and valuable items, you will use it less and less as well. I will, however, use eBay to sell when they feature a special – like no listing fees. Then, I jump all over it.

Local Auctions
Local Auctions are a good place to sell your antique & collectible items that aren’t worth a fortune or are not very rare. Our goal of turning our money quickly can be better achieved if you know your local auction houses and their schedules. When you’re aware of their schedules, the time between buying an item and selling it will be shortened when you know what Auction House is holding the very next sale. This will keep your money moving for you.

Second, when you use the auction houses regularly, they will negotiate a better commission rate with you. So get to know the people who run the auctions and begin building a relationship with them. These are great relationships to have, and let them know if there’s something special you like to buy. I use Direct Auction in Chicago, and one features that I really like about them is how quickly they pay you. If your sells on Tuesday, they pay you on Friday. Now you can't beat that. This has made them one of the most active auction houses in town, offering an auction every other week.

House Sale
Believe it or not one of the best ways to reduce your inventory is by having a House Sale or Garage Sales. If the idea is to sell what you have and not put it back in inventory, prices must be fair. I wouldn’t recommend doing this more than twice a year because people will stop coming if you do. My rule of thumb is that I don’t do this type of sale unless I think I have enough merchandise to bring in more than $5,000. I’d be giving up a weekend of buying to have this kind of sale, and so for me, It simply isn’t worth the work for less than that.

Newspaper Ads
These have been successful for me, however they can be quite expensive.
Piggybacking with Dealer in Their Booth. Helping a Dealer with heir booth at a major show, if they will let you, can give you the opportunity to put a few of your items in the booth. This can prove very profitable. I did this at the O’Hare Show one time and it brought me in $20,000 without having any expenses.

Consigning Items to a Dealer
You can pay a commission to other dealers who sell your items to their customers. This commission should be between 10% and 20%.

Selling When You Can
I purchased a set of plates for under $200 at a house sale one time. It was a good buy, and I listed them on eBay, hoping to get perhaps $400 or $500. Almost immediately, I got an e-mail from a man in Connecticut who asked me if I would edit the listing and put a “Buy It Now” on them. I told me that I wouldn’t, but if he could tell me what the plates are worth, I might consider it. He hesitated at first, but then told me they were worth $2,500, but he could only pay $1,250 for them. I said, “Sold.” I changed the listing, and he bought them. Are you wondering why I took the $1,250 when I could have gotten more? He had the customer. I didn’t. And besides that, I had just met an honest man.

REMEMBER: GOOD THINGS SELL THEMSELVES.

Join Daryle Lambert's 31 Club, today. Rub elbows with like-minded 31 Club Members, and Put a Turbo Charge on your Antique & Collectible Treasure Hunting Skills. Get FREE Mentoring. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to Make High Profits and Continue to Grow Your Money Buying and Selling Antiques, Fine Art, and Collectibles. Newbies to Seasoned Dealers.

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How To Sell Your Antique, Collectible & Fine Art Items To Quickly Turn Your Money

I received an email from Michael B., a member of the 31 Club, thanking me for all the information provided by the blog, however, he asked for more information on selling the items purchased. But Well, Michael B., your request is my honor to answer.

Selling is the last piece of the puzzle to fall into place. However, it is the one part of the puzzle that requires the least amount of time and research. You might be surprised by that statement. I am often asked, “I know I can buy the item, but what’s my guarantee I can sell it?” When I’m asked that, I tell them they’re on the wrong side of the dog. Why?

When you buy any antique, collectible or piece of fine art following the rules for buying I wrote about in 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles, customers will be lined up at your door. I don’t say this to minimize the importance of selling, rather to stress the importance of buying. If an items is purchased right, according to the criteria I’ve set up in my book, selling doesn’t become a big issue. I can tell you in just a few paragraphs how to sell. But, making good buys is something you’ll be learning for the rest of your life and is the far more important component. With that said, let’s set some rules for selling so we can get the biggest bang for our buck.

Working From a Collectors List is Essential For Your Success

If you’ve sold items before and haven’t kept a list of who you’ve sold to and what they bought or what they buy, begin assembling this Collectors List now.

When you attend local auctions and house sales, notice who purchases rare items or shows an interest in rare and collectible items. Engage them in conversation and introduce yourself. Remember, I’ve said in the past that this business is about relationships. When you take the time to learn about other people, you’ll be able to add them to your list of collectors. This is so important, because this list will provide you the best market for selling your items you’ll ever find, and it will be right at your fingertips. Private Sales between you and a collector is the ideal way to sell your items, however, it you might not know someone for every item you come across. Then, you’ll need to consider other means of selling.

An Auction House List Helps Make You Make Knowledeable

Note what auction companies set high records and keep a list of those companies. One of the things I do is cut out articles from AntiqueWeek, Maine Antique Digest, and Antique Trader about items that have set high records, making a note of the auction company who made the sale. I then put it in a clip file that my 9-year-old son, Joshua helps to maintain. This way, if I come across a similar item, this company will be a possible place to consider selling through.

The Necessity of Trade Subscriptions

Antique Week, Maine Antique Digest and Antique Trader all carry articles about auction results, so I’d get a subscription. I follow auction results of some of the larger specialty auction houses like Treadway Galleries, Rago Arts & Auction Center & Cincinnati Art Galleries for pottery and glass. Find the specialty auction houses for the items that interest you, as well. I also start a file on Doll Auctions, Toy Auctions and so on. This way, I won't have to search long for the right place to sell my items.

Deciding Where to Sell Your Antique & Collectible Item

If you don’t have a collector on your list for your particular item, you can research collectors on the Internet and contact them. If you don’t come up with a collector for your piece, now deciding where to sell your item requires you ask this question: Is this item rare enough to place it in a standard auction, a specialty auction house, or something like eBay.

Major auction houses today are only looking for an item $20,000 and over. So, where does your item fall? With these houses charging 25 % commission and as high as 25 % buyers premium, before you go this route your item had better be very special. If you are fortunate enough to find an item in this price range, specialty auction houses are very appealing.

For example, I found the Rookwood lamp recently, and had to decide where I’d sell it. I decided it would go to the Cincinnati Art Galleries for their November auction because I know they have set all the auction records on Rookwood pieces.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Blog. We’ll be studying other ways to profit from all our hard work.

More and more members are sending in their stories to me, and I will publish them as fast as I can. If you haven’t sent in yours, why not do that today?

Join with like-minded 31 Club Members and put a turbo charge on your antique & collectible treasure hunting skills. Get FREE Mentoring. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to make high profits and continue to grow your money buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles.

My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership.

The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

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Today's Links:

31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles
Insider Secrets to Sucessfully Working in Antique, Collectible and Fine Art Markets


Trade Magazines:

Antique Trader
Antique Trade Gazette (U.K.)
Antique Week
Maine Antique Digest

Members Getting Active and Making Money Buying and Selling Antiques, Fine Art & Collectibles

Robert Woods Painting 36 x30 Framed. Oil on Canvas. 1 of 2 Woods paintings available for sale at 31 Marketplace. $12,500.


Correction: Well, I did it again. In my enthusiasm over our new antique, fine art and collectible marketplace, I rushed our announcement before it was actually ready to be announced. You see, I’m not a genius in the techie world, and I misunderstood what Jeremy, our tech advisor, was telling me. Most of you probably know that I’m rather technologically challenged, so this should come as no surprise to you.

I knew I could list, but I didn’t understand that it wouldn’t be live until Sunday. So, yesterday, I spent a lot of time listing new items to our marketplace that will be viewable on Sunday. Another 50 are waiting in the wings.

31 Club Member Makes a Great Collectible Find with Huge Profit

The market aside, this was a special day in many ways. First, I received a call from an interesting young lady by the name of Laura R. She traveled over 200 miles to attend an auction because the paper stated this auction was all day long. When she arrived at the house, she was surprised to see so many oriental items she knew nothing about. She didn’t want to return empty handed, so she bought several Buddha and Hindu items. Her gasoline bill was larger than the amount she spent on these items. She figured that you can’t buy much for $35 these days, so she took her chances.

Since she wasn’t too excited about the items upon returning home, Laura waited a couple of days before she listed them on eBay. Are you setting down? As of this date, she’s received over $3,000 for this little box of goodies. Her first item sold for $1,840, the second for $450 and the third for $250. , as of this date she has received 0ver $3000 for this little box of goodies. The first one she sold brought $1840, the next $450 and the third $250.

Believe it or not, I think that she might even have a few more of these items to sell. If she had been in the Million Dollar Race she would have completed over six steps in the race on that one purchase alone. I know that some of you have stories that match this one, so please send them in so I can publish yours.

31 Club Associates Program in Action, Bidding on Fine Art Paintings

The next call I received was from William, a club member who spotted some wonderful Robert Wood paintings that will be at an upcoming house sale where he lives. Since this purchase will be out of his budget range, he’s going through the Associates Program to make a bid on these paintings. That means he’s partnering up with 31 Club in a cooperative effort to purchase these pieces. 31 Club will handle the bidding, and if we are successful in acquiring them, 31 Club will handle the re-sale. A very handsome percentage of the sale will go to William just for spotting them and calling us.

By working with the 31 Club you, too, can advance to the higher end items by simply simply taking advantage of the Associates Program.

Whether it’s pottery, glass, paintings or whatever you spot that is beyond your budget, by calling us and purchasing with the help of the Associates Program, you'll start accumulating money for your account.

Join with like-minded 31 Club Members and put a turbo charge on your antique & collectible treasure hunting skills. Get FREE Mentoring. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to make high profits and continue to grow your money buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles.

My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership.

The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT!

31 Club's Expanded Marketplace Opens

American Born Artist, William Horton lived and worked primarily in Paris. Friend of Claude Monet and Edgar Degas, Horton's high auction price is $104,500 in 1991. This landscape offered through 31 Club Marketplace for $25,000

One of the goals of the 31 Club, was to present one of the largest selections of high quality Antiques, Collectibles and Fine Art, attracting both Collectors and Dealers. We’ve begun this journey today with the opening of our New Marketplace.
This marketplace is open for the public to consign their pieces with us, and to 31 Club Members, who are out there looking for valuable and prized items.

No longer will you have to wait months for Auction Houses to post their schedules or list your better items among hundreds of inferior pieces hoping someone will spot yours.

We aim to become the first place where dealers can find the pieces their customers are looking for, while still being able to turn a handsome profit, as well as the place collectors can find a below the market price on highly collectible items and valuable paintings. New items will start appearing today.

Never a Buyer's Premium and the Most Reasonable Selling Fees in the Industry.

31 Club members pay only 10% for pieces ranging between $0-$5,000, 7.5% for pieces ranging between $5,000-$25,000, and 5% for pieces $25,000 and over. Non-member selling commissions are 20% for pieces ranging between $0-$5,000, 15% for pieces ranging between $5,000-$25,000, and 10% for pieces $25,000 and over. No Buyers Premium!

I hope this will be great news for you. With the large increase in traffic our site is receiving, all items listed should have excellent exposure. By listing through us, you’ll find the lowest cost to you of anywhere in the industry, allowing you to retain more of your money.

To have your items listed, you need only send pictures, a description, details of its condition and your asking price. If you’d like help pricing it, just ask.
If you have any questions about the marketplace please email us, and we will get you the answers to you quickly.

We will continue to expand our learning resources in the Members Only Section so our members can keep ahead of the trend. All eyes are on the 31 Club, so now is the time for our members to profit as we become the industry trendsetters.

Your input is highly valued and we want to hear from you. If you have ideas or comments, let us hear from you! Send me an e-mail at info@31corp.com
If you haven’t joined our exciting and trendsetting club, what’s keeping you from joining? It’s the best deal around.

Here’s an Example of How the 31 Club Membership can Benefit You.

Yesterday, I bid on an advertised painting at an auction house. However, I wasn’t bidding for myself. A 31 Club member spotted the painting, and its estimate was only a few hundred dollars. Because she was new to the business and wasn’t certain she’d found a treasure, she called me and went through our Associates Program. I took a look at the offering and did some research. It was indeed a good offering. Partnering with 31 Club, I handled the bidding. I bid up to $5,000, a good offering based on research. However, the bidding ran up to $14,900 plus buyer’s premium.

31 Members Make Money Spotting Good Buys Without Ever Having to Invest a Cent.

While we didn’t win this piece, I can assure you, when we keep working this way, everyone will come out a winner. And here’s how. Let’s say I had the winning bid at $5,000. 31 Club would pay for the item, then we’d handle the sale of it. If we were successful selling it at, say, $10,000 the club member would have made $1,750 just for having spotted it and called us. No investment on the member’s part, except for the phone call. I think you’d have to agree that is a pretty good benefit to being a member, maybe even great.

We’ll soon be celebrating our first year anniversary, and I am truly grateful to all who have helped keep us growing. Thanks a million.

Join with like-minded 31 Club Members and put a turbo charge on your antique & collectible treasure hunting skills. Get FREE Mentoring. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to make high profits and continue to grow your money buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles.

My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership.

The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT!

Antiques & Collectibles - 31 Club Memorial Day Blog

I have never been as proud to be an American in all my life as I was this weekend. I attended a small church service in Calhoun, Kentucky where they honored our Veterans this Memorial Day Weekend.

Slacks with sharp creases and starched shirts decorated with ribbons and medals was the dress of the day. Flags were held proudly as they were presented, and America The Beautiful and the National Anthem were sung by people who had tears streaming down their cheek. Great love of their country was the unifying thread that bound together men and women in their eighties with others in their twenties. Not one asked for a single thing for themselves, rather prayed that under God, this Country would return to what God intended for it to be. This image will be etched in my mind and heart for the rest of my days.

I remember those times when people were proud of our Country and had the love of God in their hearts. Where have these days gone? How have we strayed so far? Our political leaders seem more interested in party affiliation than the good of the county.

To see and know what has made this country great, you must return to rural America. I am saddened to have returned home and turn on the television, only to see the disharmony that is prevailing in this country that so many have given their lives for.

My hope is that this little community we are in the process of creating through the 31 Club, will stand proud for what our forefathers held so dear. Yes, we are going to learn together about how to provide for ourselves, but I'm hopeful we won't forget our fellowman.

I am asking you to start looking for items that show our Country in a different light. Let’s see if we can find posters that show the pride that all citizens of this Country had at one time. How about books and paintings showing people helping others in times of need. You will probably have more ideas than I about what these items can be. I know you are asking if there be a market for them. The answer to that is yes, because we will create a market in our market place.

Remember, just one year ago everyone was saying that there would never be another collector, but we said they were wrong. They said this business was of the past, and we said it’s the greatest business in the world today.

We’ve shared with you that in every category of this business, records are being set at auction. I no longer see all the negative articles written nor hear the doom and gloom that prevailed just one year ago. Yes, the message of the 31 Club is being heard loud and clear, so now I’m asking you to extend this positive attitude even a step further. Let’s include our pride in America into our plan.

GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.

Join with like-minded 31 Club Members and put a turbo charge on your antique & collectible treasure hunting skills. Get FREE Mentoring. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to make high profits and continue to grow your money buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles.

My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership.

The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT!

Boch Freres Pottery

Boch Freres Crackled Enamel vase, 10 1/4 inches, offered at Cincinnati Art Galleries' June 7, 2008 auction. Its estimate is $1,000-$1,500.

Some pottery can bring in great prices at auction, and one of these is the collectible Belguim pottery, Boch Freres. Several pieces will go to auction June 7, 2008 at the Cincinnati Art Galleries as part of their summer offering. These vibrantly decorated pieces can be a real prize, and pre-1940’s pieces are sought after by collectors worldwide. The mark is a wolf or dog over the wording “Boch Freres Keramis made in Belguim.”

Their leading craftsman, Charles Catteau, was very active in the 1920’s and he produced some real beauties decorated with various animals, like birds, deer or antelope.

Many of this company’s pieces are still very affordable, and you’ll see prices at the Cincinnati Art Galleries auction estimated from a few hundred dollars to several thousands. These are great pieces for new collectors because of their affordability and beauty. When you find a great piece of Boch Freres, rest assured there will be a collector you can turn it to for a nice profit, if you buy it right. You shouldn’t have any problem finding a European collector for these pieces. The weak dollar has brought European buyers out in droves and they are very actively buying up our collectibles at bargain prices.

Don’t fail to take a look at Cincinnati Art Galleries’ Art Glass offerings, as well. Karen Singleton has assembled, perhaps, the best Art Glass collection I’ve seen them sell yet. Over 30 pieces of Lotton Art Glass are included in the offerings plus many other outstanding examples by the better Art Glass companies.
An excellent array of Rookwood pottery will be offered at this sale, and that’s why they currently hold almost every record price paid for Rookwood Pottery. If you want to truly get a good education, study the items on their site. Then, when there is an antiques show in your area, attend it and get a close up look at what high quality pottery and glass looks like.

Join with like-minded 31 Club Members and put a turbo charge on your antique & collectible treasure hunting skills. Get FREE Mentoring. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to make high profits and continue to grow your money buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles.

My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership.

The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT!

LINK:

Cincinnati Art Galleries - Boch Freres Keramics offerings

Antiques & Collectibles Road Trip Means Fun and Profit

Going to my grandsons’ college graduation party in Kentucky this weekend won’t stop me from hitting all the antique malls or shops along the way. It might take me a little bit longer to get to the party, but I’ll sure have fun along the way. I’ll be making this trip alone, so stopping won’t be an issue brought up for vote. I love it! Wouldn’t it be something if I found a treasure even before I arrived in Kentucky?

Antiques Out of Place for the Region Can Prove to Be Very Well Priced.

So what will I be looking for? Something out of place, of course. Paintings are first on my list. Unless they are regional and from the area, paintings don’t do to well in this area of the country. Maybe I’ll find a California or New York Painting at a bargain price. Pottery? Well, the Mid-West is pottery heaven so I’m not pinning my hopes on a great piece of pottery. Political Memorabilia is a good possibility. Killary was just in Kentucky and I believe Bill Clinton was recently in my hometown, Owensboro.

Are you beginning to get the jest of how I think? This process will save you a lot of time once you've begun your trip.

I missed a great auction there last week, but I’ll be looking in on old friends to see how they’re doing. While I’m there, I’ll ask if they have anything I might buy from them that might do well in Chicago.

Cecil is the first person I hope to find because he always has some of he better things set back. I’ve been able to persuade him to let a few of them go to me, in the past. I’ll also be looking in my friend Owen’s “Spend-a-Buck“ Antique shop for some goodies.

In Kentucky, the expensive items seem to be more reasonably priced than what I’ve come to expect in Chicago. There seems to be an order to the way Antiques, Collectibles and Fine Art sell.

The Same Item in Different Regions of The Country Can Have Different Values

I used to set up at the O'Hare Antique Show with some of my friends, and it amazed me that the New York and European dealers would buy most of what I had brought to the show before the public had a chance to see it. I wondered how they could pay my prices and still think they had a bargain. But I learned that the same item can have a different value depending on where it’s being offered.

My friends, Doris & Mike, who sell a lot of vintage bakelite jewelry, have buyers from New York gobbling up their pieces, because they believe the prices are incredibly reasonable compared to the New York prices.

If you’ve read my book, you’ll remember the painting I drove all the way to Christies in New York to auction, because I’d get a better price for it in New York than in Chicago. The painting was estimated to bring three times as much in New York as it would in Chicago, and that’s exactly what happened. Primitives sell very well in New York, and as I was driving, I recall wishing I had some great primitives I could have brought with me. Had I had these items, I knew they wouldn’t be making the return trip with me.

Qualify Your Family Vacation or Trip as a Business Trip

Hunting for Antiques & Collectibles along the way to my grandsons’ party enables me to do business along the way, and is in essence, a business trip I can expense. Fun and Profit – the two greatest words I know besides the one I use to pray.

Join with like-minded 31 Club Members and put a turbo charge on your antique & collectible treasure hunting skills. Get FREE Mentoring. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to make high profits and continue to grow your money buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles.

My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership.

The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT!