Daryle Lambert: Dolls Make Money Even When Damaged

Thanks to www.flicker.com

I once bought a doll head for $25 and sold it for over $300. I believe the lady who bought it must have had the body, don't you think? Later I found out that this doll complete was worth somewhere between $3500 and $5000. I was still very happy but in the future I may try to find the body myself.

You must know that dolls are one of the most collected items in the world. There are more books written about dolls and their accessories than you can count so this must mean we can make money with the right ones. The French and German dolls seem to lead the pack when it comes to collectors and this means you must educate yourself in their masks to capitalize on their value.

Why is he talking about dolls today I am sure you’re asking. The simple answer is that I joined www.iantiqueonline.com on the Internet and one of the groups there was a doll group. You should join also because I feel there is going to be an opportunity to learn a lot about dolls there. But what caught my eye was this lady advertising for doll restoration and I stored that away for future use www.treasured-collectibles.com.

I am often asked about what items I could recommend for purchase that have a top value high enough that a person can reach the upper levels of the “ Million Dollar Race”. This is a friendly competition between members of the 31 Club to see which one can make a million dollars first by using the book “31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques and Collectibles. I have seen dolls sell for over $100,000. Here is a record of some of the most expensive dolls ever sold at Theriault's auction.

Every woman can probably remember her first doll, but who would have thought that some day that doll could put a child through college. In fact, I seriously doubt that many men would have an interest in dolls but they do and for good reason. If you haven't included dolls on your list of treasures, I would highly suggest that you do it now. There are many books on Abesbooks or Amazon that can be purchased for just a few bucks used and they would make a great addition to your library.


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When Should I Restore an Item?

When you’re considering buying an item or a painting that needs repair, you might ask yourself what the increase in value will be after its restoration. While I usually recommend you allow the purchaser do the restoration, there is that rare time it makes sense for you to have a piece restored.

One of our members sent me a photo of a painting from a sales bulletin. It caught my eye, all right, and she planned to buy it. Before the sale, she contacted me again, saying the painting had some damage, but not too much. We agreed she’d bid on the piece without getting too carried away on the price. This painting soon became hers. She sent it to a restorer I recommended here in Chicago – Baumgartners, and yesterday I got to see it. Boy is it a beauty.

The artist, Jean Dominique Van Caulaert (French 1877-1979) had a listing in Davensport of $9,000. While I don’t expect this one to do that well, at under $750 restored, I believe this is a treasure. In fact, I like it so much I was thinking it would make a great addition to my own collection. But, I’m not going to do that this time. I’ve got enough for now, so look for this soon in the 31 Gallery.

While I don’t recommend you go out looking for damaged pieces, it you find a real quality piece, it might make sense if it is discounted enough. You see, when the restoration increases the value of a piece, by perhaps 5 to 7 times, that’s when you step forward and get the repairs done.

The Frederick Morgan painting I wrote about in my book was a painting I had relined. I bought it for $16,000 and this restoration didn’t reduce its value, and it sold for $115,000. It would have been very easy to have walked away thinking it was no good because it had been “fooled with”. There are times you can be proud of the decisions you make and that was one of those decisions for me.

Usually, items should be left alone. I wouldn’t want to be looking for damaged pieces and get to be known as a dealer of repaired pieces. But if the discount is sufficient and the restored article will bring many times its cost plus repair, then jump on it.

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Condition of Antique/Collectible Items: Pricing, Repairing, Restoring

I have a rule I abide by whenever I evaluate an item for pricing. I base it on how close to mint condition it is. If it has some damage, then, I deduct the appropriate percentage of my purchase price for that damage. Here’s an example: If a piece is heavily damaged, I might deduct 90% of what its mint value would be to come up with my offer. If there is very little damage, the deduction might only be 50% of its mint value. I always buy based on the item’s present value – not what the value could be after it’s repaired. I have found that it’s best to let your buyer pay to have a piece repaired, if they choose to. If I’ve bought well, I will still make the profit I intended. Buy and sell as is, always.

Here’s an example of why this is important. Yesterday, Ann, one of our most active members e-mailed me very excited about a rug she purchased for $8 at a house sale. She told me she’d taken the rug to a dealer who told her the rug could sell for $8,000 if she had it repaired. He could repair it for her at a cost of $1,600.

While selling an $8 item for $8,000 might sound like an excellent scenario, I told her not to repair the rug, but instead, offer to consign the rug, "as is," to that dealer to sell, and when it’s sold, she’ll accept just $5,000 and the buyer can pay for repair if they want to. Sounds like a good deal, huh? The dealer didn’t take the offer.

Then, I told her to take it a couple of other merchants to see what they have to say about the rug. She went to two more merchants and discovered that even repaired, the rug wouldn’t bring anywhere near the $8,000 she was quoted. Is it any wonder the first dealer, who offered to do the repair for her, wouldn’t accept her consignment offer?

You must be on guard against these types of schemes. They get your money, and at that point they’ve got their profit and could give a hoot whether or not you can ever sell it at a profit or break even with it. Every business has unscrupulous people trying to pick your pockets, and the antique business has not been miraculously spared of them. Don’t let them do this to you. The 31 Club is your best insurance policy against these types of people.

Ann has learned that selling her item in its present condition will make her far more profit than if she had repaired it. She can now see that repairing it would’ve proved to be a big loser for her. If she is able to sell this rug for $1,500 or more, “as is,” it will prove to be a very wise use of $8.

Even with the disappointment of not making about $6,000 profit on this $8 investment, Ann can buy for me any day. Her great eye can spot those special items others miss, and I’m fairly certain she can haggle on price very well. With your increasing knowledge base and continual practice, you can do this, too.

Don’t Buy Based on What You Think it Can Be. Buy it For What It Is.

Read this Blog a second time, or as many times as it takes you to understand the principles in it. Understanding this will save you huge amounts of time, money and a gray hair or two.

Please send in your stories so we can all learn from them. Sharing these stories with others will prevent us from making a lot of mistakes. Being a member of the 31 Club can guide you to becoming one of the most informed people out there in the field.

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