Don't get the wrong idea - we VERY RARELY take china sets on consignment as not many people enjoy formal dining these days and the cost and effort to pack and ship it cuts in to the value. In this case, we got the set as part of an estate we purchased and being as high-end as it was I made the effort.
We've talked about vintage and nostalgic technology having value... a Bat Phone like this is always in demand!
This was a cool old pottery piece that sold for less than what it might have ten years ago - still not a bad sale
At first we thought this was a fancy urn for the ashes of someones beloved dog.... haha it's actually a wine cooler with a lid - there is a buyer for almost everything!
This was such an amazing old piece but it took six months to find a buyer. The first day I posted it, someone offered me $3000 but I turned it down thinking I could get more. It just goes to show you your first offer is usually the best you'll get. At least it found a good home.
All is fair in love and war! Artwork can be hit or miss but usually a good original with good subject matter will have at least some value. This is the type of piece I had to pick a price and see if anyone bid. And I did get exactly one bid. While we know that certain types of items don't sell for much at auction, I sometimes wonder if a piece like this might have exploded at a high-end art auction. The problem is, said high-end auctioneer probably wouldn't have taken it...
Old items pertaining to war and conflict usually sell well - as sad as war is, it is how much of our history is defined and pieces like this will always be collectible
It makes me sooooo happy when old furniture sells for a fair price. But just to tell you the big picture - this piece might have appraised for $1,500 and I had to sit on it for OVER A YEAR just to get $350! Sadly, the people who appreciate pieces like this are fewer than ever these days.
Really nice fancy stuff always sells for a good price and this piece held 70% of it's original value which is way better than most items. I luuuuuv people who save the original boxes. Seriously, if you buy something high-end, save the box as one day your kids are probably going to want to sell it.
We see old things like this all the time. This particular piece was a cut above in condition and quality but at the end of the day, who wants it? The owner suspected it was worth as much as $2,000 but it took us several months to get the 400 we did - which another dealer affirmed me was a GREAT price in this tough economy we all live in.
'With Life-Like Hair and Beard' - lol cracks me up - older toys are always winners
Some older items just have a real quality look to them. Many older tea pots and metalware items in general have limited value unless they are pure silver or look really fancy...
Here is another example of 'mid century' items selling well. I felt $75 was a fair price for this small 2x4 rug and the buyer paid another $60 to ship it to France! Some dealers are asking outrageous prices for vintage decor like this but that doesn't mean they're actually getting them.
Old coin banks can have serious value
People sure do buy the silliest things but I guess if it makes you happy, why not. I'm showing off this piece A) because it's ridiculous and B) the buyer was in Japan and not only paid $40 for the item but paid ANOTHER $40 to have it shipped. Go figure
You may have seen similar topography markers in the ground at one point. Obscure as they are, there was a collector who wanted them and paid a handsome price. You may notice the Federal warning about tampering and while these were legally obtained they are not readily available which made for a quick sale to a happy buyer.
Here is yet another unusual lamp that we found a new home for...
This game was essentially a simple take off version on the more complicated Dungeons & Dragons type fantasy games. The fact that it had never been opened made it worth about three times that of a used copy!
This was a really rare piece of Maryland history honoring a Civil War Confederate veteran after the war c1881. In any war much less a civil war, there is rarely much consideration for the loosing side so even a certificate such as this was a noteworthy honor. Within reason, you can almost name your price for pieces like this and since I couldn't find a single comparable sale, I basically had to guess where to price it. I'm a little sad to say it's leaving Maryland and on it's way to Texas. Oh well - at least it found a good home.
Pieces like this can be really hard to sell and in order to get a good price for unusual items, we sometimes have to wait months for the right buyer to come along. In this case, the buyer was in India. With Americans loosing interest in many types of collectibles, we see 20-25% of our online items sold going overseas.
This piece was essentially promo swag from 100 years ago, a miniature sample from a company that made boat anchors that the sales person would have left behind. The respectable value was based on the fact that only a shipyard manager would have gotten something like this and as we already know, transportation memorabilia is hot these days and collectors want things that are uncommon.
On our last downsizing mission, we found not one but two never-opened VCR machines that had been in someone's closet for over 20 years. While VHS is no longer being made, many people still have hundreds of great movies and they can be bought for next to nothing so many people still watch them. There were a few companies that used to make the DVD/VHS combo players but I think they stopped - so these were a great find which made for quick sales!
There was nothing particularly special about this figure such as an artist signature or anything like that. It was just a neat piece with a cool look and it caught the eye of several people who drove the price up on our eBay auction with no rhyme or reason.
I found these plastic figures in a house full of junk and I recognized they were made by Breyer who is known for making horses. Other animals are fairly rare which made for a nice sale and they found a new home where they were most wanted!
We seem to be hitting the lower value items this week but I wanted to post this to share a few points. Vinyl has always been collectible but from the mid 1990's through the 2000's the market was dead. Enough time has passed that a new generation of record enthusiasts have sprung up and started collecting again. Most LPs are still a dime a dozen but good titles in good condition can have some value. This piece was still sealed in factory shrink wrap and was essentially new - and yet it was still only worth $30.