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.
So far this year, we have had very few big ticket sales. Much of our bread and butter consists of items under $100 like these never-opened cassette tapes. Some people hate change and swear by their old technology so it was no surprise that these sold within minutes of me posting them. Most people would have thrown them away thinking they were obsolete but here at Curiosity Consignment, we know better.
These old engraving prints were family crests from French royalty and nobility circa c1633 under Louis 13th. They were printed from a work assembled by Claude Maneney in the mid to late 1700's. For being 200 years old, $85 was not an impressive sale and when you consider the fact that we had to sit on them for months before finding a buyer on eBay, what were they really worth? A lot of items only have value because we had the patence to sell them.
My friend and part time associate Gerardo surprised me when he suggested we try sell these old credit cards on eBay which I was about to throw in the trash. Sure enough, in less than 24 hours someone not only bought them, but paid an additional $15 to ship them to SPAIN. Seriously, my mind was blown and we made $30 that would have ended up in the trash if it were up to me.
This tiny little trinket was actually one of the first 'credit cards' for buying gas with an account number stamped on it. Gas, oil, and transportation related items are highly collectible now and while a $17 sale was barely worth the effort of posting it, it would have been overlooked and thrown out by most people, so $17 was better than nothing. The interesting part of the story is that they buyer was in Germany and paid another $15 just to have it shipped overseas. Here at Curiosity Consignment, we get items to where they are most wanted!
A local consignor brought in this old bottle among others a few weeks ago. After doing some research, we didn't really find out much about it other than it was about 100 years old from a defunct springhouse one state over. Old bottles are pretty collectible and we figured it had enough potential to post for auction on eBay. A few days later, a man called the store and told the story of how he grew up on the very farm where this bottle was produced and offered a very fair price to buy it. Another success story of putting things where they are most wanted.
We generally don't handle media as the re-sale value is too low but I'm not opposed to taking box sets or outright buying large collections. I can certainly pay a little more than a pawn shop. And yes, we are living the Sanford and Son dream :)
Old movie, theater, or music ephemera with great artwork will usually have some value. Programs like this from nearly 100 years ago are fairly scarce as they were never really meant to be saved which is the definition of ephemera.
200 year old scientiffic instruments always have serious value. This would have been worth $1000 but sadly it took a slight jolt which cracked the glass tube and all the mercury leaked out - I had to let it drain into a can and there I was staring at a silver puddle of liquid death, fuming mad at myself because I really had been careful with it. Fortunately this was something I owned and not a consignment piece but in the event it had been I would have certainly fessed up to the damage and worked it out with the owner.
Movie, music, and TV star memorabilia are always good sellers. Thanks to cable, even the younger generation can get into the best shows of the past and keep the memory alive.
Considering these holders was less than $100 in silver metal value, I'd say this was a home-run sale. The buyer was in Thailand of all places - foreign bidders can really drive up the prices of some old items
More interesting old lighting that sold for a nice price.....
I wasn't shocked, but I was a little surprised that this set went for so much. We can't seem to give away traditional fine china but some retro looking sets and pieces like these are in high demand!
Everyone knows I like to share all the unusual lighting we find and sell, so here is another...
Precious metals and retro style make for an excellent sale price - yet another local item on it's way to another country.
This gorgeous coat wasn't even old and musty, it was only about 20 years old in perfect condition and the owner paid $3,500 for it! We've learned that the current generation just doesn't see luxury in dead animals so we were lucky to get the couple hundred dollars for it we did.
Prior to using our service, the consignor of this item was contemplating having an in-home estate sale to downsize her items. Pieces like this vase are often overlooked and underpriced at such sales as most people wouldn't recognize that it originally retailed for $2,000 or more and could have sold for next to nothing. While most contemporary made items will never sell for what they retailed for, we almost always get more for nice items than what a local auction or estate sale would.
Pieces like this can cost over $1000 new retail - we did pretty well getting 500 for it second hand. Note that when you buy expensive items, saving the original box and packaging adds to the resale value if you plan to sell something down the road!
This globe wasn't old or anything but it originally retailed for around $500 or more and was really nicely made with semiprecious stones .... it was definitely a nice item worth buying second hand
These glasses are over 100 years old and while they have some collectible value, they are also made with 10% gold and some of the bidders on this lot were just looking to melt them down for profit.
This toy was comparable to Tickle me Elmo following his big success in 1996. We found it new in the box and I posted it for sale but I didn't have much hope that anyone would want it but a few weeks later - SOLD.... this time of year people are buying all kinds of stuff - so clean out your re-gift closet and let us find a buyer for your things!
Disney-anything always sells well - the older the better. A friend once told me he had a chance to purchase an original sketch by Walt Disney himself (Walt was NOT an artist by any means) but he passed it up to sleep on it and it was gone the next day. When buying OR selling, your first offer is usually your best and you need to jump on things quick. Sometimes you lose a few bucks but imagine what a big score that could have been if it really was legit!
I'm posting this just to say that it's a sad shame people need to buy software from nearly 15 years ago as the companies' current software sucks so much - and has always sucked in general. The buyer wasn't even in another country... well I guess Texas MIGHT be another country someday but probably not in the next four years Booyah
We've mentioned the value of transportation related items before but with this piece I just wanted to mention that it sold in less than 24 hours for $20 more than the highest comp I could find. With some items that are less common, you can almost name your own price and that experience is what we offer when handling your things on consignment.