You may need money and do not want to follow a tight budget to save it. Then selling your ancestors’ antique items that are not adding any value in your life could be the best option. But the main question is: Whom should you sell? And at how much price?

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This article will guide you properly about antique items, how you can identify them, where you can sell them and a lot more. So without wasting time, let us now begin.

What are antique items?

Antiques simply mean rare items that have some historical significance. But that is not enough to sell it at a higher price. You may have a lot of rare old things with some history in your house, but no one will buy them if it’s in terrible condition. I think you got the point. So you should consider some essential criteria which are mentioned below before scrutinizing antique items for sale:

#1 Rarity and historical significance

Some people think old things are rare, but it’s not. An item is called to be rare if it is present in very few numbers.  So logically, an item made in the 1950s could be rarer than an item produced in the 1850s. Being rare does not mean antique; it should have a tremendous historical significance.

Now the question is, how can you know whether an item is antique or not. There are two methods to do it. The first one is straightforward, scan the thing with Google Lens, and you will get its details. The second one is to take the help of an expert. You can go to a museum if you do not want to spend a lot of money, but I do not recommend it because if the item is an antique, then most of the time, museum owners will request you to donate it to them and at that time it becomes challenging to deny them.

#2 Condition

The item should be in good condition; otherwise, the collector will not buy it at a low price. If an antique is in bad shape, you may donate it to a museum instead of selling it.

#3 Demand

The item should have a demand in the market. There must be someone to buy it; otherwise, it has no value.

If any item in your house follows these characteristics, you can earn a lot by selling it.

What are some common types of antique items?

If you find it challenging to identify, then you should look at the most common type of antique items found in a home which are:

#1 Watches

Watches were used widely in the previous centuries, and their form is changing with time. Earlier, people used pocket watches to know time. Some pocket watches are scarce, and their value goes in millions of dollars. The most expensive antique pocket watch is Patek Philippe Henry graves Super complication, sold in an auction for about $ 23.98 Million.

Source- Wikipedia

#2 Furniture

 

You might not know that the old furniture getting dust in your storeroom can make you rich. Collectors are very interested in buying furniture from the 19th and 20th centuries and can pay anything for that. The most expensive piece of furniture is the Badminton Cabinet sold for $36.7 Million.

Source- Money Inc

#3 Coins and stamps

 

Coins and stamps are currently one of the most collectible items globally. Some collectors can pay the asking price for some cash or stamps no matter how much it is.

Storerooms and your grandparents’ drawers are places where you can find rare and antique coins or stamps. If your grandfather was an antique coins collector and you discovered his collection, then believe you got an extremely rare treasure chest that can make you a millionaire in one night.

The most expensive antique coin is the 1794/5 Flowing Hair Silver/Copper Dollar, as some collectors believe it is the first-ever silver coin issued by the U.S government. Its value is estimated at $10 Million.

Source – Wealthy Gorilla

#4 Cards

People who are interested in sports like to collect baseball and basketball cards. If your grandpa was a baseball or basketball fan, then you should check his drawer because antique baseball cards can give you thousands of dollars.

The most expensive baseball card was Honus Wagner, issued in 1909. It was sold in an auction for $3 million. Its value is too much because it is one of the first baseball cards ever issued.

Source- Wealthy Gorilla

How to know the value of antiques?

There are many ways of finding the value of antiques. The most common and most easy way is market analysis. It is highly likely that some other people have the same antique and want to sell it. So research the internet and try to find how much people are getting by selling that antique.

The other and the most reliable method is expert advice. This time you need to pay an expert to tell its value because museum experts never say the value of any antique item.

The last method is public opinion. Simply post about this product on Facebook or telegram groups related to antique items and ask them, “If they are the owner of that antique then how much will they charge for it or why?”

In this way, you can take general advice for free, and the answer with the most relevant facts can give you the correct estimate of its price. Suppose you want to know more about the valuation of antique items. In that case, you should read Antique Trader Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide, an excellent book for the valuation of antique items.

Places that buy antique items

After valuing the antiques, now comes the main question “ Where should you sell those antique items?”. Without making much suspense, places in which you can sell antique items are as under:

#1 Antique pawn shops

Pawnshops are the best place to buy and sell antique items in the United States. A famous TV series, Pawn Stars, was also released on History TV 18. You can quickly sell your antiques to a nearby pawn shop at some margin.

If the product is easy to sell, they just take a 15-20% margin, but their margins can go up to 30-40% or even high if the product is tough to sell. In the latter cases, I do not recommend you to sell the antique in a pawn shop. But apart from that, it is the best and reliable place for selling antique items.

#2 Auctions

If the item is tough to sell or has very little value, you should consider selling it in an auction because it is tough to predict how much you will get.

Another reason for not choosing the auction is their commission. Almost in every auction, you need to pay a 15-20% commission on the selling price, eventually reducing your net income.

#3 Facebook and other social media

If you have a good number of followers on social media, you can quickly sell anything at a reasonable and actual price. Simply post your product on social media, and some of your followers will approach you for buying it.

#4 Garage sale (Not recommended)

If you want to sell antique items quickly at any price, then a Garage sale is the best for you. As the name suggests, you sell all the things you don’t need in garage sales. Generally, people don’t pay high prices for any item in this sale. That’s why I do not recommend antique items in the garage sale.

#5 Experts

You will go to experts to get the price and the history of the antiques then why not try to sell them to him? Most experts are generally collectors of antiques and pay a reasonable price for them. In this way, you can also save your precious time and don’t need to find a new buyer and negotiate it for the price.

How to negotiate for the price?

Negotiation is an essential skill if you want to sell any item at a higher price, especially antiques. First of all, do proper research and, at the time of negotiating, repeatedly mention the history and age of your item; it impacts the mind of the buyer, which eventually makes him pay a higher price.

For example :

Suppose you have a painting of Picasso and want to sell it, which he made in 1898. In 1898, Picasso was just 17, which means he was in his learning and struggling days, and we all know, a lot of patience and hard work is needed to complete the learning period.

Now at the time of selling, you can emphasize that ‘ Picasso made it in his learning time, which means he spends a lot of time and effort to make that piece of art.

Believe me; this technique will work and lead you to a higher earning. There are many other negotiating strategies, and it is not a one-time task to learn them, you should spend time learning them because it helps to save money in day-to-day life.

I recommend you read “The Art of Negotiation: How to get what you want” written by Tim castle to learn Negotiation skills.

That all for today. If you have any questions then do ask me in the comment section. Till then Good Bye and as always God Bless You All.

 

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