Evaluating and Selling Your Collection

When Bill Anderson of Rancho Santa Fe rediscovered a collection of Morgan Silver dollars, he didn’t know what to do with them. Bill had purchased the coins from a friend while traveling through Italy in the 1960’s. Forty years later, when he pulled them out of storage, they looked even more battered than he remembered. “Who would want to collect beat-up coins like these?”

According to David Maloney, author of Maloney’s Guide to Antiques and Collectibles, “Just about everything is collectible except for yesterday’s newspaper and...ninety-eight percent of Americans don’t know what they have when it comes to appreciable property.”

So, if you think you might want cash for your antique or collectible you’ll need to do two things: first, gain an understanding of what you have; and second, go about selling it. But before we delve into that, ask yourself the question: are you sure you want to sell your treasure? Bill Anderson was.

However, every situation is different. You may want to consider passing items of family significance onto your heirs. Even if you think your kids may not appreciate the item today, they may feel very differently 20 or 30 years from now. Alternatively, if the item is related to San Diego history, you may also want to consider donating it to the San Diego Historical Society. The Society only accepts certain items, but they care for them forever. You can reach the Society at 619-232-6203 or at www.SanDiegoHistory.org.

Okay, so you still want to sell. Your first step is to understand what you have. If you’re starting with a large variety of items, Mr. Maloney recommends getting a qualified appraiser to do a “walk around”. The appraiser literally walks around your home and gives you a quick opinion of what looks especially interesting as well as a value range for each item.

You can obtain a referral for a qualified appraiser by calling the International Society of Appraisers at 888-472-4732.

Appraisers run $75 to $150 an hour. So, the more preparation you can do in advance the better. Bring boxes down from the attic. List all of the items that you want the appraiser to look at and take notes as the appraiser goes about her work.

You can also hire an appraiser to do a certified written appraisal. Certified appraisals are costly and are generally only used for insurance, accounting or estate purposes. You don’t need one to sell your collection.

Another way to get an idea on the value of an item is to do a quick search on eBay – the dominant online auction site. That’s what Bill Anderson did. He went to www.eBay.com and did a search using the key words “Morgan Silver Dollar”. To his pleasant surprise, he found over 10,000 live or recently closed auctions for Morgan Silver Dollars. In fact, eBay had a whole category dedicated to the sale of these coins. Next, he browsed through pictures of coins that looked a lot like his – they were going for $6 to $14 per coin – and he had hundreds of them!

For a more explanatory appraisal of an individual item, you can also try www.AskTheAppraiser.com. For $19.95, this service will give you an appraisal over the Internet. However, you’ll need to be able take and upload digital photos to their site.

So, now that you’ve gotten an idea of what your collection might be worth, you’re ready to sell. If you have a large assortment of items, you might consider a local auctioneer or dealer. Pick an auctioneer that has a good mailing list, Internet presence, and reputation. The auctioneer should be adept at advertising in antique and collectible trade publications in and around San Diego.

Another option is to call a dealer from the yellow pages. Remember, dealers have to make a living. Their mantra is “buy low and sell high”. When Bill Anderson called a San Diego coin dealer, the dealer offered to take the whole lot off of his hands for $5 a coin. Very tempting.

eBay is another great selling option. eBay has 125 million registered users. Over $450 million worth of merchandise is sold on eBay every week and at this very moment there are over 25 million items listed on their site.

eBay offers a much larger market of potential buyers than available locally. Often times, this can translate into higher yields – especially for collectibles. However, this requires time and skill to photograph, list, process payment and ship your items. The San Diego Community College District offers eBay classes free of charge. For more information see www.sandiegocet.net or call (619) 388-4831.

eBay charges a small listing fee and a 1 to 3 percent commission on the final sales price. See eBay.com for more information.

Bill Anderson took a class on eBay selling and sold a few coins on his own. However, with hundreds of coins, he found he really didn’t have the time to deal with it all.

Ultimately, Bill chose to consign to an eBay middleman company – a great option for those that don’t have the time or expertise to sell on eBay. These companies are expert eBay sellers and use their online reputations and experience to get 10 to 30 percent higher yields vs. novice sellers. Consignment comes at a price of course, usually about 35 percent. Consignment yielded Bill an average of $9.63 per coin with no work or hassle to him.

One such company, San Diego-based AuctionHandoff offers free appraisals and pick-ups in San Diego County. For more information, visit www.AuctionHandoff.com or call 1-866-426-3633.

The good thing about working with an auctioneer or eBay consignment company is that they work on commission. The higher the final sales price, the more they earn. Your interests are aligned. Also, you know when the items are going to be sold and you know the fees.

Lastly, if you want to sell, sell. Try not to constrain your auctioneer or eBay consignment company by putting unrealistic reserves on your items. Enjoy the process, have fun, and good luck!