posted on November 7, 2000 07:22:40 AM new
I have a friend who has a very large collection of Precious Moments figurines that were given to her as gifts over the years. She has had them in storage, and really doesn't want to display them.
My question: how to you find a buyer for a collection like this? We have looked at the book values, and some are quite high, but I know that things like this often don't sell well. Is Ebay the place to sell this type of thing? I see a lot of Precious Moments listed,but the bidding seems spotty.
Or does someone know how to get this type of collection valued (I sell mainly clothes, books and trinkets...I really don't know the collectibles market at all).
posted on November 7, 2000 08:14:23 AM new
Ebay Might be your place to sell these things with out a doubt.
But forget about book prices you will rarely get book price for anything even on the street.
a book price for antiques and collectables is an average price some one that year had paid for a these Items at an auction of some type.
Genral rule would be to look at current and closed sales on ebay see what these items have and are selling for now.
look over your collection and think to your self if its worth more to you then the market is willing to pay right now.
if you decide you want to test your collection put it up on ebay at a fair starting bid with a reserve you would be willing to settle for or a bit higher see what type interest veiws and bids you get then if it dont sell next time it goes up decide if its worth it to you to sell if it is set the start bid at what you willing to sell for and remove the reserve .
posted on November 7, 2000 09:30:05 AM new
First rule-of-thumb: do not sell them as a collection. You'll realize more if you sell them individually.
I have some experience with PMs, and I really do think ebay is an excellent venue. Your other alternatives (classified ad, RL auction house, flea mkt., dealers) will net you less than ebay will in the long run, and take lots more time and effort.
posted on November 7, 2000 11:16:17 AM new
My experience with PM is they sell on e bay for much less than the actual book values. They just dont seem to have a lot of interest. You'll get bids but most I have had, regardless of value bring in very few dollars, most selling for less than 10.00. Once in awhile they bring 15.00 tops
posted on November 7, 2000 11:56:01 AM new
I've sold quite a few PM's on eBay..Did pretty well on them, especially around the holiday times (with piece that were holiday related, as well as those that were not)..The prices fetched there are typically higher than any "We Buy Precious Moments" folks would give ya.....
A few things to note: When researching book value, make sure to pay close attention to the "marks" on the bottom, which signify release date/year, & make sure that you include that information in your description.....Boxes & original papers are also important...If you have them make sure you note that in the description & also note if you do not!.....As mentioned above, piece by piece is the best way to go for highest profit.....
posted on November 7, 2000 12:58:23 PM newceilmary: I am in an almost identical situation. My friend's mother had a collection of over 100 PM figurines. Her mother has since passed away and her father is wanting to sell them. They created a spreadsheet for me with the book value, any marks, noted the very few that don't have the boxes, etc. I researched closed auctions on eBay for an "average" sales price and found it be (mostly) 30-40% of book value. Very few of even the more rare ones came close to book value.
While my friend's mother was still alive (but in a nursing home) someone offered her father $5,000 for the collection. They have since been contacted and no longer are interested. Unfortunately, he now thinks he can get $5,000 for the entire collection.
If he decides to let me sell them, and if he decides to list them individually, then I plan to try to sell them all in the same week. I will not know of his decision until after December 1st, so I doubt they will be on the block before the end of this year.
