posted on April 21, 2001 07:29:23 PM new
Went to auction today and purchased 11 pieces of amber coin glass and 19 pieces of cape cod. After researching on eBay, looks like I can break even. My question would it be worth my while to list separately or list them all together with a reserve, in the respective catorgories of course. What would you do? Thank you for your input.
posted on April 21, 2001 11:04:04 PM new
I think I would be tempted to list them either separately, or in small groups. I know it is more work and fees that way, but the thought of having to ship one large lot of glass would make me cringe.
posted on April 21, 2001 11:12:46 PM new
I would list separately. My thought is if someone wants it all, they can bid on each piece. But if I were looking for a replacement piece or to add an item I would NOT pay the price for the whole thing. So on some pieces you may have more bidders wanting it and increasing the price. I would sell maybe a cup and saucer together but a sugar and creamer get separated.
My post may appear negative to you, but please read it as intentions are good.
"Went to auction today and purchased 11 pieces of amber coin glass and 19 pieces of cape cod..."
Amber glass, with a few exceptions, is not desirable. The masses don't like amber glass!
"Cape Cod" is not the favorite child of Imperial Glass. I suspect you purchased crystal colored items? Colored Cape Cod sells well.
SO MANY BIDDERS AT LOCAL BRICK AND MORTAR auctions are bidding blindly with hopes to make BIG bucks on ebaY. You guys are making the auctioneers so HAPPY! But when you list the stuff on ebaY, you either loose money or are stuck with it. Soooooooo reasearch reasearch..........................................REASEARCH..............................REASEARCH.................BUY BOOKS.........................CHECK PRICES IN LOCAL SHOPS......................BUY BOOKS....................CHECK PRICES ON EBAY...............ASK A LOCAL DEALER...................BUY BOOKS..................REASEARCH. Please?
It may hurt your pride, but shoot for breaking even if you have to. Get your money back and invest it in something you can make money on.
It's just a minor setback, something we all do, or have done. Probably even Morgantown.
About those antique guide books. I use them less and less as time goes on because they aren't accurate on prices, in my opinion. They are good for general information and will give a good idea if something is rare, particularly desirable, etc. But don't depend on the prices listed. The real world price will almost always be lower than what a book says, sometimes higher.
posted on April 22, 2001 06:09:09 AM new
loosecannon
I totally agree about "collector books." Many have been written by major collectors, who have jacked up values in their books, and based on their own evaluations, have soon after publication of their book, sold off their whole collections. Of course that is a smart move if you can get away with it.
Prior to the Internet, Books might have been some use, but since they are outdated before they are published, and certainly before you can acquire them, they are of little use in today's market.
The value of an item is what the market will bear, nothing more and nothing less.
I suppose this is one of my favorite quotes, by the world renown antique sewing machine authority Graham Forsdyke:
[b] "I consider price
guides in the
same way as I do
modern art.
Produced by the
totally uninformed,
marketed by the
totally unscrupulous,
for the consumption
of the totally gullible."
~Graham Forsdyke~ [/b]
Studying the auctions on eBay, and other sites will give you a much better idea of the COLLECTIBLITY of standard items than any collector's book.
The internet changed everything. Prior to the influx of the WWW, there were a multitude of extremely, highly collectible items, because no one actually knew how many more of these unique pieces existed, AND because of the lack on world wide communications (like the WWW), it was hard to locate them.
I recall the McCoy "Bobby Baker," cookie jar was going for well over $125, when I first came on eBay in 1996 - now, over the years, folks have discovered there are many in circulation, they are easy to obtain via on line auctions, and the value (regardless of what the books say) has dropped and you can easily pick one up on eBay for $25 to $30! The internet made the difference.
Remember, it is worth no more than someone else is willing to pay, and base your procuring on that and not what some outdated book may say.
posted on April 22, 2001 06:24:54 AM new
I'm sitting on a pair of US Army helmets right now, that I am loathe to list because I'll probably take a loss on them.
Maybe I will list them today and just get it over with. Sometimes you have to take a lump or two in the course of things. Forever learning and making a mistake or two or three, but hopefully not the same mistakes over and over.
I agree that the Internet has changed everything. I got started on ebay late (Feb 99), and I have a feeling most of the better stuff I sold out of that antique mall I was in probably sold to ebay sellers. Back then they were probably making a killing on stuff that I sold too cheap!
posted on April 22, 2001 06:28:12 AM new
Its a lot more effort, but you should do better listing the pieces individually or two at a time. In every glass pattern, there's a few pieces that were made in smaller quantities that are consequently worth considerably more. Or as was previously mentioned, collectors like the opportunity to complete a set of something. When I buy sets of glasses, I never auction them as a complete set, but in pairs. They always do better "per piece" than selling them in a large lot.
