4 antique poker chips

Are you trying to sell your antiques and need some help? There are so many mistakes people make, but I can help you avoid them. I hear and see these mistakes all the time at my events and during my in-home appraisal appointments. I have provided three don’ts below and will share more in upcoming posts. You can sell your antiques, just use these tips as a guide.

1. Don’t Plead Desperation

Monsters lunch box

You can’t command top dollar for your vintage lunch box if you sound desperate to sell your item. If you seem desperate, a buyer will think that any amount of money will be an acceptable offer. Thus, you will only get low offers. People call and email my office all the time and say things like “I am sick and have to sell all my stuff” or “I have to move next week and need everything out of my house.” You can’t do this. These sellers are just asking for someone to take advantage of them. Don’t tell potential buyers this information. Tell them about the actual item and how much you want for it.

2. Don’t Trust a Collector

Poker chips

Many committed collectors of casino items and poker chips are fine, nice, and upstanding people, but some flippers of antiques will present themselves as collectors in order to tug at your emotions. Their hope is to get you to reduce your price since they love your item. Remember, collectors and flippers will most likely know more about the market then you do. Read a true story as told to me about a flipper and an offer for a toy robot. They will try to use their knowledge to their advantage and play on your emotions. but a true collector will realize the value and pay current market prices. Why? Because they know if they don’t, they’ll lose your item to another true collector.

3. Don’t Expect Free

When selling your item, if you expect to not pay with money or your time, then you better reconsider what you are doing. Ask yourself, would you help out a complete stranger to help them sell their stuff and not charge a fee or commission? A low ball purchase offer is often another way you pay without even knowing it. Stay tuned, in future posts I’ll discuss what is a fair fee.

The best strategy is to know the value of your item before you sell. Contact me if you need help. When I evaluate items, I used actual sales records just like a real estate appraiser is required to do. Please share this post with others who are trying to sell their antiques and collectibles so they don’t get taken.