Rinker on Collectibles

RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #1724

Maximizing the Return When Selling a Collection of Antiques or Collectibles – Part IV

This is the fourth and final part of the four-part series on maximizing the return when selling a collection of antiques and collectibles. Part I dealt with the realities a collector must accept when it becomes time to sell his/her collection. Part II focused on the questions of when is the best time to sell from the collectors’ viewpoint, the process of making the decision to sell, and what steps need to be taken when collectors decide not to sell. Part III explored what happens once the decision to sell is made. Part IV concludes the series by examining sales considerations and the positives and negatives of various sale venues.

There is a season for everything. The best time to sell an antiques/collectibles collection(s), especially if utilizing the auction route, is during the months of January/February or September/October. These are the months in which buyer participation is at its highest. Kids are in school; vacation season is over. Most weddings have occurred; and holidays are minimal. Even better is that most potential buyers are not thinking about income taxes.

Determining the right market is easy. Examine past sales and note where sales of a collection(s) have been the strongest. This also is helpful in deciding which sale venues to use. Selling a collection(s) locally usually is the wrong answer. The collection(s) needs to be taken to a location where the largest number of potential buyers are likely to be found.

Digital age sellers will argue that sale location is no longer relevant thanks to online bidding platforms. Do not believe this. Location remains an extremely relevant consideration. Location, location, location is more than a real estate cliché. It applies to the sale of an antiques and collectibles collection(s) as well.

A single sale approach is an invitation to disaster. Collection(s) dispersal works best when multiple sale sources are used. The best market is often determined by objects in the collection(s) and not the collection(s) as a whole.

Consider the following sale truisms. First, the more time collectors are willing to spend in the effort to create and implement a viable disposal plan, the greater the dollar return will be to the collector. Time is not endless. Collectors need to be acutely aware that there is a time when continuing efforts are counterproductive.

Second, collectors need to understand the hidden costs of sale—time, supplies, insurance, and transportation. Sales commissions are only the beginning. The scale needs to be balanced between the desired amount hoped from the sale against the time and costs to receive that amount.

Third, the longer it takes to sell a collection(s), the more painful the selling process becomes. The agony of defeat is nothing compare to the prolonged agony of selling a collection(s). The loss of a collection(s) is equivalent to the loss of a human life. Once it is gone, nothing can be done about getting it back.

The primary sale venues are private sale, collectors club conventions, auction, private treaty sale, estate sale, or a personal digital auction. Each sale venue has its pluses and minuses. The right sale venues are those that work best for the owner of the collection(s). Make a choice and move forward. Second guessing only delays the sale process.

It is almost impossible to sell an entire collection privately in the 21st century. Historically, collectors added up the appraisal value of their objects and added a 25 to 50 percent premium to represent the time spent assembling the collection(s). Today, a buyer of a collection expects to receive a 30 to 40 percent discount from the appraised price for buying everything.

When selling privately, the biggest problem is cherry picking, that is to say, selling the best pieces in the collection(s). The sale of each ultimate unit (masterpiece) and/or upper echelon piece reduces the overall value of the remaining items in the collection(s) by a greater percentage than the cost of the piece against the collection(s)’s value as a whole.

Selling privately also is a quick way to make enemies. No matter how carefully collectors select a buying order (who will have the first choice, the second, and so forth), someone’s nose will be out of joint.

Just like there are no friends at an auction, collectors selling their collection(s) privately should put friendship aside and create opportunities for buyers with the biggest pocketbooks and willing desire to spend.

When selling privately, always insist on cash. Never let any buyer remove anything from the collection(s) until any payment method clears. Reject all “I will take it on consignment and pay for it when I sell it” offers. Cash on the barrelhead or no sale is the hard and fast rule.

If there is a strong collectors’ club that holds an annual convention that includes an auction associated with the category of the collection(s), this should be considered. The drawbacks are such auctions are only open to attendees and not the general public and attendees mostly like have the common, above average, and hard to find pieces, thus making them tough sells in this venue.

If using an auctioneer, collectors should select one that specializes in the sale of the objects found in the collection(s). Specialist auctioneers have the ability to properly group and describe lots and individual pieces. They create appealing print and/or online catalogs. They also have a strong cadre of established buyers, often international, and are experienced online sellers.

Every collector dreams of a single owner sale. These are becoming less and less common. Selling is not a time to allow ego to influence decisions.

Specialized auctioneers are becoming more selective in what they take. They do not want to be bothered selling the common, above age, and even hard to find pieces. This is not necessarily a negative position. Listen closely to the specialized auctioneer’s sales pitch.

No auctioneer, generalist or specialist is going to sell objects one a time. Most now adhered to price minimums for an object or lot. Larger auctions houses have minimums in excess of $5,000.00 per object or lot. Regional auction house minimums range from $300.00 to $600.00 per object or lot. These minimums are hammer prices.

Avoid setting reserves. Once a decision is made to sell a collection, let the market determine value. A decision to sell is a decision to let go. Nothing is worse than having a piece returned with an “it did not sell” reputation.

Collectors should not to attend the auction of their collection(s). The temptation to buy back pieces that are selling below what the collector feels is a fair price is hard to resist. Let the focus be on the objects and not the evident painful remorse of the seller’s body language.

Private treaty sale is a new tool offered by many auction houses. A private treaty sale is when an auction house acts as an intermediary between a seller and a buyer client. Such sales usually are single object focused, but some collections have been sold in this manner.

If the collection does not contain ultimate units (masterpieces) or upper echelon objects, an estate sale is worth investigating. Today’s sale commissions are 40 to 50 percent of the selling price. Estate sales are great if a quick turnaround is needed. They are more attractive to executors and heirs than to living collectors.

There is new auction software that allows individuals to create and manage their own online auction. Although still in its infancy in respect to use, this is an avenue worth exploring. It is a viable alternative to setting up an online storefront to sell a collection(s). The storefront alternative is attractive only to individuals who want to sell a collection(s) as a gateway into becoming an antiques/collectibles dealer. Simple advice—do not even think about this.

At this point, I strongly recommend avoiding online auction services that offer to come to a house, photograph everything, and sell it online and online storefront sellers that offer to sell material on eBay or another online selling sources. The listing skill set and market knowledge of individuals involved is deeply lacking in terms of object recognition, authentication, and description. These approaches work for recyclables, not for antiques and collectibles.

In summary, selling a collection(s) successfully is time consuming and work. If collectors do not have antiques and collectibles secondary market selling knowledge, they should hire a person who does to advise them. Sale vendors are not objective. They believe their venue is the best route. Sometimes it is, often it is not. Finally, maximizing the sale of a collection requires sending objects to multiple sale venues and the careful selection of what goes where are the results of a well thought out collection dispersal plan. Money is lost without one.

[Author’s Aside: I am anxious to know my readers’ reactions to what I have written in this four-part series. Email your comments to harrylrinker@aol.com or mail them to me at Rinker on Collectibles, 5955 Mill Point Court, SE, Kentwood, MI 49512.]

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Selected letters will be answered in this column. Harry cannot provide personal answers. Photos and other material submitted cannot be returned. Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 5955 Mill Point Court SE, Kentwood, MI 49512. You also can e-mail your questions to harrylrinker@aol.com. Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered.

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