If you are cleaning out your home or an estate, you may be discouraged by declining values for antiques. Yet auction houses and estate liquidation companies are busier than ever. Alongside antiques, shops are selling Art Deco furniture; and alongside fine art, art dealers are selling new generation artists.
The broadening of the antiques, art, and collectibles market means your estate could be worth a lot more than you figured.
Collectibles Market
The long-forgotten objects collecting dust over generations in your attic could have more value then the antiques you have earmarked for sale. A survey of antique and collectibles appraisers reveals values are being driven up in a number of markets. Collectors are paying for 1980s toys (Star Wars, Power Rangers), vintage musical instruments, and, of course, your legos. Nostalgic baby boomers want your sports memorabilia (jerseys, cards).
Auctions
As auction houses move online, they are attracting a younger generation of buyers with an interest in newer stuff. Items previously hard to sell or not in demand are finding a market. Demand is rising for the post-war, contemporary, and modern art paintings stacked behind your old trunks. The hand-woven blankets and quilts in the trunk are also in demand. Sotheby's and Christie's are reporting demand exceeding supply.
Private Dealers and Collectors
As online art sales take the place of showroom sales, more art buyers are seeking private sales. This more discretionary buyer is approaching auction houses in private dealers with very specific requests to complete their collections. They may be willing to pay twice the value of the general market for your object.
If you are not sure of the saleability of objects, the private market is a way to gauge interest without risking a devaluation if the piece does not sell at auction, or setting a price benchmark that undervalues sales of similar work.
If you have antiques and in-demand collectibles, estate liquidation services can get the highest value for your items. They will sell through any of the above networks, depending on where they can find the highest value.
They will draw on their expertise and networks to decide on the best channel, buyers, and timing of the sale. They may, for instance, wait to see how comparable objects are selling before consigning an object to an auction house. Or a private dealer may have a client offering the highest value.
As more buyers move online, the value of estates is growing alongside that of vintage objects and collectibles.
For more tips, reach out to an estate liquidation company near you.