What do I do with items that are not a fit for Case Antiques auctions?
Just because your items do not meet our criteria does not necessarily mean your items have no value in today’s market. This page will help you better understand what type of items we sell and our criteria as well as ways to sell your items that are not a fit for Case.
Click Here for examples of categories and items we’re seeking for our auctions.
Now that you have an idea of some of the types of items we auction, keep in mind we are seeking items with auction estimates of at least $400 per lot. Remember that a lot could consist of multiple, similar items. For example, a single silver goblet may not be worth $400 on its own, but a collection of six or more silver goblets would make a qualifying lot.
We don’t auction items outside of our knowledge base, items that are fake or tend to be frequently faked, items with very limited markets, or certain items that are under federal or state restrictions such as ivory or liquor.
What are some venues for selling my item(s)?
Options for selling items Case cannot take include hiring an estate sale company, working with a local retail consignment store or local auction houses, and selling items yourself via eBay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, NextDoor, as well as garage or yard sales. You can also try calling local antique stores to ask if they take items on consignment or know of people looking to buy what you have to sell.
To find an estate sale company in your area, visit EstateSales.net, choose “Hire a Company” and type in your city and state or your zip code.
A few venues where you can sell items directly are listed below.
eBay can be a good venue for items that are shippable. It can be used for larger items like furniture as well, but the audience is better for small, shippable items. Be sure to review eBay’s selling fees and account for shipping and handling costs since you will have to pack and ship your items when sold.
Click here for information on selling on eBay.
Many types of items can be sold on Craigslist and it’s free to use as long as you have an account. It is best used to communicate a potential sale then meet locally and exchange cash for the item in a public setting. Be sure to plan a visible, public meeting location that is not isolated. Parking lots that are monitored by cameras can often be good meeting locations.
Click here for information on selling on Craigslist.
Click here for some tips on using Craigslist (by ADT Security).
Click here for tips on avoiding Craigslist scams.
Lots of things can also be sold on Facebook Marketplace and it is also free to use as long as you have an account. It is used similar to Craigslist to communicate a potential sale then meet locally and exchange cash for the item in a public setting. Be sure to plan a visible, public meeting location that is not isolated. Parking lots that are monitored by cameras can often be good meeting locations. The security and scam avoiding tips posted above in the Craigslist section also apply to Facebook Marketplace.
Click here for information on selling on Facebook Marketplace.
Many types of items can also be sold on NextDoor Marketplace and it is also free to use as long as you have an account. It is used similar to Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace to communicate a potential sale then meet locally and exchange cash for the item in a public setting. The reach of NextDoor is usually your neighborhood and some adjoining neighborhoods typically around a 3-mile radius of your home. It is a pretty safe venue to use because the members are clearly identified by name and location in proximity to your home but it is still suggested that you plan a visible, public meeting location that is not isolated. Parking lots that are monitored by cameras can often be good meeting locations. The security and scam avoiding tips posted above in the Craigslist section also apply to NextDoor.
Click here for information on selling on NextDoor.
How can I find the right price to ask for my item(s)?
A few of the free databases that are available to look up current market prices include:
Liveauctioneers is a free site where you can look up selling prices of many kinds of art, antiques and jewelry from auction houses in the U.S. and several foreign countries. This is the world’s largest free database of auction selling prices and it is a tool used by many appraisers. To search past auction prices, you must first create a free account, then log in, search by keyword, then select “Price Results” (which is right beside the button that says “Upcoming.”) Be careful about which sold prices to use because there are several auction houses on the platform that may show prices outside the norm on certain items. Tip: Look for results from auction houses that are “Top-Rated” (which can be chosen as a selection in the search criteria after a general search is done). Remember: prices from 15 years ago may not be relevant to today’s market, so you can also sort the price results by “Time: Newest” to see prices of items sold most recently.
Free to sign up and use to look up selling prices of items in online Ebay auctions. This is typically a good venue for a variety of collectible items and decorative arts but not as reliable for investment quality antiques and fine art. To use it for sold price lookup – signup, login, search for an item, and on the left dialogue bar scroll down to the “Show Only” section and choose “Sold Items.”
Replacements Inc. is a site where folks can locate and purchase missing pieces from their sets of china, crystal, glassware, silver, stainless, and some collectibles. To use it for price lookup – go to the site and search browse through the categories to find a match for your items or do a search by keyword for your items. They will have retail prices for items available for purchase. Replacements may also buy your china, glass and flatware, but they generally offer far less money to buy items than the prices listed on their website.
Free to use for pricing lookup. This site is dedicated to mostly books and paper items. They maintain some sold history, but general searches will yield items currently for sale and the retail price. To use it for price lookup – go to the site and search for an item. You can use various filters to sort the data.
Free to use for sold pricing lookup. This site is dedicated to stamps. To use it for price lookup – go to the site and search for a stamp by year range they provide and then look for the stamp by image and they will have valuation information if it is in their database.