Featured Completely lost

My father was a collector of everything. Furniture, jewelry, tools, equipment, art, musical instruments, honestly everything. He spent his life collecting items and he just couldn't let an item go to waste. He passed away earlier this year and my mother, sister and myself just don't know what to do with the warehouse worth of items. We have to sell the vast majority of items, but we really don't know where to begin in terms of their value and what to price them. An uncle had an antique shop contact us to take a look at some and see if they would like to buy, but I worry that my mother will not get a fair price. I was hoping that maybe there are some folks here that might be able to identify and suggest what items might be and what their value might be. Thank you in advance for any help you may be able to provide.

 

First of all, welcome to the site and sorry for your loss.
You may find that the greater values may be found in the jewelry, art, tools and musical instruments. Maybe you could post photos of those items, there are several experts here that may be able to assist with advice in those fields.
Quite frankly, and I say this in the kindest way possible, the furniture items you have shown fall into the second-hand furniture category, rather than antique.
I understand your reluctance to deal with a relative, sometimes it's better to call in an impartial person such as an auctioneer, that could save time and the cost of warehousing a large collection.

 

First off, I'm sorry for your loss !!

Now to be blunt & honest.
Unless you have items of considerable value & are willing to sell them to end users, you will not get a fair price .
What you could expect is a fair market value, depending on where and when and what you have to sell.
We don't know where you are or what you have.....BUT....if you are willing and capable of taking clear photo's of items you think may be worth selling, we will try to tell you what you have and point you in a direction to find values for those items.
Many of the items you've mentioned will be easy for us to comment on.....some will be harder to ferret out.
If you are not currently selling online...... auction houses, antique dealers, Galleries & even and Estate sale are venues open to you.
For larger items of reasonable value .... local online sales ....where folks come to pick up the items , may work for you.

The furniture you have shown so far...are of very little value.

 

Thank you Sandra and Komokwa for both your condolences and honesty about the items.
I will get together with my mother and take pictures of some of the other items. The jewelry and instruments are less of a priority to sell right now as they have a space, but the furniture and other items have to go as she is cleaning up and selling the property where they are being kept. There are miscellaneous items such as live edge wood and a lot
of California redwood as well, raw and finished pieces including tables and clocks. (I'll post a picture of a couple finished pieces)
As for the jewelry, there are some Rolex and Omega watches, rings. The instruments are mainly guitars and we do know that many are collector items and worth a great deal. Are there experts here that know their instruments?

 

Welcome to the forums!

Unfortunately there is currently a very soft market for antique furniture, china, glassware, and many other items these days since the baby boomers are downsizing and it has flooded the market and there are not many people buying. One of the auction houses in my area sets a lot of lower priced furniture on the curb and hopes that the craigslist "free" category watchers haul it away before he has to put in the dumpster. Lots of furniture won't bring his $5 opening bid.

 

There are a number of people here with knowledge of guitars and other instruments.
(When posting photos, please always select the option for "full size images.")

 

The watches could be quite valuable if they are genuine.

 

Great post, Komo! Really sums up the circumstances well. Thanks!

 

Having just gone through a similar experience, maybe I can give my 2 cents. My mother collected everything from soup to nuts, and thought she was doing us a big favor by taking photo of nearly everything with what it was, where & when she acquired it, right down to the taxes paid. For real. Now in some sense that info can be helpful, but things have changed greatly since when she was a big-time collector. Most things have gone down in value, primarily because the current generation of 30+ has little interest in these vast collections.

I spent about 6 months weeding through things. Then make a decision about whether you want to privately sell (Marketplace, ebay, private individual) the better stuff. Make sure you use the "sold" option in the advanced search in ebay. It can find if your items or something similar was listed and what is sold for when.

You can also entertain the thought of an estate/moving/downsizing sale. Our professional decided to have a 2-day sale and a 3rd day "auction" for whatever was left. We wanted it all gone. Few people for the auction as the "good stuff" was gone, so it turned into a more "stuff your bag" sale on day 3. I did a combo of online and private moving sale.

A few last points: If you go through a professional, make sure you talk to at least 3, and preferably 'visit' one of their sales. Are things marked too low/too high, or a fair price to move it along? Is there enough help to deter "tag switchers', etc. What is their percentage take? How to they leave the area (broom clean, etc.) So appeal, condition, and where you live (IMO) make the biggest difference in the sale ability of something and price. You'll have a few pleasant surprises, and a fewer downers, but it evens itself out and sometimes we just have to roll up those sleeves and tackle the mountain. Give yourself enough time for the task, but not so long it drags out forever. Best of luck.

 

Excellent advice too! Thanks, @Grateful

 

I agree and sorry for your loss.

 

Unfortunately, what they said. The furniture shown is stuff most places here put in the Free bin, unless they went to a flea market as project pieces. The clocks aren't much better; some auction houses won't take them unless they're with a lot of other stuff. One of my rules is that these days "collectibles aren't". Things that sold for a pile new or as collectible in the 80s are now going for peanuts if you can sell them at all.

 

, Glass pottery, figurines, china ware are dead in the water, so are books and linens. Art well maybe depending on what it is, I am going through a similar process, except I was THE collector, In this neck of the woods, pre estate sales do fairly well, and there is no shortage of former antique store owners to run them (for a price of course) IT IS A long process,and sometimes overwhelming, and more so if you do not have a good knowledge of what an item is, but the guys and girls on here are wonderful and are super with identifying items,and always so kind and patient. I find that for my items at least ugly sell the best, closely followed by die cast cars, fishing stuff, and old wooden items ie churns, rakes etc etc. All the best to you,and please keep us in loop as to how you are coping,and selling

 

One Step Closer Away could you give us an idea where you and/or the furniture (and other items) are located (not a specific address), but will the sale of these items take place in the USA? Where in the USA are they located now, not the city name, not the actual address, just say the state that the sale will take place in.

 

Bring the watches to a certfied watchmaker...you'll likly get the info you need.
the jewelry......might surprise you to find that you won't get more than the melt weight of the metal......maybe these things would be better passed down to loved ones !!!

"The instruments are mainly guitars and we do know that many are collector items and worth a great deal."

That's good to know...but we'll look at them anyways !!
They may be worth a great deal.....but in order to get that deal...will require work on your part !!

 

Check prices for Redwood slabs. They can bring good money.
Pieces already finished like your clock - not so much.

Welcome to the board.
Loosing someone is hard. Tell your mother not to be in a rush to get rid of things (unless it is financially necessary), take your time and do your research.
What Grateful said was good advice about checking out people who stage estate sales. Be leery of those who keep what doesn't sell. They price the best stuff too high so it doesn't sell, then they get it.

 

We live in western Canada. I discussed the issue with my spouse after reading replies here, and I think we're going to try restore/refinish some pieces of furniture to sell. I see local buy and sell groups and it looks like items such as I posted above, like the flip top bar, would probably sell for $200-$300 or so.
I think that's maybe the best way to go, for some of the items, given the advice I've received here.

 

There is an element of financial necessity. There is some time, but yes, every dollar counts.
For us, getting $100 for an item instead of $10 useful. I'd rather do the work to put up an item to sell for $25 rather than get someone else to do it and we get only $5.
Honestly, there is also a sentimental element to it. My father worked hard to collect all those things and he found value in them. I feel like I'd rather take more time and get a fair price for the items rather than to just sell them to get rid of them.
I recognize that we probably assign more "value" to some things than they are really worth, simply because they belonged to him. It's a tough thing, a difficult process to be sure.

 

One Step Closer, some (perhaps most of us here) have been down the road you are embarking on. It is not easy, but you appear to be level-headed about what needs to be done.

 

we probably assign more "value" to some things than they are really worth, simply because they belonged to him.

OHHHHHHHHH...so bin there done that !!!!!!
My folks had really nice stuff......but not Tiffany.....Lalique .... Andy Warhol ... Harry Winston...or Patek Philippe type stuff !!!

Still....they're gone and their stuff fills my home.....it reminds me of my childhood & reminds me of them.......... but all the dead folks here had nice stuff so the values I'm left with are more sentimental than the cash I could get for most of it !

You're still young.....but after a while you'll see that a few choice items that bring you fond memories ...that you feel the need to own...to love...will be enuf.
The rest....is just stuff.