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Author
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Topic: How best to sell my space collection?
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chochman
New Member Posts:
From:
Registered:
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posted 04-27-2011 07:25 AM
   
Due to financial circumstances I'd considering selling a significant portion of my space collection. I'm wondering the best way to go about this. Should I submit it to an auction house and with whom? Anybody have other thoughts. I have hundreds of books (about 200 signed), 100's of signed autographs in all forms, artifacts and misc materials. Any thoughts? All help is appreciated. |
garymilgrom
Member Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 04-27-2011 07:51 AM
If you have the time and inclination you will receive the most money by selling items yourself. However, the effort of holding hundreds of auctions and shipping hundreds of books is not everyone's cup of liquid hydrogen. I think the next step would be to solicit a single buyer from this or a similar forum. I think this would net a higher price than a commercial auction house. Finally you can contact one of these houses. The problem with any of the above "bulk sales" is the cost of shipping all those books. The ideal solution would be for a purchaser to pick them up.You may also consider donating your collection. This will vastly reduce the income you will receive but has other benefits. Your books will need to be appraised in person if you go this route and that adds another expense. Contact me offline if you want more info on this option. |
spaced out
Member Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 04-27-2011 09:02 AM
The auction houses would obviously be delighted to sell your items for you. Those that hold dedicated space auctions include Heritage, Regency/Superior, Goldberg, RRAuction, and Lunar Legacies.Bear in mind that their seller fees will eat into the money you receive and the buyers fees also effectively reduce the amount you get of what the buyers are willing to pay. Weighed against this is the reduced effort for you in terms of photographing, describing, listing and packing and shipping your items. |
capoetc
Member Posts: 2169
From: McKinney TX (USA)
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 04-27-2011 09:08 AM
Kinda depends on what you have. If it is vintage, unique stuff, then an auction house will work. They may not be interested in the more common, modern autographed items.The challenge is, if you have a few really nice items and then a bunch of more common stuff, the auction house will want the "really good stuff", leaving you with the more common stuff which will then be harder to sell since you no longer have the really good stuff to generate interest. Good luck with whatever you decide! |
MrSpace86
Member Posts: 1618
From: Gardner, KS, USA
Registered: Feb 2003
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posted 04-27-2011 10:45 AM
I am anti-auction house, so if I were you, I would make a list on word or excel, price everything, and let everyone here know. Whatever is left over when it's all said and done, can go on eBay. It will take a while and may get tedious, but I am sure you will get more money than being ripped off 20% of whatever sales you make with an auction house. |
fredtrav
Member Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010
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posted 04-27-2011 10:48 AM
If you already have a list of your items, you can post it here and get better advice on the route you should take. Most signed books for example are worth less than $150 with many worth less than $100. If you have many later signed shuttle astronaut photos, they do not have a lot of monetary worth. If you have signed vintage Apollo lithos, they can be worth quite a bit, especially crew signed.If you have flown items with provenance, they can be worth quite a bit especially Apollo items. |
dd9822
New Member Posts: 9
From: Merritt Island, Florida
Registered: Jan 2011
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posted 04-27-2011 06:41 PM
I just consigned a Mercury 7 picture signed by all 7 to the Heritage for the June 3rd auction.The reason for my decision is that the big spenders buy from the reputable auction houses because they know that the item they are bidding on is exactly what is described. How many fake autographs do we see on RR, Heritage, Lunar Legacies? Not too many. How many do we see on eBay? Tons. People will pay the premium if they are buying with confidence. Definitely go auction when selling your high end items. |
farthestreaches
Member Posts: 1074
From: Redondo Beach, Ca
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 05-02-2011 01:10 AM
quote:
Originally posted by dd9822:
Definitely go auction when selling your high end items.
I disagree. Farthest Reaches has successfully handled artifacts and other memorabilia for Astronauts, Flight Controllers, Flight Directors and countless others in the industry as well as collectors. I have been exceedingly successful managing a wide variety of items, offering some obvious advantages over the auction format and at consignment rates that compare if not beat the typical auction house. Less risk, more control, greater exposure are some of the advantages Farthest Reaches offers. If interested, don't hesitate to contact me via email or phone, both which are available on my home page. Steve Hankow
Farthest Reaches |
garymilgrom
Member Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 05-02-2011 07:10 AM
No reflection on Farthest Reaches but I think the original poster was looking for responses from collectors, not vendors. Unless all sellers are asked to post about their businesses this seems most useful to the OP. |
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