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How To Turn Your Collectibles Into Cash December 08, 2006 by Kevin M. Van Tine You have a collectible or you have built a great collection of collectibles and you (the private collector) are now ready to sell. What do you do? Unfortunately, it is not as easy as going to your bank and cashing in your matured savings bond, but with a little effort you can achieve your desired results. Your first thoughts may be to put them up for auction. Just keep in mind there may be a Catch-22. Do you really want to start the bidding at $1.00 with the possibility of taking a loss? If you put a reserve on your collectible, to preserve its value, you run the risk of turning off bidders! You may consider trying to sell to dealers. I attempted a joint venture with several dealers once. They ALL told me that they only do business with other established dealers. Oddly enough, the collectibles I offered at the time were all signed in front of a notary public. Those autographs would have stood up in a court of law as valid signed documents! Maybe you could set up a store? Most people are put off when they learn of the time and money required to manage a store properly. What if you only have one or two items? Here is a simple technique I have used in the past and it works even better today. I build a simple one-page web site that profiles the collectible I am offering. It shows at least one photo of the product and a photo of the certificate of authenticity or other validation, some interesting information about the collectible, an easy, safe way to pay and a way for the prospective buyer to contact me. It is simple, focused and everything pertains to the subject. Does it work? Yes, but don't expect to put up a page today and have a sale tomorrow. It will take some time for people to size you and your offer up. Once you are recognized as someone people can trust- offering fair prices for your products and provide prompt, reliable service, your reputation will grow through the powerful "word-of-mouth" process and you will be successful. My favorite example- I had a great high-ticket collectible. It was a special football jersey with a special patch, framed in a museum style wood-framed glass-covered case, signed by Walter Payton! In fact, it was from Walter Payton's last signing ever. It was beautiful! I was contacted by a man that lived in St. Louis, Missouri. Someone had told him about this collectible. The man's work took him to St. Louis from Chicago where he grew up. He is a Bears fan and Walter Payton was his favorite player. He was able to have a very meaningful reminder of home at a fair price. He now proudly displays his new keepsake on the wall of his office. Whatever you have, there is someone else that also shares your interest and passion. All you have to do is open the door and let the connection happen. Add honesty and integrity and you both will achieve a win/win situation. About the Author: Kevin M. Van Tine has spent over 40 years buying, selling and trading collectibles. You can see an example of a simple sports collectible web page at: ynotbfree.ws/Showcase.html If you would like to contact him about setting up a sports collectible co-op to exchange ideas, tips, information he can be reached at the web site. Article Source: www.goarticles.com |
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