Josiah Wedgwood was a famous manufacturer of porcelain and earthenware. While many of his earlier works prior to 1781 may be unmarked, Josiah was the first potter of note to mark his wares with his own name, at a time when other potters were using easily forged marks such as the Sevres double L mark, the Meissen crossed swords mark, or the Chelsea Potteries anchor Mark. The Wedgwood marks have gone through several iterations over the years, as the company struck up partnership deals, … [Read more...]
7 Common Mistakes First Time Collectors Make
When collecting there are some important things that you always need to remember no matter if you are a first time collector or a well seasoned collector. I will cover these things in this article. Common Mistakes a First Time Collector Makes 1: Your Not Prepared - Being prepared is one of the most important things you need to do as a collector. The following is a quick list of ways to prepare before you start collecting. Do some research on the items you are going to collect. Doing some … [Read more...]
How to Sell Antique Furniture
Selling antique furniture is a little more difficult than selling other types of smaller antiques. There are a few things you need to consider that you would not have to with smaller items. Some of these things are: Shipping and transporting the item after the sell Packing the item for shipping Price of shipping and how much this changes depending on the location There are also all the usual things you need to consider with any antique or collectible you are going to buy or … [Read more...]
Auction Houses in Southern California that Specialize in Antiques
I had a reader ask for a list of auction houses in Southern California that deal in antiques. I have done some research and provided a list of auction houses that seem to fit the bill. I have given a brief summary of the services they offer. Southern California Auction Houses That Specialize in Antiques: Don Presley located in Santa Ana, Ca. www.donpresley.com Don Presley's services include live in house auctions, live online auctions and consignment sales. Their consignment business offers … [Read more...]
What Type of Insurance Should I Have for My Antiques and Collectibles?
Most of us spend countless hours looking for those special pieces for our collections. However we tend to forget one of the most important parts of a collection. That is insuring our collections and choosing coverage that fits our needs. There are many options out there for insuring your antiques and collectibles. However getting the right amount of coverage or knowing where to start can be a very confusing and frustrating task. In this article I have answered some of the common questions … [Read more...]
Antiques and Collectibles Auction House Reviews
After many requests about auction houses and which ones are the best in the United States, I have decided to do a series of articles reviewing auction houses. I will review many auction houses across the United States focusing on the following points. … [Read more...]
What You Need to Know About Auction Reserves
I deal with a lot of auction houses for both buying and selling antiques and collectibles. I get asked a lot of questions about reserves. In this article I will answer many of these questions. Auction Reserve Q & A Should I put a reserve on my items? This really depends on what you are selling. Common Antiques and Collectibles: When selling common items it is not recommended to place a reserve on these items. Reserves can make it so buyers lose interest in an item (especially … [Read more...]
Estate Sales: What you should know about them
Estate sales can be fun and exciting. They are also a great way to make some extra money. Once you know how an estate sale works and what to do you will have no problem having one. Follow the guidelines in this article and you will have an enjoyable estate sale. What is an Estate Sale Company? An estate sale is where a company comes into your home and evaluates the estate you are interested in selling. After you hire the company they will sort, clean, organize, research, price, market/advertise, … [Read more...]
7 Antique Questions You Need to Know the Answer to
As a Personal Property Appraiser I get asked many questions about antiques. In this article I have answered 7 of the most commonly asked questions. These questions come up at almost every appraisal I have done.  How old does an item have to be to be an antique? There is a great debate about how old an item has to be to be considered an antique. The standard is 100 or more years. There are some antique dealers out there that like to say 50 years. This is so they can sell more items as antiques … [Read more...]
5 Popular Antiques and Collectibles You Can Find Cheap at Estate Sales and Resell for a Profit
We have all heard the stories about someone finding a painting at an estate sale or flee market for 10 dollars then selling it at an auction for thousands. While I was working at an auction house in the Chicago area I would see this happen regularly. For example a lady bought a stein for $12.00 at a garage sale on the way to the auction house. This turned out to be a Meissen stein that sold at an auction for $1,200.00. This happens more often than people think. Many times people will have an … [Read more...]
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