Secret Tip 1 – Value can hide anywhere!
I have a friend; he’s British, so this takes place in a small town in the English countryside. When he was a much younger man, he worked as a general dogs-body for an Auction House. Every time his boss visited a potential estate sale, he would always make an offer on all the books in the house. My friend assumed he did this because he had spotted a rare first-edition or an otherwise special book. But he was soon disavowed of this thought when, on returning to the warehouse, he witnessed the cunning buyer upending each book, flipping through the pages upside down, and discarding the books in a great heap. It turns out that before the prevalence of ATM’s people would slide bills between the pages of their favorite books. The tactic had apparently worked out for the buyer several times over the years.
Secret Tip 2 – You don’t know what you don’t know!
It is often the case that the precious items in an estate are often the least obvious. In fact, that’s secret number 2, experienced valuation experts and appraisers may see value where you don’t. It’s very easy to undervalue something if you don’t know how much a similar piece sold for, or recognize a giveaway feature that separates it from the humdrum.
Secret Tip 3 – Not all Palm Beach County Auction houses are as upstanding as you would wish.
This one is a bit depressing, I know, but not all people behave in the way you would want them to. Okay- this isn’t really a secret, but it’s still true.
Whenever there are people in a weaker position, there will be people looking to exploit them. The only antidote to this is to align your interests with those of the estate buyer and to work with ethical people (hint my boss Mark Neely is pretty great). And this is the final and most crucial secret; drum-roll, please…
Secret Tip 4 – Consignment
Yes, consignment or good old fashioned commission based sales. If you have any doubt about the value of a piece, offer to consign it to the auction house, appraiser or estate buyer. A reputable buyer will expect about a 30%-35% commission unless the piece is genuinely exceptional, in which case they may accept less.
For a complete guide to all the estate liquidation services we offer click here www.neelyauction/estatebuyers
Click Here to see our ”5 Essential rules for getting the most out of an estate Auction! (Jam packed with pro tips)”