Most Valuable Item You have Sold?

[orbitdrop.ont_01]

Hello Powersellers!

I have recently been asked to sell a couple of high end items. One is a 1946 Red Rocket Gretsch Electric Guitar and the other is an authentic Norval Morisseau painting of a polar bear. The guitar is appraised at $16,000 and the painting appraised at $27,000. The Red Rocket has not been seen on eBay and the Morisseau is one of his rare works in which he was never commissioned to create another one. With nothing to base these items against on eBay, would I be wasting time posting and dealing with non-serious bidders, or would I benefit the maximum sale value as the right people are looking?

My question to the community is this... has anyone sold anything with success (besides vehicles) that was valued at greater than $10,000? I am debating on whether to try on eBay or whether approaching collectors or museums directly is my better course of action. I personally don't care how I sell the items as I will still get my TA fee I charge.

I have already contacted the Native Art Museum in BC regarding the painting and they offered $16,000 plus a dedication plaque beside the piece thanking my client for 'donating' the piece to the museum.

I feel a little overwhelmed on this one... I think the Morisseau should be auctioned by a professional auction house.

[sunshine2426]

An antique silver cutlery set. This was 3 years ago and got more than I thought $$$$ 🙂

[katiusciav]

hey orbit;
good questions...i'm not familiar with guitars, but do know alot of morriseau's work, and i think, if i'm not mistaken, i sold one of his pieces, but of course, not one as rare as yours. i know there are alot of morriseau bidders on ebay, you can't really predict the future as far as what it would go for on ebay. i would shop around first, get the highest offer in writing (although i know at auction houses, unless you have a reserve, you wouldn't know then either), and then post it to ebay with the matching reserve. i would also reveal my reserve in the description so people know. lots of people come to ebay for art work, and lots of them sell for over 16,000.00.
ps lucky you! i hope you get a nice commish from those items!

[tea_past_times]

It would be much too big for my tastes. I would worry about the deal going sideways, with my Paypal account and Feedback stuck in the middle between actual owner and buyer.

PHIL

[whoscloset]

I've never sold anything of that value so take my advise with a grain of salt. But...if I did list something of this nature I would do the following.

1. Either have a reserve or be prepared to cancel bids and remove the listing if it does not reach a certain price 24 hours prior to the auctions end. I don't recommend this practice but your client may not be too happy if it ends up selling for $1000.00.

2. Require an immediate, nominal down payment via PayPal with the balance of payment by money order ONLY, due within a certain amount of time. You do not want to pay PayPal fees on a sale this large, nor do you want to be subject to the potential for CC chargebacks or fraud.

JMHO
Monique

Himalayan Salt Lamps - A Guide to Purchasing

[recped]

I don't have specific knowledge but I can offer an educated(?) comment.

Guitar, there seems to be to be a steady flow of rare guitars on eBay so this could in fact be a good place to sell such an item.

Morrisseau, I wouldn't think artwork of this type is that suitable for eBay. For this specific item I would contact Kinsman Robinson Galleries for a comment. My sister is into the Morrisseau stuff, she has three pieces purchased from Kinsman Robinson, from observing it can take a considerable length of time to find the right buyer willing to pay the right price. I've also occasionally looked on eBay for his works but I've only seen a few of his small "low end" pieces offered.

I suspect that the Guitar has a very established "market price" as it is "rare" but not "unique". Art pieces on the other hand fluctuate in value considerably depending on the flavour of the moment. With all the recent exposure this is probably a very good time to move the Morrisseau.

Although the price might be too steep for my sister, if you send me an image I could pass it along for her comments, I think she paid around $15k for the last piece.
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

[orbitdrop.ont_01]

whoscloset and recped... EXCELLENT suggestions thank you both.

Regarding the Morisseau, the other (morbid) side of the coin is Mr. Morisseau is not in the best of health these days. I think we all know what happens when a well-known artist passes on to the next life, and this is what my client is contemplating now.

Recped, I'll send you/your sister some photos if you want to leave the email address.

Thanks again for the great advice.

[katiusciav]

orbit-if you do end up listing either (especially the morrisseau), let us know, i'd love to see that piece of art..thanks..

[futuretech_liquidations]

I would use the PRIVATE action feature and screen potential bidders before allowing them to bid.

Second, I would NOT ACCEPT PAYPAL and instead require then to use WIRE TRANSFER SERVICE or you could also hook-up with a reputable ESCROW SERVICE COMPANY - give the dollars amounts the people bidding on these items would not make a big deal over spending a few extra dollars to have a safe and secure transaction.

Good Luck

FTL

[recped]

Regarding the Morisseau, the other (morbid) side of the coin is Mr. Morisseau is not in the best of health these days.

You never know, his bad health has been around for quite some time. The only thing for sure, dead or alive he's not producing much anymore.
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

[art-in-the-making]

There is a seller on the US Powersellers board now who just sold a $30,000 piece of art and is trying to figure out how best to ship it.

[zarzuella]

Get in the car and drive 🙂