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Need some advice

Posted: Jan 13, 2014

I would appreciate any advice on how to sell Hummel figurines, etc. My stepfather wants to start clearing out a lot of things in preparation for the future, and in the event I would move in with him at some point. My mother died four years ago, and during her lifetime she bought a lot of this sort of thing, along with the colored glass in yellow, green and blue.

I have never sold anything on eBay, and don't know how to go about getting a decent price for these items. Unfortunately, we no longer have the boxes for the Hummels. They, however, are in excellent condition.

Many years ago my mother bought a butcher block which is in the kitchen, and I believe worth some money. My stepfather's plumber saw the butcher block, and he was enthusiastic and said he would be interested in it. Before my stepfather parts with any of these items I think we need to know the value of the items.

If we would like to have these items appraised, what would be the best way to find a reputable person?

Thanks in advance.

;

my experience with Hummels - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
My FIL had brought back 2 Hummels from Germany when he was in the Navy stationed there back in 1950s. After my husband's parents passed we started clearing out their stuff and tried to access the value of the Hummels. Unfortunately what I found out at the time was that there was a lot of variety in prices out there on eBay, even for the older Hummels. A lot of people had bought them at estate sales and put them on eBay relatively cheap, not really investigating what they may be worth and drove the prices down on them. Some would independently list prices close to $500 but no one was buying them at that price. We held on to them, not knowing what to do, but I fear that the value they might have had is no longer there. Good luck though!

E-bay - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Unfortunately, a lot of "collectables" have actual resale values lower than you might expect, especially if there are a lot of them on the market. Getting things "appraised" often costs so much that it is not worth it.

You can look online for a Hummel resale site to see what they are asking and if they will buy them. You can also look on E-Bay to see what the same item sold for in the past ... not the current bids, but the completed sales. You have to register to see those.

For the butcher block, I would take whatever someone offers. Shipping something that huge would be prohibitive. Listing something that big on Craig's List would involve people coming to see it, which would be risky.

Part of the value in collectables is related to how scarce they are. The item is only worth what you can get someone to pay for it. When there are 20 or 50 available on E-Bay all the time, the value drops. Right now, the generation that bought all those items from 1940 to today is dying, flooding the market.

I remember that someone asked about Hummels and a butcher block a while back. You might want to look in the archives for that, as there may have been useful information there.

check out your local buy sell and trade facebook page - or Bookoo

[ In Reply To ..]
Craigslist is iffy for me.

selling on e-bay - greyhoundmom

[ In Reply To ..]
My brother in law sells a lot on e bay. What he does if he is going to purchase something either at a flea market or garage sale, he looks up what similar items are selling on e bay. He has sold a lot of things. He bought them at next to nothing and sold them for much more. He is retired and has a lot of time to do things such as selling on e bay.

Thanks for all replies. - Christine/NM

[ In Reply To ..]
xx

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