Ask Unclutterer: Selling something with an unknown value
Reader Allison submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:
This question may be slightly outside the range of uncluttering, but I thought I’d give it a shot. I have a wooden chair that was designed around (his picture is painted on it) and autographed by a well-known rock musician. It’s a really cool piece, but having a piece of furniture I don’t use seems really silly to me now.
I purchased it at a charity auction several years ago. I am curious about trying to sell it. The problem I have is that I can no longer find the certificate of authenticity. I suspect I didn’t keep it as I didn’t think I would ever EVER want to get rid of the chair. I paid a fairly significant price and if I sell it, I would at least like to break even. Do you have any suggestions for how to go about selling such an item? I’m concerned that people won’t pay much without some guarantee that it’s authentic.
The charity that sponsored the auction seems to no longer exist, but I am still trying to make a few calls.
Thanks for any advice you can provide!
Allison, your question is a lot of fun — and its answer is relevant to more people than you might imagine.
Irrespective of if you have the paperwork or get in touch with someone from the original auction house, you should take the chair to an appraiser who can check it out and let you know it’s worth. If you don’t know an appraiser, I recommend checking out the American Society of Appraisers website’s Find an Appraiser search tool. Even if you aren’t in the US, they have resources beyond our borders.
Contacting a reputable appraiser is always a good idea. Many Unclutterer readers contact me about being responsible for sorting through a loved one’s things after a death and wonder how to handle the estate. The first thing to do, before neighbors and siblings and extended family members start loading things into a truck, is to have an appraiser come in and talk to you about what is there. Appraisers are good people to know.
Thank you, Allison, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. I hope that you are successful in getting rid of your chair for a fair price. Also, I hope that in the future, you keep your hands on the paper documentation because the paperwork often improves the amount you can get for something and helps when having an object’s value determined for insurance coverage.
Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.
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Posted by Erin on Nov 6, 2009 |
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13 comments posted
Posted by Sooz - 11/06/2009
If it was bought at a charity auction in recent years, is it possible that you may find a write-up of the event online OR in a newspaper’s archives — possibly mentioning the chair and what it sold for (maybe even with a photo of the chair?).
Also, maybe Google images might have an image of the chair from when it was on display.
Posted by Kathryn Fenner - 11/06/2009
Depending on the value, either eBay or a serious auction house is the best route. Set a reasonable reserve based on the appraised value.
Posted by Mletta - 11/06/2009
This is a really relevant question. We bought two coffee tables about four years ago from a now-defunct antiques shop in Boston.
We bought them just because we loved them. It turns out they are quite old and may indeed be very valuable. We’d love to keep them, but space is an issue so we decided to sell.
We’ve gotten such widely different info on price that I suspect that some of the people we asked for some info are outright lying (they offered to “take them off our hands”).
Selling on ebay isn’t an option for us as these would be too expensive to ship and still make some money.
We’ve found that craigslist is truly hit and miss. Mostly miss these days given that you’ve got lots of dealers shopping it as well as regular buyers. The dealers don’t pay even wholesale prices and they are used to the “desperation” (gotta move NOW) of most posters here in NYC–so they often snap things up before you can get an offer at a decent price. Meanwhile, if you post more than once, people who are interested notice and use that as an excuse to keep bargaining down the price.
One friend tried for months to sell an expensive table and got ridiculous offers. (It’s like even yard sales today. People want valuable stuff for literally nothing.)
So the tables remain and we may yet have to find a way to repurpose them.
Posted by Delores - 11/06/2009
I have two paintings that I inherited from my mother-in-law. They are by a local Alaskan artist who no longer has a shop or presence in town. They are probably worth more than bargain basement prices but I have had them for several years because I have not been able to ascertain if they are worth $5, $50, or $500. I have not found anyone to give me an estimate. I am about ready to give them away as they don’t please me and take up space.
Posted by Pammyfay - 11/06/2009
Is the person who autographed the chair still living? If so, why not try to find a physical address for his agent–yeah, it will take some research–and mail a photo of the chair (with an additional closeup of the signature) in a letter asking if the celebrity remembers having anything to do with it? Hopefully the person would be kind enough to send you a letter back. (Who knows–maybe he’d want to buy the chair from you?)
Posted by Sky - 11/06/2009
Maybe you could contact the Hard Rock Cafe, they display musicians memorabilia.
Posted by Amy - 11/07/2009
At a charity auction I would think that people would be willing to pay vastly different prices, much higher or much lower, than what an item is worth because it is for charity.
That being said, I’ve always firmly believed that objects are worth only what someone is willing to pay for it. But maybe that is just my opinion.
Posted by Patty - 11/07/2009
Since you obtained them from a charity auction – why not find a charity auction and donate them. You can take a chartible deduction for your basis or for the sold price, what ever is higher. This way you’d get something for them.
Posted by Michael Moncur - 11/07/2009
I’d look for a community of fans of the musician in question – an online forum, fan site, etc.
Post a picture of the chair there and ask around. You’ll probably get a few people to verify its existence* and maybe even find a buyer.
* obviously they can’t verify its _authenticity_ but I suspect that won’t be a big issue here – forgers have better things to do than make custom furniture.
Posted by Jennifer J. - 11/07/2009
Donating to a favorite charity seems like it would be a win-win situation, once you have the chair appraised, so that you know its value.
Posted by Sooz - 11/07/2009
@Michael Moncour has an excellent suggestion there — fans of that rock musician may well be willing to pay a nice sum for a chair like that. You might be quite pleasantly surprised! Fans, by their nature, are often willing to essentially over-pay for memorabilia with an autograph.
Also, I suggest you hold the auction on a place like ebay that is reputable, rather than just taking offers from fans on a forum or fan site. If you go the ebay route, make sure to give the fans a link that will take them to your ebay auction.
Posted by Linkblog Slimmer Werken – 9 nov 2009 « Arjan Zuidhof - 11/09/2009
[...] Ask Unclutterer: Selling something with an unknown value – Erin Doland [...]
Posted by Keekers - 11/14/2009
I’m super curious to see a pic of this item and which famous rock star is associated with it! A starship captain’s chair signed by David Bowie? A piano stool signed by Elton John? C’mon, share!
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