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what Makes a Collectible Valuable to a Collector?

darylelam — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:09:00 GMT

Daryle Lambert's 31 Club Blog

Pauline Pottery, 10" tall, sold at Craftsman's Auction March 2006 for $2,880.

Often the one thing that makes a collectible so valuable is that there was enough production by the company so that anyone can find pieces to start a collection Usually a budding collector starts with a less valuable item and then works his or her way up to the more expensive pieces.

Let’s take Rookwood for an example. If you're collecting, you might make your first purchase of Rookwood in the commercial wares area of their production. A simple vase might fit the bill. But, as you advance in the collection, the artist signed pieces will become more appealing to you. Yes, they will be far more expensive, but over time you will have become more knowledgeable and realize that this is where the true investment will be. This is true of Roseville, Weller, Van Briggle, Teco and many other pottery companies whose production was expansive, and is a great way for the novice to learn as their collections grow without making too many mistakes.

But why is this important to us? We want to buy and sell, right? Yes, but unless we can get into the mind of the collectors -- our customers -- our buying will be more about ourselves and not about the ones we want to sell our treasures to.

There is an exception to this type collecting. There are some collectors who buy the rare items from companies who had only a limited production. In the industry, we refer to this type of collector “the advanced collector.” Pauline Pottery, produced right here in Chicago and then later in Wisconsin, is an example of an item an advanced collector might look for.

The Pauline Company was in business for only 10 years from 1883 until 1893. This lets you know that the number of pieces they produced would be very limited, and I doubt you will find many people that have a large collection of their pottery. However, this is where the advanced collector steps in. He wants one of the better pieces from the Pauline kilns to show the diversity of his collection. The pitcher that sold on ebay brought over $500, and even though it did nothing for me personally, I can see why a collector would want it in their collection.

The main problem with purchasing this type of merchandise is that there will always be a limited market for the company’s wares unless the item is exceptional. Don't get stuck with common pieces by unknown companies because they will be yours forever. If you do see an exceptional item, but don't recognize the mark, this is a time to get very stingy with your money. This is also an excellent way to find a Treasure while taking very little risk.

In the case of Pauline, the mark is a very indistinct crown with no writing but perhaps the artist’s initials. Their second mark just says “Pauline Pottery.” I suggest you keep your eyes out for very large and decorative pieces by this company, but leave the lesser ones alone. If you find that special piece of Pauline, I think that you should be able to buy it very reasonably. Therefore, your profit should meet our goals of at least doubling our money on our purchases.

Remember to tune into the AuctionWally BlogTalk Radio program on Monday. I am Auctionwally's special guest and you can call in your questions. I hope I hear from you.

Join with like-minded 31 Club Members and put a turbo charge on your treasure hunting skills. Get FREE Mentoring. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to make high profits and continue to grow your money buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

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Skillful Buying and Selling Needed in Today's Antique & Collectible Markets

darylelam — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:48:00 GMT

Daryle Lambert's 31 Club Blog

Cecil's Carnival Horse Medallion Bowl currently available on eBay. It previously had 23 bids but did not reach the reserve price.

Timing is everything, and right now the time is right to be buying at bargain prices. At times like these, when people are stricken with fear, we'll be able to make our best purchases. Barry Bond’s last home run ball just sold for under $400,000. What a bargain, considering the record setting ball brought over $1,000,000. The one who bought Bond’s ball in this cautious market will be smiling all the way to the bank in a very short period of time.

Our 31 Club Member, Cecil, listed a Carnival Glass Bowl and it did not meet its reserve although it was a rare pattern with horse heads. It should have found a buyer. He also has a Weller vase listed presently for $2,700 which might be worth $4,000 to $5,000. This is the time to make money by knowing what is worth the money and what isn’t.

When negotiating on price with a seller, you can back down on price now by saying the market is soft, knowing that the best is still the best and will bring top dollar regardless of the times. Yes, the market is fluctuating, but that is what we need to be successful. A constant market eventually works against us. If the market is stagnant, the seller will want too much and the buyers will want to wait for a better price.

Over the next few months, you should be able to complete several steps in your race to the millions, because out of fear, people will likely to be selling their better items. You’ll be able to buy at prices that can make you fat and sassy. Buy where there is little interest, and then sell in the right selling venue.

In my book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles, I spoke about taking time to consider where to sell each item. In our marketplace today, this will be a very important decision to make. Remember, where you sell your items can likely make the difference in the level of profit you’ll see. Sell at places that specialize in what you are offering. Rookwood might bring a huge price at the Cincinnati Art Galleries Auction, but you might find it priced reasonably during these times in Texas. California Art might be bringing record prices in California, but what kind of prices would it get in Kentucky? So, keep your eyes out for items that seem out of place. You might be able to cash in on this. The 31 Gang did this very thing when we spent $240 to purchase a Harvey Joiner painting that hadn’t sold at auction from an east coast auction house. We later sold it at an Indiana auction house close to the Kentucky border for about $3,700. Why there? Harvey Joiner is one of the most collected artists in Kentucky.

Ebay might not be the best place to sell at the present time. The problem with eBay is that it is very impersonal, while an auction house can have the feel of being a part of the family. In hard times, that is often what we search for. Early’s Auction is an auction house that doesn’t do online auctions. They had their spring art glass sale this past weekend, and I understand prices were very firm. Considering that almost all plane traffic to Cincinnati was cancelled, they still had excellent results. Now when you consider they don’t do online auctions, this makes their sales success even that much greater.

This is the time to know your markets, act on them, and carefully consider the selling platform that might get you the biggest bang. When you do that the big money will come your way. Remember, collectors are a special breed, and they often won't buy a piece from a shop at almost any price. But let them get involved in bidding at an auction who represents what they collect, and it often seems the sky’s the limit. In the Antique Trader, Antique Weekly and The Maine Antique Digest, you will find a list of specialty auctions. If you have items that fit their categorizes, do yourself a favor and list them there.

Buy, Buy, Buy. This may be the chance that won't come along for the next ten years. In these markets is when the easy money is made. Just be sure you have the knowledge to take advantage of it.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to build a bank account to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

Visit our Website, here.

Pilkington Tile & Pottery - Vintage Pottery with Hidden Value

darylelam — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 02:26:00 GMT

Daryle Lambert's 31 Club Blog

Everyday, I search for things of interest that might just prove to be a treasure to us. I believe I have come upon an item I would add to the “What’s Hot” list. Remember trends are identified by people that have a gift that allows them to see them. Often a new trend is right there before your eyes, but by the time you see it this trend might be in mid-cycle. That’s not where you want to be. It is much better to be there at the start of a trend.

Pilkington Pottery is something you want to watch for and purchase. It has been on the market since the late1800's, up until 1937 when this division was closed. The company did survive and operates under the name Pilkington's Tiles Ltd., even today.

We are only interested in the period of manufacturing from 1903 through 1937. This is when the Royal Lancastrian line was introduced. The new opalescent glaze that was applied to the Lancastrian line became an instant hit with the buyers. These pieces where manufactured during the war years, so I would presume that there were fewer pieces made and even fewer that survived. These are some of the most beautiful pottery pieces ever produced

Pilkington, in my opinion, is of equal quality to the finest English pottery of the time, and I think much rarer than most of the others. However, if you aren't familiar with the company’s marks, you might come across a piece and think it is just a contemporary vase or bowl. The Kovels New Dictionary of Marks will provide the information for most marks out there, and I have suggested that everyone who wants to follow the 31 Club plan purchase this necessary book.

The surprising thing about Pilkington is that their pieces don't have to be extremely large to command some very healthy prices. For instance, a 7 ½ inch Lancastrian vase decorated with four Galleons at Sea, produced around 1908 might fetch $5,000 today. A Floral 9 inch vase could easily sell at auction for $3,500 or more.

Since most people will not know how to identify this company’s ware, you might be fortunate enough to pick up one of these for as little as a couple hundred dollars.

I can promise you that if one of these presents itself at a garage or estate sale, it will probably be waiting there for you. As you pick it up, don’t be surprised if the person next to you says, Oh, that’s nothing, and it’s so overpriced”

The oyster is ugly, but inside there can be a beautiful pearl. That’s what I think this business is all about. Yes, we will open many oysters to find those pearls, but how sweet it is along the way when we find them. By the way, the oyster isn’t all that bad either.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to build a bank account to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

Visit our Website, here.

Daryle Lambert: Surprises in Box Lots

darylelam — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:43:00 GMT

31 Club Blog

Do you like surprises? This is the season when you can strike some good cash by looking into every box you see at estate sales, garage sales, yard sales and auctions. Many times, I have found real treasure in boxes when others passed them by as trash.

Unless the value of something is obvious, many people at auctions, house sales, and most often, at garage sales, fail to examine things that are in these box lots. I have learned a very important lesson by understanding that many times, when auction houses or homeowners are preparing a sale, anything that they don't recognize as valuable goes in a box, along with other items perceived to be of little value.

Remember what I've told you before -- that the knowledge we need comes to us by layering knowledge of one item upon the other. By studying, researching and experiencing this for ourselves. Now, think about the average person and about how much knowledge in the Antique and Collectibles field we might expect them to have. I think you'll agree most average people will have very limited knowledge at best. So, understand this, and look under every table, inside every box, and under every item in every box at every sale.

I have known people who found books worth thousands of dollars in boxes stuffed in a corner. They've found Indian Artifacts they've been able to sell for up to $10,000 that they purchased along with a box of miscellaneous items. The best I've seen was a purchase made by a friend of mine at a local auction I also attended. He came to me, shaking all over, after he had purchased a box lot of letters. We went to a corner of the room and he began to thumb through the letters, showing me the signatures. Each one was a personal letter written by Martin Luther King. Can you imagine what they are worth today? After a box lot is sold at an auction, it amuses me when I hear someone say, "Can you believe that brought $75? It was a bunch of junk." All the time the purchaser can barely contain their excitement over this find.

Cindy and I attended a sale last week and bought a few box lots. In one lot, there were several Mercury Candles plus a host of other things. When I got home, I checked the candles and realized that they should bring from $50 to $100. The whole box cost us $10, so there is a very good chance that the contents of the box could approach $200 to $300. I have said that we want to be buying the better things, but if you can accumulate enough items at one place to take you closer to the next step in your race to the one million dollars, don't hesitate to do it. Just don't make buying a host of small items your priority. However, money is money, and in some cases, it might take several items to get you to your next step.

Let's say your account is up to $50,000. You might have to spend $25,000 for one item, two items at $10,000 and then $1,000 on five more items to have spent it all. That is perfectly okay. You see, if you aren't successful at selling these items at retail or near retail and have to wholesale them at twice what you paid, the total will still be $100,000. And that will be another step toward your goal accomplished. But, what if there is a special piece among your purchases? The final total could take you past several steps. This is what I experienced when I purchased the Frederick Morgan painting for $16,000 and sold it for $115,000.

I'm eager to hear from more of our participants about their progress. Have you saddled up? Then, I want to hear from you, as do our other members.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to build a bank account to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

Visit our Website, here.