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With Mum very poorly she is looking to sell off quite literally, the family silver. Not Blackbeard's haul by any means, but some silver teapots, salver, trays. The sort of thing that us modern types don't display or use anymore.
Anyone done it? Auction house or eBay? Pitfalls and advices gratefully received.
usual caveats about checking actual hallmarks. I looked to sell dinner services - spoons and so on - and got only a moderate amount for spoons and the boxes they came in. Was it worthwhile? not sure. Some went to charity shops or local scout group.
Unfortunately silver tea service type stuff is generally of little value at the moment. Largely because everyone was given sets as Wedding presents 40+ years ago and are now trying to move them on. Unless you have something really unusual the chances are that it will be bought and melted down. Keep an eye on the silver price and see what you think would be my advice.
You’d do better selling direct to custom jewellery makers now as they are desperate for stuff to manufacture from
A decent auctioneer that deals in house clearances might be a lot easier than ebaying a piece at a time depending on volume. We got pretty good prices from the auction last time we did this, some stuff went for a lot more than I'd have been looking for. Not particularly silver though.
Where are you based? My mum is an antiques dealer and always on the lookout for stuff. May be able to help.
I sold a WMF silver plate art nouveau tray/sugar bowl/ cream jug on eBay about 5 years ago , I got £168 for it which I was fairly happy with at the time . Its possibly worth more now but we needed the money at the time.
Thanks all. Very helpful
I think you need to know your arse from your elbow a bit to sell that kind of thing on ebay effectively - firstly knowing and being able to describe what things are in a way that collectors would find it in a search (the style, the era etc) but the other is knowing and describing condition well - you won't get the best price if you don't clearly describe how good the condition of something is (in terms that buyers and sellers agree on), but equally you'll get complaints / returns if you've not noticed or mentioned some detail of wear / age as people will then feel they've been tricked into overpaying
I guess at least knowing the value by weight of the silver will at least mean you know if you are selling for less than the scrap value to someone who will then sell it for scrap
Thanks thats really helpful.
Might be better off finding a proper goldsmiths, they’ll give you the going rate for silver, and use it for making new items, saving them having to buy it from suppliers.