a question for them as might know

[mickeym]

In the on-going pursuit of gathering enough money to make rent this month, I'm taking some things to one of the local antique dealers tomorrow -- some tools that belonged to my grandfather, a couple of dolls, those sorts of things. But. I also have an antique sewing machine -- dates back to the 30's or 40's, I believe -- that belonged to my grandmother. My grandpa refinished the wooden cabinet it's housed in, and as far as I know it's in good, working condition (I don't sew, so I have no clue; I have it purely for sentimental reasons).

My question(s) is/are this: how/by whom would I go about getting it appraised? Would an antique dealer do that? (I really don't want to have to haul this thing around, it's heavy as sin.) Would I (could I) research it's worth online, via a serial number (assuming it has one)?

If y'all had such a beast to consider selling, would you go through an antique dealer/store, or would you try the craigslist/want ads/ebay approach? I can't even imagine doing it via ebay, to be honest; even trying to guesstimate what shipping might be makes me feel faint.

So, thoughts? Any input is likely to be helpful :)

Comments

[pensnest]

I think you need to be armoured with some idea of the right price for all the things you're taking to dealers before you start, because obviously it's in their interests to give you as little as possible. On the assumption that you can find practically everything online these days, I'd say yes, do a search with your machine's actual details.

I found a couple of places online which give an idea of prices—obviously the details will depend on exactly which machine you have.

http://antiques.lovetoknow.com/How_Much_Is_My_Singer_Sewing_Machine_Worth
http://hubpages.com/hub/What_is_my_Antique_Singer_Sewing_Machine_Worth

And this was an interesting page talking about how to sell your machine on eBay (should you decide you want to—it does look as though shipping would be an absolute pain, though).
http://reviews.ebay.com/Selling-an-antique-sewing-machine-if-you-don-apos-t-sew_W0QQugidZ10000000000941865

On that basis it's probably worth having a look at what the tools and the dolls may be worth, too. Good luck!

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

Hah. That last one makes me feel better about the one I dragged over from the UK for my mom. (Inherited from Neph's grandmother. My mom has a thing about antique sewing machines, and I was paying for cargo rate shipping anyway, so it wasn't a big deal to add it.)

Also, with ebay - at least ebay.co.uk there is some kind of option to specify local pick up only. When I was getting rid of stuff from the house before I moved, I sold a couple of things that way. (Because god alone knows how you box up a welder to mail it.) So it might be worth looking at that.

That said, I would probably at least take photos of the thing with you to the appraiser.

(Btw - I would be very careful with the value you get for the tools. My grandfather had a set of really nice tools he'd inherited and someone told my grandmother they weren't worth anything, so she gave them away. Turns out some types of antique tools are actually quite valuable if they're in reasonably good condition - not just to collectors who want to display them, but people who prefer to USE them. So they may not be worth much, but they might be. I'd look into it before taking the first offer you get.)

[geneli4.livejournal.com]

you may be able to get some tool price comparisons online, too, so you'll have some idea of whether the dealer is giving you good info. you might also call a local quilting shop or two regarding the sewing machine... often the people who work in these shops are true experts!

[nopseud]

Bear in mind that any dealer is going to be looking to be able to turn around and put a sticker on the items for at least twice what he paid you.

Over here, there are quite a lot of books available about collectible items. (I'm thinking of this kind of thing.) It wouldn't be worth buying one, but is there a local bookstore you could get to, and look up the items you have in the books there?

You could also try an auction, if there's one locally, although you need to be careful about working out the fees.

[digitalwave]

Sweetie,

You should do what I've been doing. I go to my local Borders and take some time to go through the books they have on antiques. They're so darned expensive, the books themselves, it's the only way I can get the information I need.

When I sold mom's Singer we got $75.00. It was from the late 1950's, still worked beautifully and was in a solid Maple sewing desk. It was made so the unit dropped down inside the cabinet and it had a leaf that settled over it to make a table.

Definitely do a search on EBay to see what similar units have been selling for. If they've been going well you can always list it as local pick up only. That's what I've done for a lot of the bigger pieces we've sold, like Lee's lathe.

But definitely do some research first to see what things might be worth because they will try to offer you next to nothing for them.

*hugs you hard*