Where To Sell Your Antiques

If you sell the correct items, vintage and antique items can often bring you money. But where should you sell your antiques for the highest possible price?

Selling at local antique shops, in my experience, will bring you quick money, but not necessarily the most money. After all, local antique shops purchase with the intention of reselling at a profit.

As a result, most antique shop buyers will try to make you a low-ball offer. Consider these other options for selling your antiques before bringing them to local shops.

Best Places to Sell Antiques

The internet sites and stores listed below will assist you in selling your antiques for cash. You can sell online or locally with these options, depending on what works best for you.

The items that each site, store, or other venue accepts will differ. As a result, before listing your item online, read the fine print. You might also want to experiment with apps for selling online or locally.

1. Etsy

Etsy only permits people to sell handcrafted, custom-made, unique, or vintage items. You fall into the “vintage” category if you sell antiques.

On Etsy, several types of items qualify as vintage, including:

(a) Clothing
(b) Books, movies, and music
(c) Home decor items
(d) Jewelry and accessories
(e) Toys and games

When it comes to vintage items, Etsy requires that the items need to be at least 20 years old. If the items you want to sell aren’t at least 20 years old, you won’t be able to sell them on Etsy.

To sell on Etsy, you must pay a fee. There is a listing fee of 20 cents. After your item sells, you will be charged a 5% transaction fee.

You may be charged an additional fee depending on the type of payment you accept and how the buyer pays. Fees are detailed on the Etsy website.

2. Bonanza

According to the Bonanza website, it sells “everything but the ordinary.” There are no listing or setup fees when you sell your antiques on Bonanza.

When you sell, however, you will be charged a 3.5 percent commission. When you sell your antique, you will be charged an additional 5.5 percent fee if you choose to have it advertised on Google ads.

Other advertising rates are available from Bonanza to reveal your antiques to more buyers. If you plan on selling antiques on a regular basis, this feature could be very useful.

3. OfferUp

OfferUp functions similarly to Craigslist. The website is designed for people who want to buy and sell locally.

One advantage of using OfferUp is that there are no listing or selling fees. Furthermore, there is a section of the website dedicated to the sale of antiques.

This means that when you list your antiques on the site, buyers may be able to find them more easily. OfferUp is rapidly becoming one of the most famous online marketplaces for selling antiques and other collectibles.

4. Ruby Lane

Ruby Lane specializes in assisting people with the sale of vintage items. It is, however, geared toward sellers who want to sell antiques on a regular basis.

In fact, the site’s listing rules state that you must always have at least 10 items for sale. When you open a Ruby Lane shop, there are no listing fees.

You will, however, pay $69 per month for your shop and a one-time setup fee of $100. If you list more than 80 items, you will be charged 1–10 cents per item per month.

5. ArtFire

ArtFire is a store that sells handmade items, craft supplies, and vintage (antique) products. To sell on ArtFire, you must first open a shop. The following are the shop fees:

(a) Standard Shop: $4.95 per month, 23 cents per item listed, and 12.75 percent final valuation fee

(b) Popular Shop: $20 per month, no listing fees, and a final valuation fee of 4.5 percent

(c) Featured Shop: $40 per month, no listing fees, and a final valuation fee of 4.5 percent

The final valuation fees are calculated based on the final selling price. You can list up to 250 items for sale in the Standard Shop. You can list up to 1,000 and 2,500 items for sale in the Famous and Featured shops, respectively.

6. eBay

eBay is the tried-and-true method for selling antiques and other products. One advantage of selling antiques on eBay is its global reach. It is over 177 million shoppers (according to the eBay website) mean massive exposure for antiques you want to sell.

If you sell as an individual, you will pay no listing fees and a final valuation fee of 10%. If, on the other hand, you want to sell as a business, eBay has shop plans in place. For more details, visit the eBay website.

7. Craigslist

Because there are no listing or selling fees on Craigslist, it is ideal for selling antiques. Furthermore, the majority of your buyer market for the items you sell will most likely be local to where you live.

This means you won’t have to ship your antiques and can instead meet with your buyers in person. The market for selling antiques on Craigslist may differ depending on your location.

There were thousands of antique items for sale in my major metropolitan city. The results in your area may differ. You could also try selling on websites similar to Craigslist.

8. Flea Markets

Another way to sell your antiques is to sell them at flea markets. At a flea market, there are several ways to make money.

You can charge rent at a stationary flea market located in a nearby building or market area. Alternatively, you can attend a traveling flea market when it comes to your area.

You could even participate in the traveling market as it passes through town to town. If you have a large number of antiques to sell, selling them at a flea market is probably the best option.

You could also sell at a flea market if you have antiques and other non-antique items to sell. Most flea markets charge a fee to rent a booth or table where you can sell your wares.

9. Facebook

Facebook is quickly becoming one of my favorite marketplaces for buying and selling. One of the reasons for this is that selling on Facebook Marketplace is completely free. You can sell in one of two ways.

To begin, you can sell your product by simply posting it and sharing it with your Facebook followers. This can be a good option because you are usually interacting with customers you know.

Second, you can sell your antiques on Facebook Marketplace. Facebook Marketplace is a section of Facebook where you can sell items.

Your antique listings are visible to anyone who visits Facebook Marketplace. This means you’ll have a much larger potential audience than if you simply posted to your timeline.

And, because all customers must have a Facebook account, there is an element of security involved.

10. eBid

eBid operates in a manner similar to eBay. However, there is one significant difference: lower fees than on eBay. In fact, eBid guarantees that you will never pay more than 3% to sell your antiques and other items there.

eBid is not a new site; it has been in operation since 1999. And, according to the website, they presently have over 3 million products for sale. This means that if you list on the site, you can be confident that you will reach a large number of people.

If you want to sell something on the site, simply click the “Start Selling” button. From there, the website will direct you.

On eBid, you can sell a variety of antiques, including:

(a) Art
(b) Clothing
(c) Coins
(d) Collectibles
(e) Furniture and home decor items
(f) Jewelry and accessories.

If you want to reach more people, eBid can be a wonderful website to use. You can reach a large audience without paying huge fees thanks to their “zero listing fees” policy and a maximum of 3 percent selling fees.

11. Consignment Stores

Going to local consignment stores is another alternative for selling your antiques for cash.

Consignment shops typically operate as follows:

(a) You bring your vintage item into the store
(b) Store employees evaluate and price the item
(c) The item gets displayed in-store
(d) Once the item sells, you split the sell money with the store

Consignment stores typically operate on a commission basis. Depending on the store’s policy, they’ll take 20%, 30%, 40%, or more of what your antique product sells for.

Each consignment shop has its own set of rules regarding the percentage of the sale that they will accept. As a result, it’s critical to understand the shop’s policies before listing your item for sale there.

This includes understanding cancellation policies. Check that you are not obligated to pay the shop if your item does not sell.

12. Yard Sales

You could also try having a yard sale to sell your antiques. Consider holding your yard sale during citywide or neighborhood-wide sales to attract the most customers.

You will be assisting in ensuring that there will be a large number of people shopping as a result of your actions. Another suggestion is to group your sale with those of other families or neighbors. Shoppers may be attracted by multi-family sales because they expect to find more items for sale.

Finally, when pricing your antiques at a yard sale, be flexible. People adore a good deal. Set your prices with some leeway for bargainers.

Alternatively, decide ahead of time how low you’ll go for the sale price. Would you rather maintain the product if you can’t sell it for a certain price? Is it simply a matter of getting rid of the antique?

Evaluate the answers to these types of questions before pricing your antiques.

13. Pawn Shops

Local pawn shops may also be a good place to sell your antiques. While pawn shops allow you to sell your belongings in order to borrow money, they also permit you to sell them permanently and keep the money.

Look online for pawn shops near you and bring your products in to see what they might give you for them. Make it clear that you will not want the item back and that it is theirs to sell if a price is agreed upon.

Keep in mind that the goal of pawnshops is to buy low and sell high to make a profit. As a result, you may not receive as much money from a pawn shop as you would from selling online.

14. Local Antique Shops

I mentioned how selling at antique shops may not bring you as much money as selling elsewhere. While this is true, you could profit if you have a large number of antiques to sell.

How? By renting out space in an antique store. Many antique shops rent space to vendors who have a large collection of antiques to sell.

The dealer — or renter — prices their items as they see fit. Customers walk in and purchase the items.

You could even have a steady stream of items to sell and turn it into a business. Dealers obtain the antiques they sell from a variety of sources, including:

(a) Estate sales
(b) Garage sales
(c) Flea markets
(d) Auctions

They look for good antique deals and then sell it back them in antique stores where they rent space. Do you have a large number of antiques to sell, or do you want to make a living selling antique? If this is the case, you should look into becoming an antique shop seller.

15. Auction Houses

If you have a large collection of antiques, another option is to sell them at an auction house. Furthermore, if you have highly valuable antiques, such as automobiles, selling them through an auction house may be advantageous.

Auction houses will sell your antiques at auction and keep a portion of the proceeds. To reach a larger audience, the auction will be advertised.

People enjoy going to auctions because competing to buy items can be exciting. Auctioneers work hard to generate excitement, which encourages people to bid. This is because it is in the auctioneer’s best interest to obtain the highest possible price for your antiques.

The more money they make per piece, the more profit they make. However, the amount of money you’ll make from your antique items is determined by who attends the auction and whether or not they’re looking for what you’re selling.

Buyers who are searching for your type of antique are more likely to buy if they are present.

Summary:

If you have antiques to sell, consider one of the methods listed above to get the most money for them. The profit you will make from your antiques is determined by a number of factors.

The audience you reach, the demand for your type of antique, and the method you use to sell all have an impact on your bottom line. The right type of antique and the right audience, on the other hand, can result in a large profit.