Selling memorabilia to boost funds

hockeylass

Hi guys

Not sure if I am in the right place, but I am looking for ways to boost our income as we've recently moved house and jobs and things are very up in the air at the moment financially.

I have owned a collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia for more than 20 years, built up over time from my childhood. I collected at first for fun because I was a fan, but as I grew I saw it as an investment. I knew I would sell it eventually, as and when I wanted to "cash in" so to speak.

After he died I considered selling then, but I felt a bit too mercenary at that point and decided to hold on. I don't suppose it is at peak value now, but things never go that way when you need the cash!

Does anyone know of any reputable places I could take the collection to value it? And any suggestions on the best way to sell it?

I am inclined to find someone who will buy it all — just to take the hassle out —!but I'm unsure.

Any advice greatly received!

surveyqueenuk

This website might be of some use to you, if you haven't already seen it.

http://www.mjjcollectors.com/

soolin

I started my small business selling memorabilia , although the stuff I sold was mainly sci fi, cult and very little music stuff. The market isn't awfully strong anymore which is why I got out of that market, people tend not to collect clutter and the prices have subsequently dropped.

There will be specialist auction houses that will give you free valuations, try a Google search using various keywords and see what you turn up. Also as there is an overlap with cult/sci fi and music try looking at the big comic con type sites, they often carry adverts for specialist dealers who might be worth contacting.

Alternatively if you are talking real memorabilia, and by that I mean personal items that were owned by MJ and where you have full provenance then look at the bigger auction houses as the market might be stronger in the US.

If however your memorabilia is more general, readily available souvenirs, t shirts etc then you may well be disappointed at the prices .

Lastly, if you have been buying this stuff can you perhaps not look at the places you bought from to sell through?

soolin

The other place to consider for an idea of prices is ebay. Don't look at the items listed, look at the items sold and unsold as that might give an idea of what is likely to sell and what you may have to keep. A quick look at MJ memorabilia suggests the market has gone for routine items , very little is selling at all.

Although memorabilia is no longer my main field I do still get approached by people looking to sell off collections and my heart does tend to sink when they tell me they have bought all this as their pension. It is not unusual when they are referred on to specialists to be told that the collection that probably cost thousands is likely to only recover 10% after all selling fees and expenses and they might have been better off with a tin box under the bed.

However, as per my earlier post, unique items that have direct provenance to the artist/actor etc can still sell well as the fact there is only one leads to a bidding war. It's the routine, T shirts, dolls, mass produced stuff that loses value as there is still too much around.

hockeylass

Thanks for the advice Soolin,

A lot of it is music, but I do have a few rarities, old tour scarves and tees, tour merchandise, books and pristine magazines etc.

I never saw it as anything major, and most of it was bought with my pocket money at jumble sales when I was a kid. I never paid out much for items, so don't expect a fortune back. But if i have a few hundred pounds' worth then it was worth doing I reckon!

I've seen a couple of websites which trade in these kinds of things, so I might see if they can give some guidance.

soolin

hockeylass wrote: »

Thanks for the advice Soolin,

A lot of it is music, but I do have a few rarities, old tour scarves and tees, tour merchandise, books and pristine magazines etc.

I never saw it as anything major, and most of it was bought with my pocket money at jumble sales when I was a kid. I never paid out much for items, so don't expect a fortune back. But if i have a few hundred pounds' worth then it was worth doing I reckon!

I've seen a couple of websites which trade in these kinds of things, so I might see if they can give some guidance.

Do take a look at the completed sales on ebay, the stuff you mention doesn't appear to have much of a value so that probably leaves out any of the serious auction houses or dealers. You might be better listing it individually on ebay and seeing if you get any interest at all. Perhaps try and sell the stuff that does have a history of selling and then make cheap lots up of the rest.

soolin

hockeylass wrote: »

I've seen a couple of websites which trade in these kinds of things, so I might see if they can give some guidance.

One point, do take some of the specialist website valuations with a pinch of salt, if I believed some of them for the things I have I would nearly be a millionaire.

Ebay is really the best place to judge what actually sells, and what is just a made up valuation. Don't forget though, don't work on what is listed, work on what sold and what didn't.