Selling an old painting

RFW

valueman1 said:

@RFW The painting would look so out of place in my home unfortunately, it’s way too big. I’ve come across a website called ivaluer which gives you a valuation for £10 per item, they might be worth a try. 

Don't pay anyone! There are plenty of respectable auction houses who will do it for free.

valueman1

@RFW I was thinking it would be better to get an independent view.  I assume auctioneers will give you a flattering figure to get the business, a bit like an estate agent!

theoretica

valueman1 said:

@RFW I was thinking it would be better to get an independent view.  I assume auctioneers will give you a flattering figure to get the business, a bit like an estate agent!

Look at a few auctions and the 'estimates' and then the sold prices. And ask both what they expect it to fetch and what estimate they would put on it. There are some auctioneers who put out low estimates to drum up bidding business, but others are a mix of up, down and about right - sale prices can vary a lot and it is rather fun being in the auction room as something rises to 10 times its estimate and the auctioneer looks more and more astonished.   Other things go unsold.  You may get lucky, you may not.  

I would also investigate whether there have been any galleries sell the artist's work recently, or which specialise in whatever style it is - they will of course want their profit too, but will be looking at the price it will fetch if displayed for a while, rather than the price on the day.  If you can find the dealer who might be bidding on it at auction that would be a middleman cut out.

Thrugelmir

Christies provide a free valuation service. 

https://www.christies.com/selling-services/auction-services/auction-estimates/overview/?cid=EM_SEM|ACCT:ChristiesBrand|CMP:ChristiesConsignmentUK|AG:BrandGeneralExact|ENGINE:GOOGLE|NT:SEARCH|RG:UK|BANNER:|IMG:|KW:christies%20art%20valuation|MT:e|SID:1000AER?rnd=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwrPCGBhALEiwAUl9X0w801lxoEv0Oz4b57WN6DOgNEUL5XqohKoR8pwuUcx-hY9uXe34M-BoC7I8QAvD_BwE

RFW

valueman1 said:

@RFW I was thinking it would be better to get an independent view.  I assume auctioneers will give you a flattering figure to get the business, a bit like an estate agent!

It doesn't really work like that.
The auction house doesn't want to take in something that won't sell. They're more likely to give a lower value figure so that the item will sell even if you ask for a reserve to go on it. Auctioneers may occasionally get something wrong but they wouldn't purposefully overvalue, undervalue, possibly.
I wouldn't pay for a valuation, especially if I didn't have the details of who would be doing the valuation beforehand. With the auction house they have a reputation to uphold.
If you just search "free auction valuations" or "free auction valuation days" you'll find loads of good auction houses. Some of the bigger names may be quite costly to sell with, so be wary of that.

soolin

RFW said:

valueman1 said:

@RFW I was thinking it would be better to get an independent view.  I assume auctioneers will give you a flattering figure to get the business, a bit like an estate agent!

It doesn't really work like that.
The auction house doesn't want to take in something that won't sell. They're more likely to give a lower value figure so that the item will sell even if you ask for a reserve to go on it. Auctioneers may occasionally get something wrong but they wouldn't purposefully overvalue, undervalue, possibly.
I wouldn't pay for a valuation, especially if I didn't have the details of who would be doing the valuation beforehand. With the auction house they have a reputation to uphold.
If you just search "free auction valuations" or "free auction valuation days" you'll find loads of good auction houses. Some of the bigger names may be quite costly to sell with, so be wary of that.

I would add to that as well, what is a 'valuation' is it for insurance purposes, probate, for selling? Each of those is likely to give the OP a different answer. Once you have a valuation from an internet valuer what then? You still have to sell it and taking it to an auctioneer and saying this has been valued at £5000 is pointless if auction house say they would expect it to be nearer £3000.

I go to a lot of auctions , many mid end items come with a paper valuation from either online or one of those shops that just values , most auctioneers are honest and say look at the valuation but do not rely on a bit of paper,  research the item yourself - some may go as far as to question the valuation and tell you to make your own mind up. 

Again if you are selling privately a dealer will do his own valuation and pay perhaps half or two thirds of it as he needs to resell , and if you are selling online then just remember you are responsible for packing, shipping and getting it to the buyer in one piece.