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Price Guides

Using Price Guides to Value Your Collectibles

Price Guides are exactly that, guides. They give you a general snapshot of what any collectible, stamp or coin was worth at the time it was printed.

For that reason, it might be better if you do a little online research to get a more accurate idea of current value.

For example ,the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) web site has a up to date list of US coin values. Since this site only promotes its grading service, I would accept its valuations as accurate.

You can also buy magazines such as the monthly Coins or the weekly Linn's Stamp News for current prices in those fields.

For every collectible that has any kind of a following, you will find a related periodical or price guide.

Condition

All prices guides take condition into account - most provide prices for the same item in various states of preservation. A problem can arise when your opinion as to condition varies from accepted norms.

There are services and appraisers whose job it is to establish values for different types of collectibles. While you might not use them for toys or action figures, unless they are extremely rare, they are used quite often to value antiques, coins and the like, The cost of their services ranges from inexpensive on up depending on the rarity of the object.

But the actual value of any collectible is determined by how much a buyer will pay for it.

Popularity

Another aspect of valuing collectibles is popularity. Certain items or artists may be "hot" at times and then loose some or all of their following.

For example, when communism fell in Russia, there was a huge upsurge in the popularity of Russian arts and crafts as the newly wealthy in that country sought to repatriate artworks that had left the country with the nobility at the time of the revolution.

The only way to follow these kinds of trends is to read the Arts section of major newspapers or watch programs such as the "Antiques Roadshow" - which does appraisals of all sorts of things, from rare antiques and jewelry to pop art and toys.

eBay

eBay has thousands of auctions and fixed price sales of collectibles going on all the time. In a way this is a good way to determine the true value of your items.

Most of the items for sale or auction have fairly good pictures of the product to make it easier to compare condition. And the prices are probably pretty close to what you would actually receive if you tried to sell to a dealer or a knowledgeable collector.

The problem with eBay is that all the buyers are looking for bargains.

But, on the other hand, the problem with price guides and appraisals is that they usually don't take into account transaction costs, the dealer's markup or the cost of finding a buyer.

If a dealer can get $1000 for an antique, he probably won't pay you over $500 for it. The same is true for all collectibles.

The dealer has to pay for rent, utilities, employees, insurance etc. He makes his money on the markup.

If you can find buyers on your own, you may get full value or not, depending on who the buyer is.

The more knowledgeable the buyer is the more likely you will have to take a cut from prices listed in guides.

Conclusion

Whether buying or selling, it is important to know what you doing. Researching online and reading a periodical related to your collectible will give you invaluable information and help you avoid overpaying.

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