How to Have an Odds and End Antique Sale

Chippendale New England Chest of Drawers

For many people, antiques hold great value as a remembrance of family members who have passed away. Some people feel that there holdings have monetary value and should investigate the worth of these items.

Things You'll Need

• Tables
• Tablecloths
• Small cash box in order to place money from sales
• Clean dust cloth

Instructions

1. 

   Get a good feel of the value of your antiques. In doing this, you must know a thing or two about your item. If you know the brand of the item, search the Web using that as your guide; you'll most likely find pictures of something created by that artist; e.g. Jake Tennenbaum shelving. If you know the year that the piece was constructed/created, search using the item name/features, then type the year. For example: antique mahagony chair, 1887. When only knowing the material used in creation of the item, try listing such things. Use descriptives words and try to be exact, especially if there is a picture of some known person or location on the item. For example, "pine, hand-carved, hand-painted, framed, canvas oil painting, Abraham Lincoln."

2. Decide whether you'll need to have your sale indoors, outdoors or a little bit of both. As a rule, it's nice to at least keep your most valuable, high-priced antiques in the house or perhaps in the garage for your sale. If you're advertising with a local publication and feel that collectors only interested in purchasing the items will be visiting, feel free to have the antiques inside your home. Keep the items within a couple of rooms if possible, so as to discourage household movement among would-be purchasers. Some antiques never enter the house; if that is the case, take collectors on a tour around the yard. For example, I have an antique pony cart and some antique tools that look great as an outdoor decoration. I've had the wood treated with an outdoor spar coverage for protection. Helmsman Indoor/Outdoor Spar Urethane Clear Gloss is an example of a great product found at Lowe's and other hardware stores.

3. 

   Your next step will be to advertise in the most effective ways possible, usually in your local newspaper or magazine. It's great to use the largest newspaper in town as well. These two venues will most likely have a Web site for listings. If not, publications such as the Bright Beacon in Bright, Indiana is very useful and in the local phone book.

4. Step four will help us to