5 Ways to Get Cash for the Collectibles Your Kids Don’t Want to Inherit

If you plan to sell the collection yourself, photograph each item. When you set up the shot, Pitman recommends focusing on the object without a cluttered background. Depending on what it is, you could put another object in the photo for scale, like a ruler or a quarter.

2. Decide if you want to sell in person

Once you know what’s in your collection, it’s time to determine how to sell it. If you want to sell the items yourself, you could opt for a yard sale, a flea market or a collectible show.

Yard sales can be suitable for unloading certain items and are pretty easy to organize and hold, but they’re not great for selling valuable collectibles, says Alan Bush, 71, a professional stamp dealer in West Palm Beach, Florida. “If you think that your collection is valuable, you’re not going to do well with your neighbors picking through your front yard,” he says. Similarly, flea markets often have lower barriers to entry for sellers, but those shoppers tend to be looking for bargains too.

If your collection is worth a lot of money, Farrell suggests taking your wares to a collectible fair where you can sell to collectors and dealers — though that might entail traveling to the event, paying a booth fee, setting everything up, and repacking anything that doesn’t sell.

3. Consider online marketplaces

Farrell says many older collectors don’t want the hassle of selling their items in person, leading many to sell on online marketplaces like eBay and Etsy. According to Ron Jaiven, general manager of U.S. collectibles at eBay, the site offers access to a global community of 134 million buyers, from casual enthusiasts to serious collectors.

How much you can earn generally depends on the item and its condition. “A rare baseball card in excellent condition could sell for thousands, even tens of thousands, while a well-loved toy might fetch a more modest amount,” says Jaiven.

Schmid says he’s sold several items on eBay. In one case, when he listed a 5-inch metal mail truck for $10, “within hours I started getting messages from people saying not to end this auction early because it turned out it was very valuable.” It sold for more than $5,000.

Still, Coogle says selling collectibles online is like running a small business — it typically requires creating a merchant account on the site, posting photos of items with descriptions, and handling fulfillment, shipping and returns. And a bad customer review can negatively impact your business profile’s rating.

Bush notes that if you’re hoping to sell a collection quickly, an online marketplace may not be your best option. Some items might not sell for a while, depending on their demand and your list price. “I have currency and paper money and stamps and coins that have been on eBay for more than 10 years,” he says.

There are also transaction fees to consider. For example, an eBay store’s fee starts at about $5 a month, and Etsy has a shop set-up fee of about $30.  

4. Look into hiring a professional dealer

Coogle says the more specialized and valuable your collection, the more you could benefit from hiring a professional dealer to sell it.

A professional dealer can take your collection on consignment and, using their expertise and connections — including mailing lists built over decades, online catalogs and an extensive social media following — can make it a hassle-free process. Depending on the size and value of the collection, you can earn up to 80 percent of the sale.

Schmid, who was previously a stamp and coin dealer, says that working with someone who specializes in your type of collection can help you get the best price, given their knowledge, experience and reputation in the space. From comic books to baseball cards to Beatles memorabilia to vintage jewelry, there is no shortage of niche dealers.

Another option is to sell your collection to a dealer outright, though you’ll likely be selling it at a discount, says Coogle.

5. Think about going the auction house route

Jaiven says if you have a very rare or valuable collection and want a white-glove selling experience, you could try an auction house. “We can take material across a broad number of categories and a wide variety of price points and sell it quite quickly,” says Pitman, the auction house director in New York. Many auction houses have national and international buyer lists, she adds.

Typically, you pay the auction house a commission that’s deducted from the sale’s proceeds. There may also be other charges, like insurance or an appraisal fee (for example, a diamond may need to be evaluated for exact carat weight, color and clarity). Commissions very much depend on the value of the collection in its entirety. Standard commissions across the industry for a single item can range from 20 percent for an item that sells for less than $2,000, 15 percent for items that sell for $2,000 to $5,000, and 10 percent for items that sell for more than $5,000.

Which auction house to use? Pitman recommends starting with an internet search of auction houses that sell your specific type of collectible, whether it’s Sèvres porcelain or Georg Jensen silver. Like a lot of individual dealers, many auction houses specialize in a particular category of products. When comparing, Coogle suggests looking at customer testimonials and ratings and interviewing auctioneers before choosing the house you feel most comfortable with.

Not ready to sell? Make things easier for your heirs

Though Schmid has sold several collections on eBay, on consignment with a dealer and at auctions, he’s not quite ready to part with his stamp collection. But he has provided his sons with instructions, including contact information for the auction house that specializes in stamps that he wants them to work with when they’re ready to sell the collection after he dies.

If you’re not ready to sell your collectibles, craft a plan specifying the best way to sell them and give it to your heirs. Says Schmid: “All it takes is a simple little note in a collection that reads, ‘In the event of my death, talk to so-and-so about selling the collection,’ with the name and a phone number.”