Jump to content

How To Sell An Antique Collection?


metice

Recommended Posts

I have a friend who has a valuable collection of Buddha antiques from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Burma. He would like to sell them but no longer has any connections in the antiques trade. I was wondering what might be the best way of going about it. He has no idea of their value so I think we need a professional who can put a price on them. Any idea where we might find someone? Any thoughts on trying to sell them here in Bangkok or perhaps overseas? Many thanks,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Every shopping mall I have been in has at least one shop that, buys, sells and rents Buddha amulets etc.

If it were me I would visit as many places as possible for an appraisal, quite simple really, just walk in and say you want to sell them, wait for an itemised quote, say you will need time to thinka bout it, then move onto the next store.

I have seen whole markets that deal only in what you talk about, on certain days of the week there can be as many as 20 or 30 different dealers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AFAIK it is not easy to export real antique buddha related stuff and you need an authentification / paper of origin for each piece...

export of antique Buddha sculptures is legally virtually impossible and doing it illegally is extremely unwise! there's also no way to assess the actual value which might be a fraction in Bangkok compared to what collectors are willing to pay at an auction in Hong Kong, London or New York.

being a sculpture collector myself i have used several times an "online valuation" company which charges quite moderate fees. of course there is no way online to verify the age of individual pieces and all valuations are "indications only".

http://www.valuemystuff.com/pricing

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get your friend to make the enquiries. If he's a collector surely he knows where he needs to get these things valued. If not, why?

Fair at for helping but if the collection is very valuable he must enquire on his own. What if you advise him and he sells to find he's undersold? Will he think you're at it?

Dangerous ground is friends and money. Give him the info and let him alone IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depending on what you are selling, check with River City auction http://www.riverside...n.php?lot_id=44 or

Eurseree Collecting http://www.eurseree.com/

I've used both with success. The former is for more general antiques and the latter deals more with coins, stamps, etc., although they also do sell Chinese and Thai antiques. Obviously both places have an Asian bias, but I have seen American and European items at both. They do have people who will help you with valuations or, within reason, will accept your reserve price so you'll know the minimum you'll get if things are sold.

I would NOT recommend you go about trying to sell things directly to dealers or shops in malls.

River City has auctions the first Saturday of every month. Their office and showroom is on the fourh floor at River City. If items are sold, payment is made to you after about one month.

Eurseree's auctions take place every three months in the Narai Hotel on Silom. Mr. Vitoon will visit you at home if you'd rather not haul everything down to his office. He also visits Pattaya from time to time.

Both have conducted sales on behalf of Royal sponsored charities in addition to more typical buyers/sellers.

Edited by Suradit69
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depending on what you are selling, check with River City auction http://www.riverside...n.php?lot_id=44 or

Eurseree Collecting http://www.eurseree.com/

I've used both with success. The former is for more general antiques and the latter deals more with coins, stamps, etc., although they also do sell Chinese and Thai antiques. Obviously both places have an Asian bias, but I have seen American and European items at both. They do have people who will help you with valuations or, within reason, will accept your reserve price so you'll know the minimum you'll get if things are sold.

I would NOT recommend you go about trying to sell things directly to dealers or shops in malls.

River City has auctions the first Saturday of every month. Their office and showroom is on the fourh floor at River City. If items are sold, payment is made to you after about one month.

Eurseree's auctions take place every three months in the Narai Hotel on Silom. Mr. Vitoon will visit you at home if you'd rather not haul everything down to his office. He also visits Pattaya from time to time.

Both have conducted sales on behalf of Royal sponsored charities in addition to more typical buyers/sellers.

Too late to add to my message above, but both websites have online auction catalogues so you can see the sort of things that have been sold and the prices fetched. (Although at the moment River City's is down because they are loading pictures etc for next Saturday's Sale). Also you can go to River City next Saturday, 5th January, to see what's being sold and the prices realized. They generally have a good deal of Buddhist art work for sale. Khun Noi is the contact person in their office.

Edited by Suradit69
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 10 years later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.









×
×
  • Create New...