Most local auction rooms sell discarded postcards from collectors and dealers, as well as bulk lots from liquidated properties, business permits, collections from people who have died or stopped collecting.
The good news is that specialty postcard dealers rarely hear about these sales, so there’s always a good chance you’ll find lots of lots worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars selling for just a few dollars.
TIPS
* You’ll find some auction houses selling junk full stocks in packages that no one can resell; others promote junk lots mixed with one or two quality items, usually to confuse bidders and create a bidding frenzy. However, others sell only quality items, usually entire collections or entire trade stocks from people who have stopped collecting or selling or who have died or gone out of business.
* Know how unscrupulous traffickers operate. Most dealers know what they are doing and the dishonest few will remove quality items, the process is called ‘selecting’, from anything they buy, and pool the rest back into the auction. The best they sell themselves, often on eBay.
* Visit as many auctions as possible that regularly trade in large bundles of items. Many auction houses have special collectibles sales every few months and can be a wonderful source of low cost, high return goods. Try to get some back catalogs and look for price realizations obtained in previous auctions. You might, for example, get a catalog of the previous year’s Spring and Summer Postcard Sale and a subsequent list of accomplishments, that is, prices achieved. You can sometimes get these catalogs from auction staff, some may even be available to print from the auction company’s website. Compare the lot numbers in the earlier catalog with the actual finishing prices listed in the later catalog. You’ll get a good idea of how close the auction company’s estimates were compared to the final prices. Being able to confidently predict final prices means you can budget for the day, and in an emergency you might even consider placing commission offers without having to visit in person.
* Always try to show up on the day, not only to view but also to bid. Opinions vary and it is not unusual for an auctioneer to describe something as “antique” which in collecting terms is better called “modern”. You can’t afford to bid on items he hasn’t seen, you shouldn’t rely on someone else’s opinion, regardless of their position in the postcard world.
* In the offline auction, please try to check the lots immediately before the bidding starts. This is because lots are sometimes tampered with, often by mistake, usually on purpose, and what you saw yesterday may be totally different from the lots you will buy today.
Find out:
– stolen or damaged items.
– Items moved between lots, so a lot that contained junk yesterday is packed with high-value collectibles today, and all the postcards you wanted are no longer part of the lot you’re bidding on.
– Higher priced items are often hidden behind lower value items so most people see junk and low value pieces and probably won’t make an offer.
