12 Hot Items to Consign

The idea of living a more simple, decluttered life has become very popular. This journey starts with deciding what items you have that other people may be interested in. Keep reading to see if have any of the 12 hot items to consign.

In Marie Kondo’s 2014 mega-best seller book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, she says we should be choosing what we want to keep, not what we want to get rid of.  This encourages you to examine your possessions in a different light and determine if they are useful and beneficial.

Here is Our List of 12 Hot Items to Consign

1.  Fine Art

Selling fine art online is all the rage these days. That means every style remains popular with collectors.  From high priced fine art, sculptures and photography to artists who use different mediums to create their art, a worldwide audience awaits.

2.  Stamps and Coins

Stamp collecting is alive and well. With over 2.5 million collectors worldwide, you are bound to find a buyer.  Mint stamps with the original gum on the back appeal the most to collectors. Stamps in circulation over the last 70 years have decreased in value. However, coins that are no longer in production such as Morgan Dollars and Quarter Eagles are still desirable.

3. Fine Jewelry

Are you ready to part with grandma’s antique jewelry, grandpa’s watch collection or that Tiffany diamond necklace you never wear? We’ve sold many pieces of jewelry that were received as a gift from a previous relationship or marriage. The consigner just wants it and its bad karma out of their home.

Consider getting your jewelry appraised by a certified appraiser.  Many jewelers offer this service for $125 to $250 or you can visit the American Society of Appraisers at www.appraisers.org to find a certified Gems and Jewelry appraiser near you.

4.  High-End Designer Handbags and Accessories

Authentic designer handbags and accessories in great condition always sell well. Selling a fake handbag is illegal under the federal trademark law. That means you can’t even list it as a knock-off.

A pre-owned Chanel black leather caviar skin handbag recently sold for $1,700 on eBay. Other popular brands that sell well are:

• Prada
• Gucci
• Coach
• Fendi
• Celine
• Christian Dior
• Hermes
• Chloe
• Dooney & Bourke
• Yves St Laurent

Second-hand shopping allows buyers to keep up with the latest fashions at a fraction of the cost.

5.  Antiquarian & Collectible Books

Antique books remain very popular among consumers. If you have a first-edition, out-of-print or a book with special features like unusual illustrations, original dust jacket or an autograph, you have something special. According to Fox Business, collectible books gain value at 9 percent per year. You can check the value of most antiquarian books at Abe Books or Biblio websites.

6.  Asian Antiques

Asian cultures are among the oldest in the world and are associated with some of the finest and most interesting antiques and collectible items. China is home to high net worth individuals who are hungry to reclaim their past. And they’ll pay extremely high prices.

One lucky person purchased a Chinese Ding bowl for $3 at a yard sale. That same bowl sold for $2.2M at a New York auction house. If you own any Chinese antiques or like to thrift shop, be on the lookout for these items.

• Chinese vases
• snuff bottles
• Cloisonné objects
• lacquered boxes
• Buddha boxes
• Jade figurines

7.  Vintage Items

Check your attic and garage for some vintage items that may be worth money. An American Flyer model train engine with four cars just sold on eBay for $3,550. A vintage Staley wood planer was bid up to $821 in December 2017 and a pink Western Electric rotary dial telephone (remember those?) sold for $499.99. If you happen to have a collectible train set, vintage lego set, 19th Century camera, or a collection of unique diecast or tin cars, you have something special.

8.  Vintage Dolls & Action Figures

On February 1, 2018, an original 1959 Barbie doll with the original swimsuit was bid up to $4,550 on eBay with 69 bids. An antique French doll pulling a rickshaw sold for $1,850 and a 1950’s Madam Alexander ‘Cissy’ 20” doll with original outfits fetched 26 bids and a selling price of $627. It might be time to raid your parent’s basement!

Other good selling figures are:

• Disney characters
• Star Wars figures
• popular action figures
• classic superheroes

And if they come in their original boxes, they command higher prices.

9. Vintage and Costume Jewelry

Vintage jewelry is considered to be over 100 years old and can be characterized as Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, or Retro.

Costume jewelry ranges from the 1950s to the 1900s and remains popular today. Creative crafters like to repurpose vintage jewelry into modern pieces.

Examples, where costume jewelry may be used, is on:

• art pieces
• embellished onto shoes or belts
• attached o drawer handles
• repurposed into modern jewelry

As an example, one of our client’s inherited thousands of pieces of costume jewelry from her mother’s antique store. We grouped them into lots and watched the bidders go crazy.

10. Vintage Signage

Automotive and railroad tin and porcelain signs appeal to the nostalgic metal sign collector and can fetch hundreds to thousands of dollar. Even rusted, dented or peeling signs from soft drinks to fruit stands continue to draw buyers. Vintage neon clocks and beer signs are just as popular for collectors wanting to achieve a retro style in garage décor, man caves or automotive shops.

11.  Military

If you have any militaria items stuffed away you may want to know that the winner of an oval belt buckle from the Civil War paid $3,900 on eBay and a pair of WWII Army military jump trousers was bid up to $1,969. Uniforms, buttons, medals, and patches from the Civil War, WWI and WWI are highly sought after by collectors.

12. Steampunk

What is Steampunk? Wikipedia explains it as “a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.  They include gears, clocks, watches, top hats, dials, keys, buttons, and goggles.

I’d say this Vladimir Vitovsky giclee print (see photos) we sold in February 2018 resembles a Steampunk style. Vitkovsky says he creates a unique world of emotional surrealism where the past, present, and future are transformed into a heightened sense of “right now.”

Researching Tips

The best way to research your item on eBay is to search Completed Listings, which will tell you what things are actually selling for. Try these tips.

• click the word Advanced next to the blue search button at the top of eBay’s home page
• type the description of your item into the search box
• scroll down and check the Sold Listings box
• narrow your search by using the drop-down box under Sort
• choose to search completed listings from highest to lowest or newest to oldest

Consigning Your Items

A professional consignment company researches your items and obtains the best prices. Just turn them over and start collecting payments as your items sell.  To find out more about Kelly’s Collectibles Consignment Services, click here. We hope you found this article 12 Items to Consign helpful. 

The items pictured above were sold on Kelly’s Collectibles and Online Art Gallery on behalf of our Consigner Clients. 

You may also like “How to Sell Stuff and Make Money”.