Q: My employer has asked me to help her sell an antique sleigh. This sleigh was made in Germany. She says it's about 200 years old. I haven't seen it yet, so I don't know if it is in good enough shape to use as a horse-drawn vehicle. I think that she might get the maximum price if our market place goes beyond the state we're in, but shipping an item like this is also a concern. I've never researched the selling price of an item such as this. Any suggestions on how to proceed? I placed this in the Christmas category because sleigh rides are commonly associated with the Christmas holiday season. This item had also been used as a display to market Christmas and holiday decor in a retail showroom. eBay is an obvious marketplace. Does anyone have an original idea?
A: First thing is you need to know it's condition and what it involves (is it on runners or wheels? or some even had both... Is it a two seater or four? Etc, Etc. Then you need to do research on what similar sleighs have gone for lately. Ebay has a way to search auctions that have ended: From the home page www.ebay.com click on "advanced search" (it is near the search box at the top). Then type in your keyword (i.e. "antique sleigh") and click the box by "completed listings only". You can add any other search preferences and then scroll to the bottom and click search. (If you haven't already signed in to ebay it will prompt you do to do so). Green prices are what the things actually sold for, red means that was the starting price and it didn't sell. That is frequently because the "reserve" (minimum price a seller will accept) was not reached by the bidders. Then you need to decide how you want to sell it. You could sell it directly to an antiques dealer, sell it in an auction house, or on ebay. You could also look online for companies or people who restore sleighs and sell them - and highball an offer to them, to see if they're interested. If you list it on ebay, you will probably either want to set a reserve or start the auction at a price you'd be willing to accept (not $1 or whatever). Good luck! EDIT: The main reason I mentioned Ebay is that it is a good place to research pricing. It's easily accessible and free to look at recent pricing. Otherwise you're going to have to find an appraiser to give you a value - and probably pay him. I did offer other "original" ideas, see the ideas above and links below. However, please know that the more "original" the idea is, the fewer potential customers you'll have. Certainly you can try selling it in the classifieds (very small audience) or craigslist (larger audience, but not frequented by as many big-ticket buyers) but the ideas I listed above are more likely to help. You may be able to either find an antique dealer or a librarian who can help you find out if there is an auction house or antique dealer nearby who specializes in antique horse drawn vehicles. That will take some work on your part. Everyone suggests ebay because that's the easiest way to go. One other idea is to contact stables in your area to find out if there is any interest in the population of horse owners.