Who Said There Are No Collectible Hunters At Garage Sales? HA!

Don’t believe for a second that there are only garage salers out there looking solely for bargains on no longer needed strollers or a side table for their cabin at the lake. Many collectors visit garage and yard sales knowing that folks bring out things they know nothing about in hopes of sweeping up a valuable piece. And they know the majority of the time you will say “make me an offer” because you won’t know what it’s worth. Do you think they are going to play fair? Someone dangling $50 in front of you for anything at a garage sale should make you take that piece and plant it right back in a safe place in the closet where you found it. Then take your time and do some research. Either online or by contacting appraisers who only have an interest in giving you a value and not to purchase unless you are happy with their price. Get several opinions and value ranges so you can make a good decision. If you know it’s worth $50, then that certainly is another story. But if you are surprised at $50 with no knowledge of the value, make sure it isn’t a perfect first edition book you found in Grandpa’s desk in the basement .

Share your knowledge. Link your business.

Now ValueJockey members can add a direct link to their website, blog and more. Simply copy and paste the URL when logged into your account and your Member name becomes a clickable link. Each time your Member name displays, whether you post your own items to get help or when helping others, our readers are able to go directly to your business website, blog or any one of the popular social networking website pages.

This offers professionals, collectors, hobbyists and anyone who would like to advertise their expertise and to learn more about them.

Great tool and completely free with your membership.

Get The Most Out Of Your Yard Sale

So you’re planning a yard sale and rummaging through your home in search of items to sell.

Remember – older items left laying in boxes, closets, basements and attics will look dirty, yellowed and sometimes in need of paint. Your first inclination before selling them is to clean them. Often to retain the highest value, you’d be better off not cleaning them at all. If you know without a doubt what the value is and cleaning would help to sell it, then go ahead but use care. On the other hand, if you’re not sure, don’t take a chance on reducing the value by trying to fix a dolls hair or refinishing a piece of furniture.

Without knowing more about the item, you could be drastically reducing it’s value.

Garage Sales Are A Collectors Dream

Spring is right around the corner and garage sales will be cropping up everywhere.

If you are hosting a garage sale, double check the value of items around your home on ValueJockey.com before selling them because you never know what you may really have.

And if you are out scouting sales yourself, educate yourself on what to be looking for.  You may be only doing the garage sale circuit for the excercise but why not take time to spot that treasure of a lifetime.

A few categories we’re listing here are worth noting; trading cards, motorcycle memorabilia, toys, old Christmas ornaments and decor and collectibles from space movies and TV. Ones like Star Wars and Star Trek. Of course there are many others.  It is important to remember that the real value comes from collectibles in very good to good condition with high demand today and the more rare the item the better.

Nintendo Game Auction on eBay Proves to Be a Winner.

Everyone loves to hear a success story. And in this case, the Nintendo collectors out there have to be really smiling! The recent sale of the rare Nintendo game Stadium Events sold for over $40,000.  This sale helps us all understand the opportunities out there and provides valuable information regarding collectibles. Unwrapped, unused and well preserved are key factors in regard to how much an item is worth. Of course, this game is rare today, so that factor was a large part of the final price.

Wonder how many folks are digging around in their basements and garages this afternoon? Or their kids bedrooms?

Finding the value of your things online.

We have members posting items on ValueJockey that claim they cannot locate information anywhere on their item. Since the internet is so vast it serves as a great resource, but can be daunting once you start digging for information. The digging can go on for days. Certainly that can be part of the fun. You just have to remember to check that your source is reliable.

Not all things can be found on the internet. There are items that are one of a kind and things you most want to research very carefully, as you could find that you possess a very valuable item. Getting your item shown, lets say on ValueJockey can increase the chance of the right person seeing it that can offer help on the worth, history, details and even suggest the best place to sell it if you are interested in doing so. In all cases – get as many folks as you can viewing the things that you would like information on. You never know what you’ll learn.

ValueJockey Membership Drive For Charity.

Now through January 15th, 2010, we are contributing up to 50% of our earnings to The Salvation Army.  All folks have to do to contribute is to sign up on our website.  There is no obligation, just a simple sign-up form.  For every 10,000 new members added on ValueJockey, we will give 1% of our earnings for that time period to The Salvation Army.  It’s easy and it’s all for a great cause!  Please join us in lending them a hand.

Ralph and Terry Kovel

At ValueJockey, our customers are looking for accurate and comprehensive value information. There are folks who study values of antiques and collectibles that are not certified or otherwise professionally qualified, but still have an enormous amount of knowledge based on their research and time spent on specific interests. But in the professional realm, an additional resource is the reliable, trusted team of Ralph and Terry Kovel. They have a website that you can visit and they have many books for gathering information on antiques and collectibles. Don’t miss the opportunity to read more about them at www.kovels.com. And look for their publications that certainly can help answer questions about value and history of everything from furniture to pottery.

ValueJockey.com Knows How To Send Customers to Sell On Your Classified Ad or Online Auction Site.

We have an easy program implimented to send our customers to your classified ad or auction company when they are ready to sell their items. Our members receive information about a variety of companies that offer classifieds or online auctions. We can add your company logo and link in several areas within our site to directly send our members to you. Visit our AdParner page for more information.

http://www.valuejockey.com/advertise.cfm

Information From The Real Professionals

We have researched many professionals involved one way or another with collectibles, antiques and so forth. There are many wonderful professionals with valuable insight into the value of things old and new. But here at ValueJockey we have found several experts that stand out among the rest. Previously we provided some information about Dr. Lori, who spends an enormous amount of time traveling, speaking in cities around the country and getting the word out about becoming savvy with the things you find at home and the things you encounter from family when you just can’t determine if they are valuable or not. Another wonderful professional that you should know is Helaine Fendelman. She writes for several publications, including Country Living Magazine. Along with her own books written with an unbelievable amount of information to help those with an interest in doing their own research and investigation in the antique world, she unquestionably is one of our favorite authorities on the subject. A couple of the books I would recommend to everyone are “Price It Yourself” and “Treasures In Your Attic”. If you have any interest in values and the worth of objects, you will really enjoy reading both of these books.  They have been very popular and surely would make wonderful reference books for anyone.