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Welcome to the FAQ Section!In many respects, these FAQ pages are the "meat and potatoes" of my information web site, so I'll be udpating the pages often and archiving old Q&A's as I post new ones. I plan to arrange the questions, as I have here, by theme. Have fun!Questions about Value"Lladró values seem to be all over the lot. When you look at a broker's web site, the prices are way up there, but you can buy the same things for a fraction as much on eBay. What's the real value of my item?"If you've ever watched the popular PBS series Antiques Road Show , you'll know that there are at least two kinds of "value" in the world of antiques and collectibles. "Replacement value" for insurance purposes is generally higher than estimated "auction value." Then, of course, there's the price at which the item actually sells, which may be above or below the estimated auction value. In other words, "value" is a relative rather than an absolute term, and the item's value to you for resale purposes will depend on a variety of factors: how much you paid for it, how scarce the item is, how motivated you are to sell it, how long you could wait for the item to move, etc.In the Lladró field, Janet Hammer's prices on A Retired Collection are widely accepted by the insurance industry as replacement values, for the practical reason that she's often the only one with ready access to the scarcer pieces. But that doesn't mean you'll be able to get her prices should you decide to "cut out the middle man" and sell items from your collection directly - because you're not Janet Hammer and don't have her reputation in the field nor her network of contacts.  On the other hand, I've never accepted the notion that eBay is somehow the new benchmark for collectibles pricing. It's hard to factor the price of inconvenience, undeclared condition problems, a limited range of items offered, shipping damage, and the occasional outright fraud into "eBay values." Besides, values are often volatile even on eBay. What's "the eBay value" on an item that sells for $100 on eBay one week, $25 the next, and $250 the week after that? I bought "Dreamy Kitten," Lladró #6567G from an authorized dealer. Sure I could have gotten it cheaper on eBay. But so what? I could also have ended up with the flowerwork chipped or damage in shipping. Internet auctions aren't always the bargain they're cracked up to be - no pun intended! (Photo by the author from her own collection.) Generally speaking, the scarcer your item is (i.e., the more limited its availability to other collectors), the more likely it is you'll be able to name your price. For items more readily available, the greater the chances that you'll have to compete with others trying to sell the very same item, and that always tends to drive prices down. (If you've tracked eBay trends over time, you already know that's exactly what's happening there: a quite narrow range of Lladró items offered over and over again.) Questions on Value of "Seconds" |
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