Selling Antiques & Appraising Antiques

Parent Q&A

Select any title to view the full question and replies.

  • Asian Art appraisal

    Apr 11, 2018

    Hi all-

    I recently inherited a piece of antique Chinese art. It is a large framed panel and includes both jade and a small amount of ivory. I am well-versed in the laws regarding the sale of ivory both in CA and the US but I have no idea what the piece is worth and am wondering if anyone can point me to someone who can appraise the piece for me. 

    Many thanks

    Contact Joyce at Clars Auction Gallery. wwe.clars.com She’s heads their Asian Art Dept. They also have free evaluation clinics every Thurs from 9-12. 

    Hi there, you want to take it to the Zentner Collection in Emeryville - my friend works there and they are the best in the area for Asian art appraisals and sales.

Archived Q&A and Reviews


Questions

Antique furniture and silver appraiser

Sept 2013

I'm looking for a trustworthy person to work with my mother in law to appraise some of her antique furniture and silver. Any recommendations great appreciated? brooke 


Try Hudson's Estate Liquidation. They're honest, and their prices are fair. 510-219-9644. Anon


Antiques and decorative arts appraiser?

May 2007

Can anyone recommend an appraiser for our parents' estate? There are antiques, 19th century folk art, collectibles, decorative arts. We may or may not want to sell, but want to know value for an equitable distribution. Thank you. Don't know where to start


Hudson's has been in the antique/estate liquidation business for over 40 years. We provide a wide ranges of services including appraisals, onsite estate sales, estate buy outs, and estate clean outs. Please contact Rick Hudson at hudsonsgallery [at] sbcglobal.net or call (510) 645-5844. Loryn


Where to sell old/antique furniture

September 2003

I inherited some of my grandparents' (they purchased new in the '30's/'40's) furniture, 2 matching bedroom pieces--dresser and ''tallboy'', and a dining room set--table, 6 chairs, sideboard & china cabinet. They're not really our style (too ornate, dark), and are in good, but not excellent condition. How do I go about selling these pieces? How do I know how much they're worth, so I don't get ripped off? Should I take pictures of them and show them to someone at a furniture store? I can't move them myself; do stores come and pick them up? Do buyers come to the house? Any suggestions of a suitable, honest, reliable store to start with? Thanks much, Heidi


Hi. I don't know if you missed a recent posting for Harvey Clars auction house. I used to work for Harvey Clars about 4 years ago. They work with people just like yourself that have a suite of furniture, collections of items (like dolls, collectibles etc.) that want to sell their items but also want to get the best price for their items.

You can check out their website, http://www.harveyclars.com, or call them at 510-428-0100.

This is how it works, you contact Harvey Clars and tell them what you are interested in having them sell for you. They check out your items and if they feel that you have something they can sell, they sell it for you. You pay a small comission fee for their services. They pick up your furniture and it goes into the next monthly auction.

They also appraise your items for insurance purposes etc.

Antique dealers from all over the area come to the monthly auctions. I've met antique dealers from Davis, Sacramento, Arizona etc.

They have been around for quite a while and I highly recommend them if you ever have a need to sell antiques or collectibles. beth


Where to sell old movie camera

December 2002

I would like to know if anyone knows where I could sell an antique (1940-1960's) Bell & Howe camera and movie projector webCor voice recorder? They all still work in excellent condition! Thanks in advance


e-bay anonymous


Ebay (www.ebay.com) has specimens of both for sale already. Type carefully - it's ''Bell and Howell'' and ''Webcor'' as one word, if you'd like to check their prices. anon


I'd like to suggest that you contact Harvey Clars in Oakland. beth


In my opinion, the best place to sell just about anything and get close to what it is actually worth is ebay. If you sell to a dealer or a consignment store you will only be able to get 40%- 60% of its value. selling on ebay is pretty simple and painless and well worth it if you aren't in a huge hurry. good luck! Sarah