Services Update: The only items we almost always buy are fine jewelry, gold and silver, gold and silver coins, and sterling silver. We occasionally buy exceptional collections of vintage toys, vintage sports memorabilia, vintage comic books, vintage advertising, and historical objects.
Selling even great collections isn’t as easy as it used to be. There is a lot you need to know about selling your antiques, collectibles and more. Here’s a quick overview.
[Please note: We receive many calls and emails from people hoping we can provide free evaluations or purchase individual items. These are not services we offer. Orion’s Attic specializes in estate liquidation, downsizing, and evaluating entire households and large collections. If you are dealing with a full home, estate, or large collection, we would love to hear from you.]
We have to politely decline buying opportunities almost all the time now except for the above. There are a lot of reasons we have to be incredibly picky about what we buy. The collecting and reselling markets have changed dramatically over the past ten years so relatively few items in most homes are worth buying for us.
The ultimate question about selling your antiques and collectibles?
The ultimate question for us is whether the treasures in question are worth us taking the time to buy, transport, store and sell. Reselling items is the most time-intensive and least profitable part of our business. In general, we can only buy items that are in great demand, likely to fly off the selves fairly quickly, are valuable, and don’t weigh a ton. They also have to be in excellent condition (with some exceptions for truly rare objects).
We also can’t afford to buy low-value, one-off or small groups of items. For us to consider making a trip, there’s a minimum dollar value for the items. If you’ve got a handwritten letter from George Washington, we’ll be right there. A shelf full of Hummels? No can do.
Please also remember that your sentimental value does not equal market financial value.
Contact us today if you’ve got great stuff!
Learn more about selling antiques and collectibles:
- Challenges of Selling in Bulk explains what you need to know from a dealer’s perspective when you’re selling lots of things at once
- Challenges of Selling on Consignment weighs the pros and cons of selling your stuff outright versus selling on consignment
- What’s Hot and What’s Not in Antiques and Collectibles is a starting list of what we’re looking to buy because it’s in demand and valuable, and what we pass on. Check it out to see if you’ve got the good stuff before you give us a call.
- What’s It Worth? is our ongoing series about the values of various antiques and collectibles. Check it out on a regular basis!
- Our Orion’s Attic Estate Liquidation and Downsizing Guide shares additional insight from the broader perspective of dealing with entire estates.
Check out our Sell Us Your Stuff case studies:
- A call comes from West Virginia, asking if we would be interested in purchasing a vintage sign collection. The seller inherited his father’s collection so that he could move on with selling the house.
- A Maryland man wanted to sell his museum-quality vintage toy collection to start a new life. We worked with him on consignment, got the job done, and learned valuable lessons about toys and about life.
- Selling a vintage vinyl records collection? We can point you in the right direction. But there is a lot to consider for sellers and buyers when it comes to selling a massive collection.
- Why now is the time to sell us your fine jewelry, gold and silver.
News Articles and Information
- Why has the bottom dropped out of the antiques market? We have to explain this almost daily, but here’s someone else’s take. (Reaction magazine)
Want to dive deeper into the numbers and the bigger picture? Read the full story here.
Contact us today and let us know how we can be of help. Check out our new YouTube channel, too.
About Orion’s Attic
Orion’s Attic is a full-service estate liquidation, downsizing and home cleanout company based in Silver Spring, Maryland. We also buy antiques and collectibles, gold, silver, fine jewelry, and sterling silver. We serve Montgomery County (Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Olney, Potomac, Rockville, Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Wheaton, etc.), Baltimore County, Frederick County, Howard County, Prince George’s County, and the greater metro Washington D.C., Maryland, Northern Virginia area.