There's More than one Market for Civil War Stuff

This Post is short and sweet about the market for civil war items. I've been testing this for about 6 months now. I had a "fine" large, framed, portrait of Abe Lincoln that I advertised for sale on Craigslist for $175. I had responders that told me they had bought an Abe Lincoln just like mine for $65. (They were trying to get me to lower my price.) I wouldn't go lower. I didn't sell it on Craigslist. When I opened my booth at the antiques mall, the owner told me to price my Abe Lincoln in a range of $225 - $275. I sold it there. (In that range) Big Difference!

The antique mall owner also told me about a rule of thirds. "Pay a third, expect it to take another third to market the item for sale, and the final third is your profit." So if you are thinking of selling an item for $270 dollars....only pay $90 for it. Expect that it will cost you $90 to market or promote it. Then the final $90 will be your profit for all the work you put into it.

I'm working with items right now that are from an inherited estate so the rule of thirds doesn't fully apply except for what I need to learn while selling antiques and collectibles. I didn't have to buy these items for a third. But if you want to be an antique dealer you will need to keep this rule in mind.

I will write more later about going through estates. I will give you as many tips as I can learn along my way too. In this day and age, we all need money saving tips and a few investing tips that we can afford.

If you are trying to sell something on Craigslist then ask yourself how fast you need money. If you don't need it right away, you may have something worth hanging on to for awhile. Don't just buckle because someone emails or calls you and offers you a third of your asking price. If you are however motivated to sell an item to get it out of your way...by all means...let it go. Count the cost. If you are moving and the item would cost you more to haul than to keep....then let it go. Thanks for reading! Hope it helped! Kathy