Fox News interviews AuctionWally on raising quick cash

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November 28, 12:32 PM

by Auction Wally, Auctions and Antiques Examiner

 

 

                To see the video click here.

So when Fox News asked me if I could do a segment on helping people to raise quick cash, I told them of course I could, I wrote the book on it. OK, well I wrote A book on it. They were interested in interviewing me because I have over 25 years in the liquidation business, and I'm all about flipping things quick for a profit.

They came out to Barre, MA and did a shoot in a one of my client's houses, a woman by the name of Sue Mero whom I've made several purchases from in the past.

What Fox wanted was a situation where I could point out how the avearage American could gather things in thier homes to sell for quick cash. They didn't want to feature a lot of high end antiques, but rather everyday items that anyone is bound to have, so that's what we advised folks on.

I talked about the demand of popular DVDs, video games, costume jewelry, old photo albums and more. Then we went over how and where to sell these, and what to expect when you need to sell fast.

The whole shoot took about 2 hours, but of course it was condensed into about a 4 minute segment. It was a delight to be featured on a major news channel, but I also saw it as a validation for buyers and sellers of antique and used items.

These things are being sought out because with the new economy, people are turning away from cheap, mass produced items in favor of getting higher quality goods for less money. Many times they take comfort in knowing they are buying  from folks who are in the same boat and feel good about putting money in the pocket of an average American, rather than a big box store.

You could expect to pay about  1/3 to 1/2 or the retail price for a gently used item, in some cases even less. Why would you shop retail these days if you didn't have to?

In the antiques and unique items arena, people are looking for what I call "Investibles". An investible is something that one can purchase with the very real expectation of it being worth more when they go to re-sell it.

This has been my expertise and niche in the marketplace for years. I can tell you that it works, and that it's one of the oldest games played. It's similar to the stock market, but much safer.

If you compare collectibles against the stock and real estate markets, you'll see that collectibles have far out performed the other two.

What I love about my business, is that anyone can get into it at some level for almost no cost. Most people have tried to flip something in their lives at one time or another. The ones who have been successful at least one time, are bitten by a bug that is hard to turn away from. I don't know of any ex dealers who have ever gotten out of the business completely. 

The reason for this, is that it's almost impossible to turn your back on a quick profit. Someone may have sworn off selling collectibles forever, but I can gurantee that if they find a 1958 Mickey Mantle baseball card for a few dollars, they are back in the game.

Right now there are a lot of people hurting financially. On one side of the coin, there are those that need to generate quick cash by selling. The other side of the coin is those that need to save by buying used rather than new OR those looking for Investibles.

No matter what happens in the new economy, I'm betting my future that those two needs will always exist. If you see the logic of that statement, shouldn't you at least learn the basics of this crucial set of skills?

  Here are a few tips from my book about what to expect when selling to a dealer.

• Wholesaling to a dealer: If you're seriously considering the idea behind this chapter you'll benefit from a rough idea of what you can expect to be offered for what you have. You need to know what percentage of retail dealers expect to pay.
• Be prepared to be offered 25-50% of the retail value of your item at the most, and that's if an item is a good seller.
• Swallow hard and realize that dealers will offer 10-30% of retail when buying in volume such as a basement full or when making offers on less desirable items. Before you panic, breathe deep and remember my pledge to help get you the best money possible QUICK, but you are not going to get top dollar. Selling wholesale is quick and here in this chapter I'm demonstrating how to get the higher end of the wholesale price, but it's still going to be the wholesale price.
• Know Your Prospect: Try to find what your prospect's weakness is. Do they like old ball cards, furniture? Are they passionate about antique toys? Most classified ads from people looking to buy, state that "they buy almost anything", but every dealer has favorites and if you have some of those in your offering, you have leverage. 

The above is just a small sample of what you can expect when selling to a re-seller. It's merely a bite out of Chapter 2 in the book. While these basics are easy to understand, more than just the few tips are needed to hold your own against a professional if you want to get the best money possible for your items. 

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