by Mathew Scheidelman, The Antiques Appraiser

Dear Mr. Scheidelman,

My mother recently died and I have a house full of things to deal with. Some may be valuable antiques/collectibles but I have little knowledge in this area. Any advice? I thought of asking for bids and taking the highest one.

D.D. ~ Old Forge

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Dear D.D.,

If you had a legal, medical or financial situation you would hire a professional to guard your interests and advise you.

This situation is no different. You need a pro working for you to guide you through this often overwhelming situation.

You need to know if you have valuable items. And just as a lawyer or accountant would charge for their services, so does a qualified antique dealer or appraiser.

Fees can vary from a few hundred to several thousands of dollars for a professional appraisal depending on the size and value of the estate.This may seem like a lot but if you discover that your mother’s collection of costume jewelry is actually worth $1,000 and should not be sold at a garage sale for 50 cents each, or your dad’s accumulated hunting license buttons, that you were going to toss in the trash are worth $1,500 it his very much worth the investment (Both actual experiences).

If your estate is simply general household goods with no treasures, a reliable dealer will tell you upfront.

By hiring someone with knowledge and experience to conduct an on-site sale you can get the best of both worlds.

They will discuss important items with you and set the prices ahead of time which can be adjusted if necessary, although they usually have final say over prices.

A minimum of two weeks is usually needed to properly prepare, advertise and liquidate a typical household and large estates with numerous antiques often take many weeks to prepare.

The person running the sale, or the ’conductor’, is working for you and has an obligation to inform you of the value of your items.

They can take time to research your items, calling in other pros if necessary and present the goods in the best possible way often relying on a network of customers who watch for their sales and have control over final selling prices.

There is also an incentive to get the highest price possible because they are paid a commission based on the total amount received.

Expect to sign a contract spelling out details such as date of sale, what exactly is to be sold, the commission paid to the conductor, etc. and leave them to do their thing.

I once conducted a sale where the beneficiary thought she would ‘help’ me by cleaning up and throwing out ‘trash’ even though she was told not to.

I pulled more than $5,000 worth of goods out of the ‘trash’, some of which was ruined!

She was hoping to break even after the sale because there was a lot of rubbish to dispose of. She was shocked to get a check for almost $20,000 after all expenses were paid.

Another customer almost donated some old clothing, hats, purses and shoes to a charity that brought in over $500 at the sale, and another who hated the smell of moth balls was going to toss out an old trunk full of Victorian linens worth hundreds.

I never understand why you would hire someone and then ignore their advice! Good luck with your liquidation.

— M.S.