Collecting Archives ~ 50 Plusses

Clear your clutter and cash in with consignment shops

If you’re 50-plus, you may be among the many empty nesters who are thinking of down-sizing. Or you want to refresh and update your space. You probably have accumulated a variety of mementos, decorative and seasonal items. And, maybe you have a collection of some kind.

You may want to try to cash in before donating or disposing of your unwanted items. Consignment is an option if you don’t want to have a yard sale, or have people come to your home, or sell them one at a time online or through Craig’s List or similar platforms.

What is selling on consignment?

Essentially a person or shop sells goods on a commission basis. They evaluate, price, and sell your items for an agreed upon percentage of the selling price. You are getting their expertise and a selling venue and access to buyers that you may not find on your own.

How does consignment work?

Usually the owner of the goods brings them to the shop. If there’s a large quantity and/or larger desirable items, arrangements may be made for pickup. That’s not common, in my experience.

The shops’ personnel will go over the consignment policy and rules, list and price each article that is accepted. Items are usually kept 60-90 days. They may make periodic markdowns. You are expected to pick up any unsold items by a determined deadline. If you don’t, per their rules, they may donate or otherwise dispose of them.

Once you drop off your items and do the paperwork you do nothing except collect a check or pick up leftovers.

NOTE: ALWAYS call first to find out what and when consignments are accepted. Many shops are by appointment only and don’t accept certain items. Don’t go to the bother of loading up your car only to get turned away.

My favorite consignment shop, Classic Consignments in Sudbury, Mass., accepts consignments by appointment only. The exception is furniture, but they still ask you to send an email with photos. If they approve your furniture, you can bring it when they are open, no appointment necessary.

Click here to see the consignment policies for Classic Consignments, which are pretty standard in my experience.

Cash in on your clutter with a Tag Sale by Consignment or Commission

Another method is to hire someone to run a tag sale for you, on a commission basis. Some people are in business to do just that. They keep mailing lists to notify their following and use their expertise to set prices that will sell the goods in your home without undervaluing them. They do all the tagging, set-up, advertising, and selling for you.

What happens if things don’t sell?

You can pick them up and move them to another shop, donate them or let the shop dispose of them. For best results, deal with several shops. Some stores do better with certain items, others have better commission rates. If an item doesn’t sell at one, it may, and for more at another.

For example, a vintage Christmas book of mine priced $10 didn’t sell at one shop, but sold at another for $100.

Tips to cash in with consignment shops

Always read the shop’s rules or consignment policy carefully. People who have had a bad experience with consignment often didn’t understand the procedures.
Check the length of the consignment period, the payment schedule and commission, fees, who sets prices, and any automatic discounts. In some cases, you may be able to set a firm price. Each item you consign should be listed and you should receive a copy of the list.
Note how and when you will be paid. While some shops mail out payments, others require you to come in for pick up. Unclaimed property may be considered abandoned and ownership may revert to the shop. The shop owners may have this in the rules so they can be free to dispose of the merchandise. Unsold pieces take up valuable space and are effectively worthless because the shop’s clientele just isn’t interested in them. I’ve seen funky, but originally expensive dining sets marked down to $100 just to move them out.

The two sides to a consignment agreement

There are two sides to a consignment agreement. The consignor is responsible for checking in at the end of the consignment period for payment and for retrieving unsold merchandise promptly.

On the other side, the shop owner is responsible for keeping accurate records of consignors’ goods. He or she should take responsible care of the goods, pay promptly and honestly, and rearrange and turn over stock regularly.

The best shops adhere to their rules, allowing for some flexibility. They may give extensions to consignors who just can’t make it in when their time is up. The worst keep minimal records and open ended time periods. A good rule of thumb is that the majority of items that are going to sell, sell within the first 30 days. If they hang around too long they may get buried, lost, or shopworn.

Setting prices and making money with consignment shops

Many shop owners reserve the right to set the prices. Others discuss them and come to an agreement with the consignor. Still others may ask what the consignor wants to get for an item, then add onto that amount. Some will list, price, and tag an item as it’s brought in. Some will ask you to call or come back for the listing, or to look it up via a password on their website.

If you have a collection of items in a certain niche, like sports memorabilia, pottery, dolls, etc., you may have more of an idea of pricing. But if you haven’t been keeping up, collecting tastes and values change. Take Beanie Babies, for example.

If you don’t agree with a shop owner’s price, remember these two things: First, the owner knows the clientele. Second, an item isn’t worth anything until you sell it. Also, you may make less on one item, yet make it up on another.

Each shop has its own audience and way of displaying stock. It pays to understand what kinds of things go well in one shop and not another.

To summarize: selling on consignment can be fun and profitable. As you drop things off, you may spy something that you can use in your de-cluttered, or revamped home. You usually can have a say in a selling price and little overhead or investment beyond your time. Best of all, while you are de-cluttering, you are recycling and being rewarded by cashing in with consignment shops.

Have you sold things through consignment? Do you have some tips? Please comment below.

Also visit my other blog posts about collectibles and consignment shops:

7 Reasons why I love consignments shops and not just for saving money

The British Royal Family: Memorabilia feeds collectibles mania

Check out our Etsy shop, GrandmotherstrunkUS

Want to learn how to start a blog?

Here’s some courses to get you started: Start A Travel Blog

or Start A Blogging Business.

Want or need help with your blog or website? I’ve found inexpensive help on Fiverr.

The Mania for British Royal Family Memorabilia

Note: This post is based upon my personal research and previously published trade article, not generated by AI.

Maybe it was the small red oblong tin with Queen Elizabeth on it that my Mother kept her bobby pins in. Or, maybe because my Grandmother Helen also had that tin, and was Canadian, but I was aware of Queen Elizabeth II from an early age.

The British Royal Family fascinates the world, and particularly Americans. With each Royal event, there is a deluge of news coverage and memorabilia to feed the “Royal Watchers” mania and the collectibles market. As I was growing up, there would be mentions of what the elegant Duke and Duchess of Windsor were up to, and that she was always on the “Best Dressed” list.

Even before Diana, Princess of Wales, wed Prince Charles, the sales of merchandise, books, and items related to “The Royals” had a niche in the American marketplace. The Diana fascination and merchandising was a continuation of generations of interest in the romances and escapades of British nobility.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the future Edward VIII was hailed the most popular and charming Prince of Wales ever. His love for an American, Wallis Simpson of Baltimore, his abdication, and their life as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor long fascinated the world. Copies of his abdication speech are now collectible ephemera.

Events and activities of the Duke of Windsor’s brother, George VI and his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, can be documented through the china, cookie tins, and various souvenirs created celebrating special occasions.

British Royal Giveaways Now Collectibles

Collectibles related to royalty fall into two basic categories: personal/ historical and mass merchandise.

For centuries nobility would bestow personal items upon favored courtiers. Gifts of clothing were common, as fine fabrics, embroidery, and lace were prized possessions. Queen Elizabeth I’s wardrobe and gifts and losses are documented in Janet Arnold’s books Queen Elizabeth’s Wardrobe Unlocked and Lost from Her Majesty’s Back.

James II gave his 1683 wedding suit to a couple who aided him before he became King. In 1992 it was offered at Christie’s London with an estimate of over 200,000 British pounds. Passed at auction, it was later sold privately to a British museum.

Queen Victoria gave presents to favored individuals. One was a parasol commemorating her coronation in 1837. It turned up at an Antiques Roadshow appraisal day in the 1990’s and valued at $2,000 – $3,000.

Why so many British Royal collectibles and commemoratives

Mass marketed royal articles are usually made and purchased because of public interest and sentiment or dissatisfaction with Royal Family members. During the Georgian Period, disenchanted Englishmen showed their distaste by buying and circulating caricatures of royal and British upper class romantic and military misadventures. Such caricatures by Hogarth and Cruikshank are still famous and prized.

The reign of Queen Victoria saw the rise of the middle class with unprecedented disposable income. The British expressed their affection for their longtime Queen by buying decorative and ephemeral paper items associated with her reign and family. Traditionally, commemorative items have been created to celebrate Royal events: coronations, Jubilees, anniversaries, births, royal visits, and weddings. Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II lived so long that they had several Jubilees each as well as other special events. All were celebrated with commemorative trinkets and china.

You can purchase and download these images of Queen Victoria and her family at my Etsy shop, GrandmothersTrunkUS.

Typical British Royal collectibles and memorabilia

Mugs, plates, and tins with official portraits are typical items. Commemorative china dates from the 1600’s and transfer printing of Royal likenesses from c. 1780. Commemorative pieces commonly have either a portrait or silhouette or royal symbols such as crowns, swords, scepters, and initials, plus a date. The earlier ones associated with George IV, circa 1820-1830 command prices in the hundreds to thousands of dollars. (George IV, formerly the Prince Regent when his father, George III was mentally incapacitated. He sometimes pops up in Regency romances and may be referred to as “Prinny.”)

China from Queen Elizabeth II – on is common and at popular prices: a wide selection under $50. Many items have the Royal sanction and are sold in Royal castle gift shops. (When Charles and Diana divorced, the Queen ordered all Diana merchandise pulled from the shelves.)

In recent generations dolls, stamps, videos, and books are commonly produced and eagerly purchased. You can amass a significant collection of Diana books and materials at reasonable prices. I’ve found a number of books and magazines in thrift and consignment shops. I found a kerchief commemorating Charles and Diana’s marriage at a rummage sale in Maine.

Popular magazines such as People often have photos and articles about the British Royals. You can quickly accumulate a collection of those, either buying new, or scouting library magazine swaps, like I do.

Most of the illustrations in this article are photos of items I’ve seen at my favorite consignment shop, Classic Consignments, in Sudbury, Mass.

Of course you can also do your hunting online on ebay and other virtual sales platforms.

A unique auction of British Royal collectibles and memorabilia added to the mania

In 1998 Sotheby’s, New York, auctioned off the estate of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Everything was special, limited, and personally connected to British Royalty. Many had true historic relevance and of museum quality. It took nine days to auction the 40,000 articles from the Windsor’s Paris mansion. The collection included photos, books, furniture, clothing, and royal family treasures documenting the life of the abdicated King Edward VIII.

The Duke was allowed to take historical family items following his abdication. He had the George III “Abdication Desk” on which he signed away the throne, a banner that belonged to his grandfather, Edward VII, and the red leather dispatch box stamped “The King” used to deliver state papers during the brief time he was Edward VIII. He also helped himself to a number of royal heirlooms, portraits, and personally inscribed historic photographs.

The Duke of Windsor also owned pieces of commemorative china passed down from Royal ancestors, as well as those of his own likeness before he abdicated. There were 10,000 photographs of the Royal Family from 1860s onward. Their wedding album with photos by Cecil Beaton, a piece of wedding cake, love letters and private letters, and their stylish clothing were all auctioned. Even their pugs’ silver-plated bowls were sold.

Before the auction, the collection was recorded on film and in an archive. It was also documented in the book The Private World of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

The catalog of the auction is also a record, as well as collectible. I cherish my copy that Sotheby’s sent me as I was a journalist writing about auctions, particularly those involving vintage clothing.

A mania for British Royal fashion collectibles

What British Royals wear, as well as what they do, is also an intense subject of interest. An area that the British Royal Family consistently influences is fashion. Queen Victoria made white gowns, lace veils, and orange blossoms for brides fashionable. Her son, Prince Albert, later King Edward VII, was a fashion trendsetter as well. Among other things, he made leaving the bottom button of a vest unbuttoned fashionable. Victoria’s great-grandson, The Duke of Windsor, popularized Fair Isle sweaters, plus fours, looser suits, and the Windsor Knot. He also designed jewelry for his Duchess. While much of the Windsor’s wardrobes went to museums, several items were auctioned and purchased by major fashion houses and designers. Gowns owned by Diana that have been auctioned have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity.

Feeding a mania for British Royal memorabilia and collectibles

Collectors can choose several approaches to building a collection: by person, special occasion, material, or form. Quality ranges from tacky to upscale. I’ve found thrift and consignment stores to be good in-person hunting grounds for reasonably priced items. If you like reading about the Royals, libraries are great for free reading and book sales, as well as magazine swaps. You can find books devoted to British Royal memorabilia in libraries and online.

Just as “There will always be an England,” there will always be collectors of Royal memorabilia. In spite of over two hundred years of independence, the British Royal family still holds sway over the minds, hearts, and wallets of Americans. The family itself may be faltering, but its influence in the collecting marketplace is still strong. The Royal Outcasts: Diana, the Princess of Wales, the Windsors, and more recently, Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Essex, have seen to that.

Please note: I found many of the British Royal commemoratives pictured in this post over a span of 2-4 years at Classic Consignments in Sudbury, Mass. They often, but not always, have some item related to British Royalty in stock.

Do you collect British Royal memorabilia? What and where have you found your more interesting pieces? Please comment below.

See also my post about collectible comic books.

Want to learn how to start a blog?

Here’s some courses to get you started: Start A Travel Blog

or Start A Blogging Business.

Want or need help with your blog or website? I’ve found inexpensive help on Fiverr.