Hey there! My friend is handling the estate of a former magician and she asked me to give her a valuation on a few items. is there a forum where I could post pictures of them and ask people's idea of their value. I'm NOT trying to turn it into a bidding situation - I just want to do right by them

Thanks!

Hi Engine!

If they are newer props and effects, or items that can still be purchased, your best bet is to research various sellers and come up with a comparable price based on condition. There are no set costs for used props, although for new effects I tend to look for prices at least 20% below retail if they are in like-new condition.

For vintage props you can try asking the question in another thread in The Café that caters to that genre. Ask for responses via private message to avoid an online bidding situation. Your post may still get pulled by the moderators, but that's a risk you'll have to take.

I was in a similar situation and posted questions and pictures in the appropriate forums and the Café members were very knowledgeable and helpful.

When you post pictures pay attention to the size limits given when posting to the Café and use a third party program like Irfanview to resize them if needed.

It really depends on supply and demand. Are the props still available? Has something better replaced it and made it obsolete? Did a famous person use it on a show?

Other times, it's just finding the correct buyer. If they don't see your post, they wont know to buy it. So you get people bidding on items that are cheap, and they either collect or flip.

Half of the retail price is my maximum. I am usually looking to spend under 25 percent of retail. However, I may over pay extra for something you cannot buy anymore, if I really want it.

The best thing to do is get your list and look at what ebay and other auction sites have sold. There are websites that say the price it last sold.

When you add shipping to the prices, sometimes you need to discount to make up the price. Otherwise, I can just buy it local.

Many times, people just sell the whole collection to a magic store, they get ripped off, but it's all done and over in one quick transaction.

There are FB where people will help you understand what one or two items are. A whole list is another story. Goto penguin and check the prices.

You can always put the items up on ebay and get the biggest bid.

If you do let me know.

You can also call several of the magic dealers and see which ones handle magic Estates. I know Hocus Pocus Magic does estate sales for people and I believe Penguin Magic but I'm not sure but it would probably be worth calling around and getting suggestions from them.


Good magic to all,

Eric