There is not always one correct price. You must decide whether you want to set a low price in order to sell the item quickly. In general, the more work you do studying the antique or collectible and who might want to buy it, the higher the price you will get. This takes time, but it can also be fun, especially if you sell high.

Here are some basic ways to learn the correct price for an antique or collectible. Please note that there are advantages and disadvantages to each source.

1. A knowledgeable collector friend. Your friend’s advice is free, but as the old saying goes, “You get what you pay for,” and it could be wrong.
2. A price book like Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price List (available at your library or bookstore). Price books come in all qualities. Bad ones are inaccurate and may misinform you. Good ones tell prices, but often you must know a lot about the subject to be able to locate the exact item and its price in these guides, and this takes time.
3. The antiques publications are filled with “for sale” ads with descriptions and sometimes pictures. Some items, like Depression glass or common toys, appear over and over in the ads. You can try to confirm your prices by reading these ads. Your sale price to a dealer will be a third to a half of the advertised price. If you decide to try selling through the mail yourself, you should ask for the full price.
4. The Internet. Thousands of pictures and prices are to be seen on the internet each day in the shops, malls, newsletters, chat rooms, club sites, and auctions. Most of these pieces are small, easy to mail, and less than fifty years old. The descriptions may be incomplete or, like a price book, may require some special knowledge of antiques.
5. Visits to shops, shows, auctions, flea markets, and house sales. Your observations, although free-of-charge, can be time-consuming, but they may help you to understand why one chair is worth more than another. Don’t be insistent or demanding because you may want a favor. Talk to the dealer. If the dealer isn’t busy, you can get an abundance of information.
6. It is possible to send a picture and description (include size, condition, history, and marks) of a seemingly valuable item to an out-of-town auction gallery and ask what it would bring at auction. Some galleries will write an answer to this type of inquiry. They are under no obligation to answer your inquiries, and you are under no obligation to sell your antique through the gallery, although you may later decide it is the best way to sell it. You should include a self-addressed, stamped envelope to encourage an answer and the return of your pictures.
7. All dealers and matching services buy as well as sell. A matching service buys old pieces of silver, glass, or china and resells them to customers who are trying to complete old sets. This solves the constant problem of what to do when you chip the twelfth cup or grind up Grandma’s silver teaspoon in the garbage disposal. If you are trying to sell a standard item like Depression glass, silver flatware, or Haviland china, you can check the retail prices of these items at the shows or through the mail-order listings. You should be able to sell your pieces to these or other dealers for about a third to half of the quoted prices. Some of the larger matching services will quote buy or sell prices over the phone.
8. A formal appraisal. An appraisal is usually expensive. Appraisers are like doctors. They sell their expertise and training, and their time is valuable. The average big-city appraisal costs about $150 an hour or more. Never get an appraisal for a few inexpensive items; however, jewelry, sterling silver, or large collections of coins, stamps, or other specialties probably should be appraised if you do not plan to sell at auction. There is no reason to have an appraisal if you sell at auction. The estimate placed on the item by the auction house is the appraised value. You may want to put a reserve on the piece at auction to ensure that, through bad weather or other factors, you do not risk your item being sold well below value.
9. There are auction galleries in some cities that give free appraisals. They need merchandise to sell, and this is one of their forms of advertising. Check in the Yellow Pages of the phone book for auction houses. Watch the antiques section of want ads in your newspaper for special announcements of free appraisal days by out-of-town galleries.

   Kovels’ Yellow Pages is a directory of information every collector needs to know. Find parts, replace broken dishes, and locate clubs devoted to specific collecting areas. Hundreds of price guides and reference books are listed.