How to Price a Rare Antique

Owning an antique and being able to sell it are two entirely different things. First of all, there's a bell curve of how rare your item is and how many people want it (who also happen have the money to buy it). Here's the curve:

On one end you would have, something like the Koh-i-noor, and on the other side lets say a single Lego block. In between you have items that are desirable and sell-able. I try to buy items that are uncommon, rare or one of a kind. The main reason is, when you have something unique, you can set your own price and it's hard for a customer to comparison shop. Basically, I go for items with subjective value rather than objective value.

Now here's the second half of the issue. Even if you have a very rare item, you still need a buyer. A few months ago I was at a live auction, bidding on a large Dunhill humidor; I went up to $400 and let it go after a $450 bid against me (I would have had to bid $500 plus buyers premium). I figured I could list the humidor on eBay for $995, take any offer above $750, and after I paid the eBay fees I would clear about $200-250 on a $400 investment.

Here's why I mention this particular item; I just came across it on eBay, listed for $3800. I did a quick price check, and the highest priced comparable Dunhill humidor selling on either eBay or Live Auctioneers was $650. Frankly I did wonder at the time if the other dealer was buying it to keep for himself.

This next chart is a very basic supply and demand graph that you should have learned in school:

So the answer of how to price a rare antique item is; find the point where the scarcity intersects with the value. If you're far out in left field, chances are you will be sitting on the item for a long time.