Welcome to this new forum!

[RebekahK]

Per forum users requests, here is a place for all dealers to ask questions and exchange best business practices. We welcome your comments and engagement!

[tinfoilhat]

Thanks for setting this up! Hopefully others will stop by and say hello. Let me get the ball rolling by introducing myself. My name is Zendelle and I live in southern Maine. I have been buying and selling dolls for 15-20 years and this year I decided to branch out into other types of decorative antiques and collectibles. After sitting at auctions for 3 hours to buy one or two dolls, it occurred to me that I might as well be buying other things too! I love just about anything old and enjoy the idea that I am finding new homes for these pieces of the past. I also love learning about and documenting dolls and other antiques. My website is www.vintagedollcollector.com. Looking forward to meeting some new friends here.

[RebekahK]

Nice to meet you Zendelle. It is great to learn about a doll expert, I am a Steiff expert and am frequently asked for a referral to a doll person. Do you do valuations and consignment as well?

[tinfoilhat]

Well, doing appraisals is something I haven't quite sorted out yet. I mean, I do them at my doll club's annual show, and sometimes get referrals too - but I get a lot of requests from people who find me through my website and want to know all about their doll and what their doll is worth. I try to give them an identification and some history if I can - but my answer on value is usually "search completed listings on eBay and Worthopedia" because it's too hard to give a good answer with fuzzy cell phone pics, and I really can't spend all my time giving free online appraisals. Has anybody figured out how to charge for online appraisals?

[RebekahK]

Agreed. Worthpoint does it pretty well for sure!