We bought an oiginal Saarinen table with 4 armless tulip chairs in 1969 when first married. The table is white (fiberglass?) and is oval and the chairs have the original magenta padded seats. We have not used it in a long time and want to downsize, but no one around here (Calgary, canada) seems to know how I should go about selling them.
Any ideas?
Thanks...sheryl
you may
Sheryl - ebay is great for small items, especially for a first time seller. But something the scale of a table and chair set is going to require some knowledge of transportation - freight is going to be awful high. I would try a local shop first, there must be a modern store near you. After that I would try something like craigslist, or other local internet postings. I would turn to Ebay as a last resort - only because I've gone through the hassle of shipping large items.
Sheryl...you really should
eBay is the BEST way of getting the most amount of people to see your item for next to nothing.
All you have to do - once you register - is to study how other people put up their similar items.
Once you've worked how you're going to do your ad, it's very easy to compose it. eBay has a great selling format....it'll walk you through everything.
BUT....and it's a big but....you'll have to figure out how you will be shipping the items should they sell. On big items like a dining room table and chairs, you can stick it to the bidder to arrange for Plycon or other blanket wrapping truckers to actually pick it up at your place for delivery to their home. You would not be involved at all in the shipping other than being there to the truckers to pick it up.
You'll need to take good pictures of the set and describe it properly, i.e.:
1. table dimension and what kind of chairs and what the pads are covered in.
2. any stickers or marking that will explain completely if they are real Knoll (vintage or recent) or one of the many knockoffs made over the years.
3. detail condition
Leave nothing unexplained and you won't get a unpleasant after-the-sale experience.
If they're real and in good condition, you should get good money for them.
Also, when you sign-up to eBay, make sure you also create a PayPal account. it's like opening a back account and it's just as safe. (PayPal's owned by eBay and they know what they're doing.)
Lastly, since you're gonna be new at eBay, you'll need to explain your -0- feedback status with an explanation about how long you've been collecting and you'll want to come across as a legitmate person who know what you're talking about!
I know I'm going on like DCWilson, but there's lots of say.
You've been lots of help!
The whole shipping thing on eBay does sound like a problem, although it sounds like the purchaser can be made to take care of it .
I appreciate all of the information. I started to wonder when I saw the comment about 'stickers'. There is nothing, at least not any more, on our table and chair set. They told us it was Saarinen when we bought it in 1969 but either there was nothing there, or we removed stickers long ago, but can't remember. I am starting to wonder if the set is a 'knock-off' and wouldn't want to try to fool anyone. We bought it from a very reputable (and expensive) Danish modern store in Edmonton, Alberta Canada.
...sheryl
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