Craigslist 250 razor listing, $5500 continued...

[randydance062449]

Well guys, RodB and me went to the guys home today. here is a link to some pics...

New Richmond - a set on Flickr

The owner had everything laid out ready for inspection. He had been collecting for a number of years.

We briefly looked at the collection and asked what he wanted for his "culls". He said they were part of the package and would not separate them out. He also had a box of empty coffins and gave the same response to those. I asked if he had any DE's and he said yes but did not have them out and they would be for "another day".
We looked at the display cases on the wall and only 2 were interesting. The one with the 12 W&B and the one with 12 Framebacks. Then I went back to the table and started opening and inspecting the razors. I am glad I did. At least 2/3 of them had one of the following...pitting, chipping, cracking, excessive hone wear, excessive blade edge wear.
The seller had been on Ebay and was of the opinion that the W&B would go for high bucks...and some of them would have. But what he failed to realize was what the buyers on Ebay were actually looking for. Large blades, fancy handles, minimal wear, good trusted name brands, unique grinds etc.

Rod and I discussed the collection during the drive home and kinda concluded that the max value was about $1500...and that's being generous.

The guy could have made himself several hundred dollars today...but he blew it. Almost not worth the gasoline.

I am posting this not as a complaint but rather as a cautionary tale of what you can expect to find when chasing the collections. This is the 3rd collection I have seen like this. The biggest one was 600+ razors and the smallest was approx 120 razors. I have seen only one very nice large collection.

[nipper]

Thanks for the report. Sorry it was a goose chase.

[rodb]

It's really too bad he wouldn't separate, I would have spent some cash there. Great company on the ride over and back at least. Thanks Randy!

[Jimbo7]

That's a shame. I met a guy at the flea market in Elko that had maybe 50 in a case and he wouldn't even open up the case. I was willing to part with $100 for two or three of the really nice ones, but he wouldn't sell less than the entire case. $500, take it or leave it. He said it was "too much of a hassle" to split them up.

[nun2sharp]

That's a shame. I met a guy at the flea market in Elko that had maybe 50 in a case and he wouldn't even open up the case. I was willing to part with $100 for two or three of the really nice ones, but he wouldn't sell less than the entire case. $500, take it or leave it. He said it was "too much of a hassle" to split them up.

And now he will get nothing.

[Jimbo7]

Exactly! How do these guys stay in business!?

[ats200]

I think it may be a case where the sellers know that most of their collection isn't of much value so they try to force those who are interested into buying the whole collection for the few gems. That way they get rid of all of the 'trash' and aren't sitting on a lot of worthless razors once the good ones are gone.

[paco664]

there is a local antique shop here that has that attitude also... he has a few old razors that are worthy of restore... and i would pay 15-20 for them *(overpaying just a bit).... but he wants 35-60... he has a old strop that might be worth 25 on a good day... he wants $60....


sad... his whole shop is overflowing with stuff that will never sell because he prices everything at retail x2.5......

[rodb]

The big collectors should remember that they built their collection piece by piece and should probably liquidate the same way if possible. If it gets down to the junk at the end they should remember that they bought the junk in the first place.

[johnmrson]

Thank you for making the effort to go out and see the collection. It's pretty disappointing to hear that the seller wanted that sort of money for a collection that you estimated to be worth $1,500.