Thread: Help in selling a collection of antique razors

I am a retired college professor (Thomas More College) living in northern Kentucky. A friend of mine, also retired, came to me the other day and asked for my help in selling a collection of antique straight razors. He doesn’t have a computer and knew that I am on the Internet regularly, so he thought I might help him. I looked at his collection of 51 old razors, but I know nothing about the value of such items. In looking around on the Internet, I came across this Website and thought some kind user of the site might help me help my friend. Any information you can give me on how to sell his collection of razors will be much appreciated! BTW, I can photograph the razors, but it would be great if someone within an easy driving distance could arrange to look at the collection first hand.

Just a suggestion. If you are a member on ebay you can go to search and type in straight razor. When the page comes up with the results on the left you will see a menu which includes "completed items". Check that and scroll down and click on show items. This will give you an idea of what various razors are bringing. Best of luck with your friend's collection.

The ebay route would most likely be the best, list each item seperately and let the market determine value.

Oh, they won't be worth more than two or three dollars .... you should mail them all to me and I will dispose of them properly for you!

Seriously though, as stated, run a search on the "completed" section of the ebay search. When you find a matching manufacturer, compare the condition of the razor in the collection with the one sold. If you have the time and inclination, you could take pictures (from all angles including close ups) and posts them here. You will be sure to get some great 'value' advice from the members.

Cheers,

Sounds like he will get the most for his collection by selling the razors individually on eBay. I can do that for him, but I sure don't look forward to creating all those separate listings. I guess that if he is not in a rush, I can just do 3-5 a week for a few months until they are all sold. It would be nice, however, if I could sell the whole collection for about what he has invested in it (about $650).

Bill,

I'm fairly new here, but I think you would probably find several people interested (myself included) in 51 razors @ $650, but you would still have to take pictures and give a fairly accurate description of each razor (brand, condition, etc.). That is a lot of $ for just a description of "51 straight razors".

I'm sure you will get some more replies as most everyone on here are really nice folks. It would surprise me if someone very close to you does not offer help in evaluating these.

Best of luck,
Tony

Depending on the razors (and your commission), it could be well worth the time to list them individually. A razor that looks perfect may be worth nothing, and a razor that looks like garbage may bring you a couple hundred. There are a lot of factors. Study the details of the completed listings carefully, if you go the Ebay route. Your best bet to sell them all as one lot is to wait for somebody local that can view them first hand, either from this site or maybe Craigslist. Post some pics, we love pics.

I really appreciate the helpful suggestions that have been offered. My plan now is to take a bunch of photographs and upload them to a Website that I have for photos of pool tournaments from the 1980s ( http://billporter.smugmug.com ). It seems to me that would be much easier than trying to email pics to everyone who has shown interest. I will begin to photograph the razors tomorrow morning and should have lots of photos on the Smugmug site by Friday. Thanks again!

Post pics here, and you'll start getting bids as soon as you do!

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Post pics here, and you'll start getting bids as soon as you do!

I just snapped some quick shots of the three cases he gave me and his handwritten notes for each case. I will upload them to Smugmug in the next few minutes. At least that will give people some idea about his collection.

Below is the link to the quick snap shots of Jack's collection. I realize I will need to photograph the individual razors in more detail. I guess this whole thread belongs in the classified forum, so forgive me, as a newbie on here, for misplacing it!

http://billporter.smugmug.com/galler...51172078_AXVmK