For the serious collectors out there, finding truly sought after collectibles is a thrill. But if you’re looking for these collectibles in the traditional places — eBay, collectibles stores, pawn shops, auction houses — you’re certainly going to pay top dollar for those items if and when you find them.
And there’s nothing wrong with that! Rare collectibles are worth it.
However, if you want to amass an impressive collection without shelling out a fortune, or you enjoy taking the path less traveled, you’ll have to acquire collectibles “off market”. This will not only give you the best shot of purchasing collectibles at a great price, but will give you the best shot of purchasing them at all by preventing someone else from scooping them up before you can!
Here are some tips from the experts at Neatstuff Collectibles on ways you can acquire collectibles “off-market” before anyone else has a chance to even buy them:
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It’s All About Building Relationships
Buying anything that’s not official “for sale” is never a straightforward process, especially for collectibles, and the cornerstone of the transaction will be the relationships you can utilize. It’s a lot easier asking a professional acquaintance if they are willing to sell their prized collectibles, but it’s a lot harder and sometimes impossible to ask a complete stranger. But even beyond having an already existing relationship with potential sellers is having relationships with people in the broader industry, from brokers, auctioneers and journalists – you can ask them if they know of any potential off-market deals as well, which will expand your reach by magnitudes, but only if you have a good relationship to stand on with them first. Either way you cut it, having a far-reaching relationship and personal brand in the industry will go a long way when you’re trying to source off-market deals for collectibles!
Let People Know You’re Interested In Private Purchases
Once you know you have a network you can leverage, make sure you let your network know that you’re in the market and ready to purchase collectibles and to please send any potential interested sellers your way. You’d be surprised where some deals originate from, but they all start by putting yourself out there and letting your network help you. People love lending a helping hand, but unless you ask it will almost never happen!
Seek Out Items You Want And Make Private Offers
Instead of waiting for offers to come to you with a more passive approach, you can take matters into your own hands with a more active approach and seek out specific collectibles you want and make private, unsolicited offers. While this does take more work and will require you to put yourself out there, you are essentially in control of your own destiny. It also allows you to do some due diligence prior to starting the conversation or negotiation, which should give you a leg up in the process. You can start by searching through completed auctions on eBay and auction houses for items you want and try to reach out to the winning bidder to see if they would entertain an offer. In situations like this, they may be less willing to negotiate, so starting with a strong offer is usually a smart tactic.
Let Neatstuff Collectibles Be A Resource For You!
Neatstuff Collectibles is heavily involved in buying and selling collectibles. You can always view what we are selling on our eBay auctions page. Beyond that, we’re happy to help or assist in your collecting endeavours however we can!
