Selling your antique sterling silver bowls may seem like a great way to make some extra money, but you want to make sure you’re getting a good price for them. In fact, if at all possible, you want to get more for these bowls than what they’re actually worth. Otherwise, it might seem like a waste of time to find a buyer and sell the bowls. If you’re considering selling any silver bowls, here are a few tips for getting the maximum amount of money from the sale.
#1 – Clean Them Up
As with any silver pieces, before you can sell antique silver bowls, you need to make sure they’re completely tarnish-free. There are a number of different DIY methods you can use to get tarnish off of silver. You can also purchase special silver polishing cloths and other products designed to remove tarnish. Always give your silver a nice polish before you take photos of it, take it to appraisers, or show it off to potential buyers. You want to make sure it looks amazing, even if you know the buyer is simply going to melt it down.
#2 – Learn What You Have
Do you know who made your silver bowls? Do you know when they were made? All of this information plays into the value of the bowl. If you want to sell it for more than it’s worth, you need to know as much about the history of the piece as possible. Learn if it’s silver plated or sterling silver—that’s very important since items that are silver plated don’t sell for as much. Determine if the silver is 92.5% silver. If it is, it’s considered sterling, and it’s much more valuable.
#3 – Who Are You Selling To?
f you do a search for “where can I sell silver bowls” online, you’ll get a lot of hits. Remember, though, that not all of these buyers are going to offer you the same amount of money. Companies that buy and sell silver will always try to buy for as low as they can. That’s because they expect to resell the items at a profit. The same is true for companies that plan on melting down the silver. They have less interest in the piece itself and are just looking for items that are sterling.
If you’re selling to a collector, though, that’s where you can get top dollar. This is especially true if the silver bowls you have are fairly old and rare. You may be surprised at how much a collector will pay for bowls that complete their set.
#4 – Look at What Sellers Want
Look at websites created for and by silver bowls collectors online. Here, you’ll be able to get an idea of what silver bowls are currently selling for and which ones are among the rarest. You can use these websites to determine if what you have is truly special or if you’re better off selling it to someone who wants it just for the silver. Be sure you do your research—the last thing you want to do is let something go for much less than what it’s worth.
