Choosing a Sale Channel
Four routes to a buyer, priced by four different mechanisms. Which one suits an object, and what each of them takes.
Where to Sell What You Have
The same object can be worth three different numbers depending on which channel it goes through. This is a reference on why, and on how to choose between them.
The sale channel question
Most advice about selling an object starts with what the object is. That is the wrong end of the problem. The same chair, the same coin, the same box of tools will net wildly different amounts depending on which channel it goes through, and the gap is usually larger than any difference careful cleaning or a better photograph would make.
A seller has roughly four routes. List it on a marketplace and handle the sale personally. Consign it to an auction house and let a specialist catalogue it. Sell it outright to a dealer for a cash offer today. Or find a private buyer directly. Each has a different cost structure, a different timeline and a different failure mode.
| Route | Who sets the price | Seller pays | Time to money |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketplace listing | The seller, then the market | Platform and payment fees, plus shipping and the seller's own time | Days to months |
| Auction consignment | Bidders, within a reserve | Commission, plus lotting, photography and insurance charges | Weeks, then settlement |
| Outright to a dealer | The dealer | Nothing directly. The margin is inside the offer | Same day |
| Private sale | Negotiated | Nothing structural. Every risk sits with the seller | Unpredictable |
An outright sale looks free because no fee is itemised, but the dealer's margin is the fee, and it is generally the largest of the four. A private sale looks cheapest for the same reason, and it moves authentication, payment risk and delivery onto the seller, which is where private sales usually come apart.
Consignment and How It Works
What handing an object to an agent actually commits both sides to, and the clauses sellers discover too late.
Liquidating an Estate or a Collection
A house full of objects is a process rather than a decision. The order the work has to happen in.
Seller Fees, Tax and What You Net
Commission, charges, carriage and tax, and why the headline figure is never the one that arrives.
Handling and Shipping Sold Goods
Getting the thing to whoever bought it, which is where good results are most often undone.