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Antique restoration

Posted July 24th, 2012 by Patrick van der Vorst

Antique restoration is a tricky topic. One person’s loving restoration of an object is another’s thoughtless sacrilege. In this week’s video blog, ValueMyStuff founder Patrick van der Vorst offers a pocket guide to this potential minefield, giving some pointers on when you should restore, when you shouldn’t, and how any restoration may affect future sales.

For more information on the topic, why don’t you check out our 5-step guides to antique chest restoration and antique chair restoration.

And don’t forget our competition to win 1 of 3 iPod Shuffles – just come and “like” us on Facebook and enter!

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Collecting Olympic memorabilia

Posted July 17th, 2012 by Patrick van der Vorst

With the 2012 Games just around the corner and two big sales of Olympic memorabilia on in London this week – at Bonhams and Graham Budd Auctions – antiques expert Patrick van der Vorst talks through the interesting and valuable niche market of sporting collectibles.

And don’t forget our competition to win 1 of 3 iPod Shuffles – just come and “like” us on Facebook and enter!

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How to choose a wedding or engagement ring

Posted July 11th, 2012 by Patrick van der Vorst

Patrick van der Vorst on how the “four Cs” are the key to choosing a ring for your loved one, and why you should buy your ring at an auction, instead of at a jeweller’s.

And don’t forget our competition to win 1 of 3 iPod Shuffles – come “like” us on Facebook and enter!

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Announcing our new weekly video blog

Posted July 9th, 2012 by Patrick van der Vorst

At Value My Stuff, we’re trying something new. In addition to our Blog, we’re starting a series of weekly Video Blogs discussing a whole variety of topics that we hope will be of interest to everyone engaged in the world of Antiques and Collectables – please do leave comments, share or even embed. We’d love to know what you think.

In this first video, Patrick van der Vorst – founder of Value My Stuff – gives his insight into what prospective bargain hunters should look out for at car boot sales this summer. With little profit to be made from traditional antiques, it’s time to spot new opportunities!

We’ve also launched a Competition to win 1 of 3 iPod Shuffles – come “like” us on Facebook and enter!

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Hello again!!

Posted May 17th, 2012 by Patrick van der Vorst

Hello old friends!!

Its been quite a while since our last blog entry but we have been very busy valuing all your stuff and a pleasure it has been to do so!

We have found some interesting pieces and its great to see so many different items each day. Chinese works have been coming in thick and fast and its no surprise that their values can be quite high sometimes considering the strength of the market at the moment. You never know, that old lamp you have in the attic could be a Ming vase!

The Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary art market is booming again with all the major auction houses seeing record sales. There was Munch’s The Scream at Sotheby’s which made $119.9m and Rothko’s Orange, Red and Yellow sold for $86.9m at Christies a week ago.

We are still amazed at the amount of high value works that are being discovered each day. An English collector recently bought an extremely rare Warhol sketch in a garage sale in Las Vegas for $5………it has since been valued at over $1m.

We hope you are enjoying your summer now the weather seems to be improving, a good time to get to those boot sales and antique fairs to find some hidden treasures!

We are always interested to hear about your experiences with Valuemystuff.com so let us know how you find using the site and how you think we can improve. Remember we want to keep you happy!

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BBC Dragons’ Den Sunday 28th August

Posted August 28th, 2011 by Patrick van der Vorst

Welcome to our blog of this weeks’ episode. Funnily enough, when I featured on Dragons’ Den, it was exactly a year ago… Bank Holiday Sunday 2010, and gosh, what a ride it has been since then…

Firstly the Panto people were on. A very striking and eye-catching pitch which Peter Jones called the ‘best pitch ever in the Den’, which I agreed with. No investment here though, which I agreed with, as it is a very seasonal business. Lovely pitch though.

Kate Castle is next. A portable toilet. Bog in a bag. Nice pitch by the Winchester based mother of 2. What a lovely lady! I have to say I didn’t warm to the product, but as Peter Jones said, she is a very investable person.It looked at some stage that no investment was going to be made and then Wahw, she had an offer which Deborah withdrew…, followed by Hillary and finally Theo stepped in nailing the deal at 30%. Great person, great deal!

Steve Myberg (not sure about the spelling?), seeking a £70,000 investment. Hampshire based. Quite a scary exchange between him and the dragons. He sounded very naive and admitted he wasn’t a business person and was only now ‘ready’ to take his artistry as a business. The product itself was lovely, but he wasn’t investable… No investment followed.

Last investment pitch was Jog Post: posting leaflets whilst jogging. A neat idea and good pitch. Impressive statics delivered in an impressive manner. Peter kickstarted proceeding followed by Hillary who offered more money in a bid to secure the deal. Third offer from Duncan: 25% for £50,000. Last offer came from Deborah who undercut everybody else at 20% for the full amount of money (£50,000), and that was the offer they went with. Lucky guys, they got a fab dragon!!!

Great episode with a wide array of different businesses, i enjoyed it as ever…

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Dragon’s Den, 14th August 2011

Posted August 14th, 2011 by Patrick van der Vorst

Just have been watching Dragon’s Den. Quite an interesting one tonight…

The first three people that came up presented the dog ‘toilet’. Even though I warmed to the people (even though they did talk waaaaay to much!), i didn’t quite see the point of the product…. No?…

The second pitch demonstrated how much you need to get your figures right when you walk into the Den. I remember I went over my figures a million times before going into the Den, and actually now, I am actually hitting exactly the projections that I made into the den. However, with Duncan making the offer it shows, the dragons do look beyond also the purely financial and invest as much in the people as in the business… Am glad they got the deal (at 50%), they really deserved it, nice people.

Third pitch was the Russian chap. Nervous start… Remembering when I walked up those stairs, gosh what a nervous wreck i was too, a year ago now… Theo said that there are some “great inventions that never made money”… Do you agree?… I didn’t get the investment, but had a very good pitch I thought…

Last pitch was the fence protective sleeve to help premature fencing failure … Yes that sounds like a mouthful, but thought it t be a very interesting product. Peter Jones hit the nail on the head, saying they were ‘model pitchers’. Great to see the dragons fight over this one…Quite a bit of tension there, but hey, the entrepreneurs were sticking to their guns. Did they push it too far? Deborah mentioned that there is a moment in a deal and you have to take it, telling them they “made a poor decision”… You agree…

What a roller coaster of a last pitch…. They had 4 offers and walked out with nothing…. Still, a fantastic show!! What are your thoughts?

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Contemporary Art Market Sees Uncertain Values

Posted May 23rd, 2011 by Patrick van der Vorst

This last month saw the Contemporary art sales throughout New York. The sales were neither incredibly impressive nor complete flops; instead, there was little bidding and many pieces being sold but under or to the mid of their estimates. The results were admirable, Sotheby’s total, $111.2 million (£72.2m), Christie’s had sales totalling $265.2m (£172.2m), and Phillips de Pury at $82.7m (£53.7m). All the totals were either right within the estimated totals or just below the low estimate. It is almost as if the excitement of the contemporary market is lost.

It is hard to say what the true reasons for lacklustre performances these last few auction seasons have been. With the economy being as troublesome as it is right now, buyers are more keen to spend the money on large ticket items of good quality and things that will survive to increase in value over the next coming years. The sales even saw some record-breaking lots due to their rarity, craftsmanship, and longevity. One prime example is Andy Warhol’s Self-Portrait which was estimated at $20-30 million at Christie’s. The final price of $34m (£22.1m) helped to not only put Warhol back on the top but also achieve the highest price for any work from any sale so far in 2011.

When you look at the total lots sold and bought in for the three auction houses, the percentages actually look pretty good. Sotheby’s only bought-in 9 of the 58 lots, and Christie’s, only 3 of the 65 lots were unsold. The buyers are still alive and well in the market there are just more aware now of cost and of not overspending.

Photograph of Andy Warhol

Jeff Koons 'Pink Panther'. Another edition of this piece sold at Sotheby's for $15 million.

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The Value of Hollywood

Posted May 9th, 2011 by Patrick van der Vorst

The world of collecting is vast and spans many different disciplines. People collect just about everything from, dolls and toy trains to more unusual things such as toasters, staplers, and sometimes even traffic cones. But, one of the oldest traditions is buying pieces from our favourite movies, television shows, and actors. Film memorabilia has been trading hands for decades all starting with the studio’s need for cash and creating auctions from their studio lots to sell off old pieces of sets and costumes. One of the more famous auctions was in 1970 when MGM needed to raise some money and held an auction where some of the most iconic pieces were sold. Thins such as the Cowardly Lion costume from The Wizard of Oz, the time machine from the 1960 movie, and even Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan loincloth. The whole sale consisted of seven sound stages and raised $1.5 million for MGM.

From the humble beginnings in Hollywood stages, the film auctions have really taken off. There are now specific auctions dedicated to film memorabilia. Bonhams holds an Entertainment Memorabilia Auction as well as Christie’s with their Vintage Film Posters and Film Memorabilia Sales.

With the introduction of the Internet, there has been a wide increase with selling objects such as these through eBay and other auction sites. There has also been an increase in social networking like MoPo, that has created a central place for people to stay connected to events and important sales coming up throughout not only the States but also globally.

One such event is the sae of Debbie Reynolds’ collection throughout the year of 2011. Some items will include, Marilyn Monroe’s ‘subway dress’ from The Seven Year Itch, a Charlie Chaplin bowler hat, Vivien Leigh’s Gone with the Wind dress made from drapes, The Wizard of Oz ruby slippers, Audrey Hepburn’s Ascot dress and hat from My Fair Lady and finally Charlton Heston’s tunic, and accessories from Ben-Hur. The sales will take place from June to December 2011 in California at Profiles in History.

Hollywood, California USA

MGM Studios logo.

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The Value of Antique Cars

Posted April 26th, 2011 by Patrick van der Vorst
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1913 National Series V-N3 Toy Tonnea.
The collector world has many different sectors. One could spend a life collection virtually anything from dolls and trains, sports memorabilia, wine, anything made of ceramic, etc. One of the sectors with the most history and tradition is the antique car market. There have been auction houses created to deal with only cars because of their unique nature and the knowledge of alifetime that it takes to truly understand the complex market. Just after a quick search, I was able to come across six auctions located throughout Europe and America without searching for more than a minute or so.

But what makes a car an antique? Depending on where you are located the official age of a vintage car is 45 years old in the States defined by the Antique Automobile Club of America. European counties will differ with that age. An antique car is one that is rarely driven, show in exhibitions and shows, and usually has some sort of original restoration to show the authenticity and age of the car.

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What are the most valuable cars? Well it is hard to determine that. There are periods of car making that are more sought after due to their rareness than anything else. The Brass Era (Veteran and Edwardian eras in the UK) deals with any car made from the 1890s until 1918. This era was referred to as the Horseless carriage era. The cars still surviving from this period are rare in number and tend to fetch high prices because of the little exhibition time they are given and rarely seen in public. The Vintage era, a period from 1920 until 1930s, showed over 500 car companies by the beginning of the Great Depression. After 1929 only 60 survived and continuing twelve years later, less than 20 were in operation. Cars from this time, made by manufacturers out of business will, although not as rare in number, will fetch decent prices.

1920 Hudson Touring Limo.


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