Thank you for your question about where to sell your Longaberger collection.  

First a quick word about the idea of selling your collection all at once ... While there are benefits to doing so, generally speaking it is not the best way to get the most out of your collection.  The best market experience usually comes from transactions between collectors.  Unfortunately, very few collectors are looking to purchase an ENTIRE collection all at once.  Because most collectors already have a huge collection and are looking for the few pieces that will complete their collection.  What I have found in most cases is that those who are interested in buying entire collections are ‘dealers’ or auctioneers who have the intent of buying below market price to then break the collection up to sell items to the individual collector who is willing to pay more.

With the economy right now, not many people are buying at top dollar.  There are just a lot of baskets in the market right now, which increases the supply and lowers the demand, which in turn lowers prices.  If you have common baskets, now is just not a good time to sell them.  If you have items that are unique or have features that may set it a part from the other baskets out there, then even eBay could be a successful option for you.  I recently helped my sister sell 40+ baskets on eBay and she received over $1500 in total.  She won on some items and lost on others, but in the end, it was $1500 and she was THRILLED!!

We just launched a new service on our website which allows subscribers to post items for sale on a Sales Board for other Collectors to view.  Because collector-to-collector is always the best way to get the most out of any collectible, we’re hoping that this will help provide an environment for Collectors to connect.  However, there is not the ability to list all items at once. You COULD probably manually something, but buyers will most likely want to know the specific items included, so some sort of an inventory will need to be helpful.

Another tip ... take the time to identify any features your basket may have that make it ‘more than average’.  Remember that you are competing with a lot of items in the market right now, so you may have to do some marketing to convince the buyers out there that yours is the best choice for them.

If you do decide to proceed with selling your entire collection all at once, it might be the best route to contact a dealer who might be interested in buying entire collections. Again, while there are benefits and legitimate reasons for letting your collection go all at once, I just want to make sure you understand there will be a premium paid to do so; either in the way of a ‘commission’ paid to an auctioneer or much lower individual selling price per piece, if selling to a dealer.

I hope this is helpful ... Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Jill@Bentley