Condition is always relevant in the secondary market! When valuing your item, considering it's condition will help in determining which value to associate with your piece. 

PORCELAIN / RESIN /METAL PIECES ...

Basically any material that is not easily repaired, when broken, chipped or cracked its value will be negatively affected. Porcelain or resin pieces that are damaged have little to no value on the market these days. There are so many items on the market right now, that buyers are looking for 'perfect' and are really not unrealistic in waiting until they find it.  For insurance purposes, we suggest modifying the value of these pieces to represent maybe 10% of what is listed as current market value.

BASKETS ...

For baskets, condition plays a role but a basket in 'excellent' condition will not necessarily increase its value. What is important to remember is the supply of other like baskets in the market.  For example, most newer items (from 1996 on) are all in excellent or mint condition. So in reality, the average basket dated prior to 1995 is in excellent condition, thus the AVERAGE value would reflect baskets in excellent condition. To earn the premium that you see reported in a HIGH value for these years, it is likely that more than just its condition is being considered.

With older baskets, condition plays a larger roll as most baskets prior to 1996 were used more frequently and stored less. Because it is harder to find an older basket in excellent or mint condition, this feature of the basket comes to the forefront when determining its value in the market. 

For baskets that have been damaged (cracked or broken splints, faded color), it is possible and recommended to have the item repaired at the Longaberger manufacturing facility.  This opens up a niche in the market for those willing to buy items in poor condition and then have them repaired before returning them to the market for a higher price.  It's actually a fairly common practice. A good repair will not affect the value negatively, but a bad one will.  As long as the item continues to be functional and beautiful, we have not seen negative responses to items having been repaired. 

ERRORS ...

Items with manufacturing errors -- an item released with a different color than it was supposed to have, mistake in weave pattern, missing stamp -- these irregularities have created a special collecting niche in the market as the are hard to find.  Such errors will add to value, in some cases significantly.  If we are aware of the error, we will list within the description how much to add to the value.  Or in most cases, this feature will move the value from 'average' to 'high'.

SECONDS ...

In the Longaberger collectible, 'seconds' are very common and are usually marked with a large black or red 'X' on the bottom of the piece, or sometimes the logo, date or signature is marked through with marker.  Seconds are items that failed quality control and at one time were said to be destroyed.  But with the introduction of the Factory Stores, the Company has released many items into these stores to be sold at discount.  While these items are always functional, the secondary market has been pretty consistent in valuing these items below original price, thus making them not considered to be a collectible.