Pricing bakelite necklace

[mugsisme]

I finally got my first piece of Bakelite jewelry. It's a carved butterscotch choker. I can't find anything similar. At first I was going to do $25 BIN. But now I am not so sure. I can't find any information anywhere, and my books all have ridiculous high prices in them. I did Simichrome test it.

 

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[dieselram94]

I have no Idea on this piece. But I do know "books" are just not a good way to set a price on something. The real value is precisely what the market will pay. I would start high (what you think it's worth; educated guess) and you can always go down from there.


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[bdsawyer]

This is a late reply, but why not auction it? Set it at the $25 you were going to ask, run a 7 day auction, and see what happens. Can't hurt and you may be surprised.

 

[mugsisme]

Update ... I didn't list yet. I decided before I listed it for a BIN of $200, I better make really, really sure it's bakelite. I tested it again and again, and wasn't thrilled with the results. Today I took it down to a vintage store to a woman who calls herself a bakelite expert. She also had a hard time. She looked up some stuff in a book, and then said, it is definitely bakelite. It's from the '30s, hand carved, and probably coated with something to make it look shiny, which is what was messing up the test. I told her about the price on Rubylane, and she said that is not crazy. She said to list it for $300-400. The problem is finding the right buyer. But at this point, I don't care. It can sit until the right buyer comes along. Hopefully, she will find me very quickly!!!

 

[diggummup]

That's a beautiful necklace. Most aren't that elaborately carved, as in "all" the beads. The only thing going against it is the length. I don't have the patience to wait on the right buyer myself most of the time. I usually set a low acceptable starting price and let it go. I know I miss out sometimes, but as long as I got it "on the cheap" then I'm happy with selling it fast for less than full retail.

The only bakelite I've found recently was a bag of two toned flatware.

 

[dieselram94]

This is true, the money is made at the buy.


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[mugsisme]

With certain things, I don't mind waiting. I had one bracelet I was very stubborn about. Took almost 18 months, but I got the price I wanted and the woman was thrilled. Win-win. Other things I don't care. I gave away several gold items for a little over spot because I didn't think they were in excellent condition that could command a good price.