Chris,

If you do not go with the museum (my recommended disposition).
May I suggest you find a collector who is willing to pay the price for which
you want for the collection.
...and not let it go to the four-winds at a pittance.

Leslie

-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Charles Sturm
Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2014 7:05 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] Appropriate way/place to sell liguus collection?

Chris,

You would have several options depending on your time and interest.

You could donate the specimens to a museum. There they would be incorporated
into the research collection in perpetuity as long as the specimens have
associated data: locality, etc. While few museums have funds to purchase
specimens, you would be able to take a tax deduction for your donation. We
at the Carnegie Museum would be happy to discuss this option with you if
this is your desire.

You could donate the collection to a shell club such as COA or a local shell
club. If they are a non-profit group, this donation would be tax deductible
as well. The difference form the museum example is that the club would then
auction the shells at one of their meetings to raise funds for their
activities, usually student research grants. Again this would be a donation
they would not buy them for this purpose.

In the museum/club example you would have to put a fair market value on your
donation. The non-profit cannot do this for you, the IRS considers this a
conflict of interest.

You could sell them to a dealer. They would pay you between 33-50% of the
market value. The difference is their cost to them try to resell them.
Advantage of this method is that the transaction takes place in one motion,
you package on shipment and your are done with the collection, and you know
what you are going to earn.

You could take out an ad in a magazine such as American Conchologist.
There is a fee for the ad, depends on the advertisement's size.

You could sell the shells yourself on sites such as Ebay or ShellAuction.net
On Ebay you could photograph the collection and sell it as one item or sell
the individual shells. The later would requie you to photograph each shell,
list each one, and deal with the shipping, etc.
ShellNet is an site where folks sell shells around the world. The auctions
are done monthly. A few weeks before the auction, sellers load the photos
and descriptions of the shells. Then the auction opens. Those interested in
Liguus or land snails would view you specimens and bid on them. You might
sell some, most, all, or none! This would depend on quality, starting price,
and who is viewing that month. Both Ebay and ShellAuction charge a fee for
each specimen sold. These site, if you are not selling the collection as one
item, would require more of your time, however, if everything sold, you
would maximize your return.

Others may offer other options, however these are the ones of which I am
aware.

Good luck and if you have any questions, let me know.

> What is the appropriate place or procedure for selling a collection of
180+ Liguus? Collected between 1913-1966, they are part of a collection I
obtained 15+ yrs ago. I have never sold any of my shells before. If
> this question doesn't belong here, I hope someone will kindly contact me
off list with advice about where I should be asking.
> [log in to unmask]  Thanks.

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