How do I price thee? Let me count the ways...
I'm addicted to fast paced auctions and my favorite site is Live Auctioneers where exciting sales from around the world run daily. One auction that caught my eye recently was Guernsey's sale of rock & roll memorabilia from Manny's Music, a renowned store in NYC since 1935, hailed as "where the stars shop". It became a tradition that famous patrons would leave signed photos to Manny and he covered every inch of the walls with them.
The collection being sold was astounding; signed pieces by the Beatles, Hendrix, Zeppelin, the Stones, you name it. Also on the docket were items like records, artwork, posters, Lennon cels and 50 guitars including Elvis' first acoustic guitar (shown left) bought for him by his mother in 1946 when he was 11 years old even though he wanted a .22 rifle instead which they couldn't afford. (Way to go Gladys!) 
My eyes popped when I saw their estimates. OMG! I thought, ok, I know this isn't my racket but would people really pay that much for an 8x10? Most were sold in lots of 2 to 4 photos and we're talking the lowest estimates were for lots like 3 photos of the Commodores and the Impressions (who?) for $500 to well over $1000 for bigger names like those mentioned above and others like Sinatra and the Doors. Elvis' Kay guitar was estimated at $350,000 to $500,000, unsigned and it's condition didn't look too hot either. An item that piqued my interest was an original oil on canvas (shown right) by former Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe from their Hamburg period during the early 60s, estimated at $300,000 to $500,000. 
I didn't watch the auction but did go back to see the results. Guess I'm not as dumb as I thought; out of 480 items, maybe 35% sold. Passed, passed, over and over. Some items with high starts received no bids and I don't think any item brought in more than it's estimate. Turns out Lennon's '79 Mercedes station wagon isn't worth up to $300,000 and the artwork shown here by McCartney failed to yield it's low estimate of $7000, imagine that! I ask you, what kind of world do we live in when a Ramones and Marilyn Manson lot can't fetch a lousy $1200? The guitars were newer in general and averaged just $1000 a pop despite being signed by the likes of Clapton and Springsteen. Not one of the older collector's guitars sold. A 1953 Gibson Les Paul custom with a high estimate of $30,000 only reached a top bid of $15,000. A Beatles 8x10 autographed photo brought in $4250 though it had a $15,000 wish. Many of the photos that did sell brought in $150 range bids. Elvis's guitar was passed along with Sutcliffe's artwork which received a high bid of only $110,000, in fact, all 4 of Stu's works were passed. Add in 22% buyers fees, taxes and shipping and not only was the memorabilia unaffordable, it wasn't even remotely realistically priced. The auctioneers should have listened to Dylan, "The times they are a' changing"...
There are few who haven't been affected by the economy. It's been so long, I forget when it started. Even the federal bailouts of 2008 are a blur. When we're told it's improving, the next week the jobless rate goes up again. Unfortunately for vintage sellers, the first thing to go on most people's budgets is unnecessary stuff like a pink ostrich boa. Those luxuries go from shopping lists to wish lists.
That doesn't spell disaster though, sellers just have to learn how to adapt especially when it comes to pricing and choosing what we buy. Combine ever changing collectors' needs with the abundance of vintage goods from all eras available online and the result is a buyer who can afford to be selective.
Instead of looking at the present as a "bad" economy, I prefer to view it as a "new" economy. No doubt, buyers are more interested in items with purpose these days. I sell clothing so for me this means what I buy has to be wearable, it'll be much harder to sell a piano shawl or Victorian dresses sized -1. I avoid smaller sized garments because most women just aren't built like Twiggy and I pay attention to trends. The maxi dresses and mod wear I might have turned down before are good buys for me today. In fact, pre-1920s is now closer to the bottom of my most wanted list though I would have killed for it 5 years ago. My education cost me boxes of mistakes so like my buyers, I've learned to be selective. Sites like Live Auctioneers provide a free education as long as you don't bid on anything of course! Once you've signed up, you have access to results which can be enlightening.
I'm going on my fifth year selling online and have been told by long time sellers it was so much better before the last decade. I've seen hundreds of vintage shops both on and offline close these last few years and still believe that if sellers can adapt, they can succeed.
