Selling Grandma’s Vintage Fur it’s easy

I could not do this post, many of you are asking me about how to sell a vintage fur coat. Here is a guide written with love on Grandma’s Vintage Fur

Plus an interview with America’s most famous furrier, Mano Swartz, who offers a five star service on how to sell the furs that you have in your wardrobe at home. This is for everyone who wants to sell their vintage fur coat, stole, or other fur item.

Step By Step Guide to Selling Your Vintage Fur with Richard Swartz

If you want to quickly get rid of your fur I advise you to take a good photo, send it to Richard Swartz, wait 42 hours for him to answer you. If he likes the fur you will receive a UPS, you will just have to put it in a box and job done, you will have sold your fur to a furrier without any effort. But I will explain this service to you better towards the end of the post. About Richard and I did you watched our last video?

Think the first step are:

• As first thing you must identify your fur. I found this really cool article on eBay really well written.
• Check the condition of your fur.

I asked Richard Swartz:  How can you recognize the state of a fur?

RS: Furs have 3 life stages

1.    New- newly made

2.    Dried Rotted- hide side splits and can no longer be repaired

3.    Middle Age- Somewhere between #1 and #2

• How can you recognize a damaged fur?

RS:: The yellower the hide the older it is, or put another way the whiter the hide the newer it is.

• How can you recognize excellent quality fur?

RS: I advise you  watch this video I did some years ago where I explain how.

My advice is:

• If your fur is in poor condition – torn lining, bald spots, other problems – consider donating it.
• For a fur in good to excellent condition, identify your best fur resale or regift option, as follows. Or if you are in or near a big city, try to give it to a quality vintage clothing store, or a resale furrier.

For me that has 50% of my life on the web, probably if Richard didn’t exist I would choose online fur sales as many do eBay, Depop  or Etsy can be useful if you prefer to try to sell online. Update the fur with beautiful photos,  a detailed listing, including measurements.

• How Much Are Vintage Furs Worth? 

RS: According to Worthpoint most vintage furs are worth less than $750 US. I prefered to ask Mano Swartz, experts in fur sales and transformations, more or less how much used furs are worth.

• How much are used furs worth? Do you think this price list is correct?

RS: Yes but you can check also eBay list. Values vary depending on supply and demand.

Price list of the average price of used fur

• Rabbit or Raccoon jacket: $100 – $500
• Mink coat or jacket: $300-$750
• Mink or Sable collared 1950s – 1960s wool coat: $75 to $250
• Fox stole: $150 – $300
• Mink or Sable stole: $200-$400
• Mink or Sable collar: $20-$75
• Mink or Sable boa: $50 – $200
• Persian or Broadtail Lamb coat or jacket: $50-$450, more with mink collars or excellent condition
• Mouton Lamb coat or jacket: $50 – $350. I’m a big fan of these personally but they often don’t age well.
• Muff (Fox, Mink, Lamb): $40 – $350. A muff in good condition can go for strangely high prices.
• Full Pelt (w/heads and feet) Fox stole: $50 – $300
• Full Pelt Mink/Sable/Marten stole (w/heads & feet): $35-$150
• Other types of furs in coats, jackets and stoles will usually range from $50 to $300.
• $1000 and up for a full coat for the following furs: chinchilla, lynx, modern sables especially with provenance such as Blackglama. With Blackglama some years ago I did a beautiful video experience

• What can make a fur more valuable? 

RS: Furs that have skins with a label that declares the origins of the furs like Kopenhagen Fur, Saga Furs, Blackglama,NAFA,  those of fashion brands and designers  will be at the higher end of these value ranges.

• Have you ever said to one of your clients: I’m sorry that your fur is not as valuable as you hoped.  If yes could me explain why?

Yes, there are these different values of a fur coat

1.    Replacement Value- what it would cost to replace the fur in similar quality and style at today’s retail prices.

2.    Actual Value – an arbitrary value not used much anymore, where insurance companies depreciate the value of a fur by 10% per year

3.    Resale Value – how much the market would bear if the coat was sold

4.    Estate Value – the value of the item for estate purposes (same value as resale value).

Furs are clothing so they do not follow the same valuation process of say a diamond.

Often fur outlasts style which then affects the resale value. No one would pay for a dress that is completely out of style even if it were made of fine material.

• What do you think about ethically donating or gifting a fur?  Do you have other ideas of what to do with a fur that is not appealing or no longer usable?

RS: Yes donate it to charity that has a resale vehicle. This way you will not only be helping the world but also someone will be able to get further warmth and enjoyment from your fur.

About ethically donating or gifting a fur

I think donate to a museum with a costume collection or with a local history collection. This is best for unusual furs  with a lot of family history.  Donate to a charity that needs animal bedding or does resale, see a USA list here.

• Now that vintage fur has come back into fashion, all stylists and celebrities are going around with their grandmother’s fur, are the prices of the furs you sell higher? In general are vintage fur prices higher or are they the same?

RS:Vintage has come back in style so furs once thought of as “out-of-style” now have greater resale value.

• Can you tell us how the system works?

RS: I photograph the fur, I send it to you. In 48  hours you answer me if you want it or not, then you send me a UPS. Correct?

Click here if you like this service

Here si the way of Mano Swartz:

1.    Email  us a picture of your fur, we will respond within 24 hours and let you know if we are interested.

2.    If so, we will provide a pre-paid UPS shipping label so you can drop it off at any UPS location.

3.    Once we receive your fur and inspect it, Richard will email you (within 48 hours) with the purchase price.

4.    Payment will be mailed to you on the 1st day of the following month.

Local? Bring it by our showroom in Lutherville showroom anytime during store hours. No appointment necessary.  Mano Swartz does not purchase stoles, capes, hats, accessories, or fabric coats. Although these items can often be donated to charity. Note: “We do not purchase furs from outside the USA.”

Content from Mano Swartz website

• Tell me everything, also when you started this online service.

We began our web site in 1994 and have been selling on line for the past 5 years. We have been buying furs online for the last 2 years. We have a new online shop with many amazing fur I advice you to take a look.

Thank you Richard for this beautiful interview. <3

Note: With a your granny’s fur you can do anything.

Used or your granny’s fur – what to do with it

Upcycle your fur: it can become a vest, a little fur can hem a coat, a cuff, a muff, a scarf, an accessory…a hat a fur pillow.

With used fur you can make a great suit for your dog, he will really appreciate real fur, or a dog basket, or a cover. I made a collection in fur for dogs, do you remember?

You can cover the books you have at home turning them into design pieces, border the tablecloths that you use at Christmas, adorn silk dressing gowns to use with your husband for special evenings.

Don’t miss all post with Mano Swartz 

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