What we are building, and what we are learning

Pricing cinema memorabilia for a live auction

The title on the poster is not the price. The printing, the size and the back of the sheet are.

Packing and posting sarees and ethnic wear

Fold along existing folds, never a new one, and bag against damp.

Buying film posters and cinema memorabilia

Ask for the reverse. The front sells the poster; the back tells you what happened to it.

Pricing sarees and ethnic wear for a live auction

Weave, region and work decide it. Hours of labour are the floor you should not go under.

How to sell film posters and cinema memorabilia

Measure it, say whether it is an original printing or a later one, and never let anyone guess which.

Buying sarees and ethnic wear in a live auction

Ask for the drape, the reverse and the measurements. All three are routinely skipped.

Describing the condition of video games

Sealed, complete in box, loose — then the state of each part. Precision here prevents almost every dispute.

How to sell sarees and ethnic wear on Metzee

A saree on a table is not a saree. Drape it, move it, and show the reverse.

Packing and posting video games

Cases crack, hubs let go, and a cartridge loose in a big box arrives scuffed. All avoidable.

How coin and note condition is described

The 1-to-70 scale, what uncirculated actually means, and why "cleaned" is the word that costs most.

Pricing video games for a live auction

Complete, loose and sealed are three different markets. Pricing them as one is the whole mistake.

Packing and posting coins and currency

Small, valuable, and the one category where a lost parcel is a serious claim.

Buying video games in a live auction

Ask for the region marking and ask them to boot it. The two questions that prevent almost every return.

Pricing coins and currency for a live auction

Rarity within the series, not age. And a reserve on anything with a melt floor.

How to sell video games on Metzee

Completeness, region and whether it actually runs. Show all three and the rest looks after itself.

Buying coins and currency in a live auction

Ask for the edge, ask for moving light, and ask whether it has ever been cleaned.

How record condition is graded

Mint, near mint, very good plus, very good, good, poor — and the rule that good is not good.

How to sell coins and currency on Metzee

Do not clean anything. Show the strike, the edge and both faces under a moving light.

Packing and posting records

Records split seams, warp in heat and get punched through at the corners. Three failures, three fixes.

How trading card condition is described

The four factors, the common 1-to-10 scales, and what "raw" commits you to.

Pricing records for a live auction

Price the pressing and the grade, not the album. The title is the least informative thing about it.

Packing and posting trading cards

Sleeve, toploader, tape it so it cannot slide, rigid outer. And keep it out of the heat.

Buying records in a live auction

Ask for the tilt. A record held flat to the camera is a record you have not seen.

Pricing trading cards for a live auction

Lot the commons, auction the ones worth a conversation, and let the grade do the pricing when there is one.