Avril-Harper-eBay Make up to 92.5% Pure Profit Selling Canes As Collectibles…
Make up to 92.5% Pure Profit Selling Canes As Collectibles…
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“Canes”, also known as walking sticks, come in countless different styles, made from numerous different materials, and short of very recent specimens canes as collectibles attract a large following on eBay.
They’ve been around since the 16th century, and because most wealthy owners – past and present – owned a variety of canes, to suit all occasions, it’s possible to find collections of 40 and 50 walking sticks all being offered as one lot in town and city auction salerooms.
They can fetch many hundreds of pounds each on eBay, and without heavy bidder interest in offline auction salerooms even the most valuable sticks can sell for just a tiny fraction of their resale value. As an example, I recently purchased a collection of 32 sticks for less than £3 each. Even without including the rarities two thirds of those items sold for between £10 and £40 on eBay and took less than a day to list and just a few hours to pack and post out.
Tips on buying and selling canes as collectibles
I’m not an expert by any stretch of the imagination but my experience has taught me the following main things:
• Plain wooden walking sticks from modern times – say 1900 onwards – are rarely collectable and are not worth buying to resell, even at pennies apiece.
• I have only once encountered obviously experienced dealers bidding on walking sticks in small provincial salerooms – most big dealers are in London and other main cities – so they will often sell far below their resale value on eBay.
• It’s best to bid on large lots and make a little money across a range of walking sticks, than to seek high profits on one or two stick lots, until you gain experience and can spot a cane worth two or three hundred pounds and worth risking fifty or sixty pounds to buy.
• It’s a good idea to learn about walking sticks, and what makes one highly prized and highly priced while another is potentially worthless, then use that knowledge to risk higher amounts on potentially very rare and record price-breaking walking sticks on eBay.
• It’s usually the head that’s more collectable than the shank, and that is why gentlemen from Victorian and earlier times would own a large selection of separate heads to fit just one standard shank. It’s also the reason you’ll often find heads selling without their shanks at auction, making them easier to take back home to list and even easier to deliver to buyers than the head and shank together.
Walking sticks can safely be delivered by ordinary post in the UK – well packed with lots of bubble wrapping – but their long spindly shape means they can easily be broken on long distance journeys, so avoid selling overseas where possible.
Now let’s look at prices achieved on eBay for really old and attractive walking sticks, made from unusual materials and often with highly ornate handles or heads – sometimes better described as a “knob” – and usually less attractive shanks, the latter sometimes called “shafts” or “blades”.
– Antique All Ox Bone Walking Stick Carved Hand Top – £516.00
– Fine 19c Gold Top Men’s Walking Stick Very Fancy £436.25
– Interesting 19thC Whaling Cane – £367.00
– 19th Century Walking Stick Combination Blued – £350.00
– Antique Silver Top Ebonised Walking Cane/Stick 1923 – £335.00 – Antique Cherry Red Amber Coromandel Wood Walking Stick – £310.00
– Royal Irish Constabulary Walking Stick RARE – £256.99
Research shows the highest prices go to walking sticks from the 19th century or earlier, especially with heads made from precious metal or heavily adorned with carving or with some iconic connection or gadget value attached.
Note: Wood and anything made from wood – sometimes referred to as “treen” – represents a very important and potentially high profit area, where walking sticks made from wood will appeal to people collecting canes and others collecting most things made from wood.
This two-way collecting interest also applies to walking stick heads fashioned from other high interest materials, such as bone and antlers, silver and gold. The fact two or more collecting interests are targeted can see an otherwise pretty ordinary looking item become the subject of a bidding war that ends up with the walking stick fetching hundreds of pounds, and sometimes more.
Among the more unusual canes you’ll find, with frequently high prices attached, are those concealing rifles and swords in the shank, and others with a compass or drinking vessel in the handle.
We’re generally looking for older walking sticks, preferably 19th century and earlier, made from unusual materials – silver, shark vertebrae (usually made and owned by sailors) – and with an unusual or interesting history, such as that recent sale for a stick belonging to the Royal Irish Constabulary.
On eBay UK you’ll find walking sticks listed in numerous different categories, some modern day and designed to be used (find them alongside hiking and sporting goods), or old and highly collectable (the kind you and I are looking to buy cheap and sell at big profits on eBay).
We’ll normally list our antique and collectable walking sticks under:
Antiques > Woodenware > Walking Sticks / Canes Antiques > Asian and Oriental Antiques Antiques > Silver
Collectables > Militaria (various sub-categories such as trench art, specific campaigns, etc.)
Tips for buying and selling walking sticks
• Use “Walking Stick” and “Cane” also “Walking Cane” in your titles to ensure your listings show to people using different search terms. Instead of writing “Walking Stick Walking Cane” use “Walking Stick / Cane”. “Walking” does not have to feature twice to respond to searches for “Walking Stick” and “Walking Cane”. Additionally, using one less word makes room for other important words such as “Silver”, “Military”, and so on.
• Sometimes heads can be removed from walking sticks you buy intact. If so, and if the shank is not particularly interesting, try selling the head separately. This saves packing material and makes your item less expensive to post as well as giving it more chance of being delivered undamaged. Plus you need just one eBay image to display the head in close-up detail compared to two or more images showing the head and stick together and individually.
• I looked for a book to help you learn the art of buying and selling walking sticks for profit, and sadly couldn’t find one, but on the way I discovered a number of websites that positively ooze information to help you identify potentially valuable walking sticks, along with how much those items might fetch on eBay.
For general information about walking sticks go to:
For pricing information, based on prices charged by specialist sellers of antique and collectible walking sticks and canes try:
www.walking-sticks-canes.co.uk
www.antiquewalkingsticks.co.uk
by Avril Harper
eBay Trading Expert
Avril Harper is the editor of eBay Confidential and helps new and expert eBay traders find ways to increase their eBay profits. You can sign up for her free weekly eletter here:
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