The antiques and collectibles we sell include antique surveying instruments, antique and vintage woodworking tools, especially patented antique woodworking planes, antique sewing machines, antique pressing irons and laundry related antiques.  American patent models, vintage salesman samples, and other important pieces of early American history commonly referred to as Americana are of special interest.

The antiques we seek include figural cast iron antiques, rare examples of vintage mechanical kitchen antiques, early vintage office antiques, and antique electrical devices including fans and open frame or Bi-polar electric motors.  We buy, sell and deal in what is known as Americana and General / Country Store Antiques and related antique advertising as well.  All fit into our definition of Antiques of a Mechanical Nature. 

We call it Americana with a purpose. 

Services We Offer

To meet the varied needs of today's antique collectors and sellers of antiques we provide a five-fold service-oriented approach to buying and selling antiques and collectibles.

Consignment Sales are the primary source of antiques listed for sale on our antique sales website. We are currently selling many varied antiques on consignment from several very large and diverse collections of antiques for different owners.

We also sell individual antiques on consignment for various owners, including old time collectors, dealers or other antique sellers.  Some are simply downsizing or selling these antiques for a number of different reasons. Oftentimes we are helping new owners, spouses and / or relatives of the original collectors sell antiques that they have come into possession of. 

Consignment sales through our website offer many advantages for you, the seller / owner.

The largest and most obvious reason is that through consignment sales at a fixed price and reasonable commission rate, you the owner are able to net the highest possible price and return for your antiques.     
Another major advantage is that through consignment sales you name the price.  By paying a single commission, and only upon a successful sale, the uncertainly of auctions and the double fees incurred with a buyers premium in addition to the sellers commission are gone. There are more advantages as well, and these are discussed on the FAQ page 

Antiques listed for sale on this site get worldwide exposure.  This site is well ranked on all major search engines, and I get over 800 - 900 unique visitors a day.  Over 50% of those are new visitors as well as regular customers looking for new pieces listed.    Those are targeted serious buyers who see this site on a daily basis seeking specific antiques to add to their collections, not just a small local audience, or casual lookers.  They are real buyers looking for quality antiques to add to their collections. 

Other advantages are that this approach eliminates the typical adversarial role between the owner / seller.   That would be you and me, the end seller, as we are both working toward realizing maximum price / value for your antiques when I sell them.  Bottom line is

I want to help you sell your antiques for the most possible.   I am not trying to buy them for the lowest possible price.  I am working w/ you to realize the highest possible price, not against you trying to buy them for the least amount possible.

We are actively seeking quality consignments of antiques in all areas related to our fields of specialization and interest.  Please browse through the sale pages by clicking the links to the left to see how this service could work for you.

Please see the FAQ Page  for more details.

Current Clients

One antique collection we are currently handling is focused on antique tools in general & specifically on antique woodworking tools.  This collection was begun in the 60-'s and numbers over 15,000 tools.  This collection originates right here in California. 

An antique collection hailing from Washington State is laundry-related and includes close to 3000 antique pressing / sad irons and trivets, miniature stoves, and much more.  Over the last 15 years we have helped numerous consignors, and sellers sell over 9,000 sad irons from several different collections. 

A collection from Oregon we are selling was focused on antique Irons, & other Ironing related antiques all set up in a general store type museum with much advertising and related Country or General Store Antiques including General Store Fixtures, Cash Registers, scales hardware and more.

We are also currently handling 3 different antique collections from across the country focused on antique sewing machines and sewing related antiques including sewing birds / clamps and other sewing related collectibles for different consignors.  There is another collection of over 300 vintage toy sewing machines in the pipeline as well.

To view specific examples of the type of, and level of quality antiques we are interested in, and provide more information about,  please review our Past Sales Archive pages at our sister site www.AntiqBuyer.com . 

Outright Purchase and Sales We can, will, and do buy antiques outright.  We do this all the time.  The most important aspects that influence our decision to buy a given antique are  price, condition, and desirability. These are the main factors or most important considerations in determining our interest and without knowing the specifics of each, it is very hard for us to say we are interested in buying your piece. 

Outright sales are how most antique dealers obtain their merchandise.  It can be the quickest and cleanest approach to buying and selling antiques when the seller knows what he / she wants for that antique or collection of antiques and is being realistic.   

Many sellers want "retail" or retail ++ for their antique collection or single antique, ignoring the fact they have contacted an antique dealer.  Others profess they have no idea what the value is or how much they would want.  This approach to selling sets up the classic adversarial dealer / seller situation  mentioned before.  I do not usually participate in this back and forth.  I would rather help you sell your antique than fight with you over the price. 

If you have antiques to sell and have them priced ----- reasonably and realistically------ contact us and we can sew up the deal with me buying them now!  Or I can help you sell them on consignment, and you can will in most cases beat your expectations. 

Internet Auction Listing Service of quality single pieces or antique collections is another service we offer for select pieces.  If time is a factor and your willing to let current market forces rule, we alternatively offer an expedited sales approach for your antiques or collectibles through Ebay or other internet auction sites.  We have several thousand positive feedbacks from selling antiques and collectibles on eBay and it can be a good approach for certain pieces.  In general though we do not recommend this approach for most pieces for a number of reasons.

We offer this service on a commission basis as well.  A recent example of a piece we sold there for a consignor is a farm related Patent Model / Salesman Sample Corn Planter   Click link to see the ad for this piece we ran on eBay!

I currently list antiques & collectibles on eBay under the name TheAntiqueMerchant. In general I use that venue only in special circumstances, or to help draw buyer / bidders from there to our site.  Please take a look to see how I run auctions there.  Contact me if this is how you want to proceed  Contact Us

Finders Service for Antique Buyers We offer this as a service for those who are looking for specific antiques to add to their collections.  We offer a paid finders service for serious collectors looking for serious pieces and treat a paid retainer as a contract to find and provide the piece for a reasonable commission.  We will work for a fixed finders fee as well.  We treat general requests to look for something as --- general requests.

Appraisals, Research and Consultations are offered as part of the above services------ within reason. If appraisals or research are desired for unrelated reasons we offer these services as a paid service.  Please see the FAQ Page for details.

We are very specialized in our field and interests, and that is where we can be of service to you.  Please see the Antiques Wanted and the FAQ page for more specific info. 

We hope you enjoy this site, and that you will come back often to see our latest offerings. As antique dealers who buy and sell antiques we are fair, reasonable, and honest. 

We deal with people openly and with integrity when conducting our business.  We treat sellers and our customers the same way we want to be treated.  Our reputation is important to us and we can provide numerous references from past clients, collector friends, and others attesting to this. 

Please review the general info pages listed on the left for more information on what we buy and sell and how we conduct our business.

**** We Sell Antiques! ****

We want to Help you Sell Your quality Antiques

If you have a single antique, or a collection of antiques to sell please contact us at LCM@patented-antiques.com giving us your PHONE NUMBER  and other contact info and we will get back to you ASAP. 

To view examples of the types of antiques and collectibles we have previously sold and are always interested in helping you sell please visit our Past Sales Archive Pages at our sister website www.AntiqBuyer.com.

Please see our FAQ page, the Appraisal / Selling Page and the Selling Your Collection Pages for further info.

Thanks!!

Larry & Carole