Consider having valuable items appraised. If you feel the artwork in your collection may be especially valuable, invest in a professional appraisal. This will both protect your interests and legitimize your asking price on expensive items. Conduct your own appraisal on less expensive pieces. Study the market for pieces comparable to those in your art collection to see what other collectors will pay. ArtBusiness.com suggests looking for similar items on eBay to get pricing ideas. (see Reference 1) Look at gallery catalogues for pricing information as well.
Increase exposure to your art collection before the sale. “Corporations know that in order to make sales, they have to expose their products to consumers over and over again,” says ArtBusiness.com. (see Reference 2) Think about public places that might be willing hang pieces from your collection to increase recognition. Try approaching local shops and small cafes or restaurants about displaying your art collection. (Reference 2) Consider having a gallery show before the sale to get people interested in your collection. Create marketing materials to hand out to participants.
Find an appropriate venue for selling your art collection. Think about whether an online auction site like eBay could be a good, high-traffic venue for your collection. If you decide to go with an online auction, consider keyword phrases that will direct buyers to specific pieces in your collection. For example, pieces by a well known artist should include their name in the keywords while lesser known artist’s pieces will do better with keywords describing the piece. (see Reference 1)
If most of the pieces in your art collection have local significance or appeal, a local auction might be better for sales. Advertise a live auction in the newspaper classified section. Consider writing a press release for the local paper. The editor may assign a journalist to cover your art auction in the lifestyles section, greatly increasing exposure.