I’m a book dealer and came across about 40 original NASA issued press photos from 1961 to 1963. Many are shots of Gus Grissom and John Glenn. They are like the photos featured on this site:
http://www.schicklerart.com/exhibitions/naindex/index.html
I have outlets for most anything that I come across but this has me stumped. Do you know of any NASA dealers or auctions houses that may specialize in NASA memorabilia?
thanks
ad
Tons of collectables of all sorts on Ebay. I sold some mission patches I got as a kid and got a good price for them.
I would think that there would be auction houses that would have space (NASA) auctions now and then.
eBay is a good place to buy books but they rarely bring good prices for truly rare items.
I think that the signal to noise ratio it too high on eBay.
It was right in the town I live that a barber was threatened with a lawsuit by Neil Armstrong because the barber had collected Armstrong’s hair clippings and sold them to a collector for $3,000. It was not possible to get the hair back, but the barber agreed to donate the proceeds to charity, and I guess that was the end of it. If there’s a market for astronaut hair, there’s gotta be one for photos. Most of the ones I have seen have been reproductions, I have no idea of the value of originals.
I always wondered where I could find a replica or model of the pioneer plaque.
DO NOT try to sell them on eBay! You will be casting pearls before swine. Collectors of space memorabilia are almost certainly willing to pay more for these kinds of things than ordinary Joes on eBay.
Contact Robert Pearlman at http://www.collectspace.com/. He’s one of the leading experts on space memorabilia.
It’s possible that the pictures are not incredibly rare or valuable. But they may be. If Pearlman doesn’t know himself (I think he will), he certainly will know who can give you a good estimate of their value and advice on how best to dispose of them. There are auction houses that specialize in space-related artifacts.
I’ll second Commasens’s advice.
I’ve a UK friend who is a long time fanatic on NASA memorabilia and books, he’s spent a fortune buying stuff from the USA.
That’s the info I was looking for, thanks! eBay is not the market for anything in my field, I found collectspace using my google skills but a few others came up as well. I thought that someone might have an idea of the sellers reputation.
I’ll try him today, thanks!
AD
I forgot to mention: if you make tons of money off them, I want a 10% finder’s fee!
Are you saying these collectors don’t use eBay? If that is the case, there is money to be made by “ordinary Joes” buying NASA stuff on eBay, then pawning it off on collectors at inflated prices. Where might I find these clueless collectors?
Well, you make a good point. Devoted collectors may very well be keeping an eye on eBay. But in such a large market there is almost certainly so much more chaff than wheat that it could strain the patience of many of them to find items they are really interested in, even with advanced search tools.
There’s also the issue of authenticity. It is probably more efficient (if somewhat more expensive) for buyers to deal mostly with auction houses and other reputable sources who know what they have than a nameless eBay seller who could be clueless or a crook.
Also, given that the number of serious collectors is so much smaller than the number of people who will see any single auction on eBay, and given the limited time of auctions, there’s always the chance that the one collector who needs your item to complete his life’s work, and would pay a fortune for it, will be on vacation while your auction runs. From the seller’s point of view it’s better to be in a smaller but more focused market.
I can’t speak for NASA stuff (that is why I asked the dopers) but in the book world, if you know what you are doing this is the case. I have turned books bought on eBay for peanuts into fairly big money just by selling them on Amazon marketplace. I am sure that there might be better places to sell them than Amazon but quick, easy money is my favorite kind.
providence is hard to establish with photos on ebay, without seeing them you may not know if they are originals or copies. Many people sell copies as originals. I know that it is hard to believe that someone might misrepresent something on eBay but it happens.
FYI: provenance, not providence.
tanks for the help commasense.