WW1 military trunks

My wife has picked up a couple WWI military trunks. One from a family
estate sale (straps warn handles gone).

Nancy2...

"worn" ;-)

She thinks she can sell them for more than she paid but we have no clue
what price to set.

The other question is if or how to replace the handles.

Kris Baker...

pwrbus...

Of course any home repairs are going to diminish whatever value they may
have (if any) as antiques. While you may not be a fool, it is kind of

dingbat...

Good general advice, but not necessarily.

If you're selling at the "cute decorator" market, then a good quality
fix that looks right is worth a lot more than anything broken. TBH, for
most of these customers a lousy, ugly fix sells better too.

foolish to lay out money for an item in anticipation of reselling it
without first finding out what the market is. These days, the online
auction sites are a reasonable place to check the market and here's a
pre-WWI military trunk with handle and straps in good condition that was
bid up to a total of $26 (the seller wanted more, so it went unsold)

If your wife paid much more than that, expecting to reap a profit in
reselling them, then she's probably going to be
disappointed...especially if the trunks are in need of repair. If your
wife is trying to start a business, then Kris is probably right. She
should donate the trunks to Goodwill and take a write-off on her taxes.
Otherwise, you might want to stick to buying things that you or she
like to collect and know the value of. That way, if you can't resell
them you can enjoy them yourselves.

Kris Baker...

I know. But sometimes, if you drag something home and you don't
feel like fixing it up, it's best to take it to the animal shelter for
someone else to adopt ;)

Otherwise, I see two old trunks sitting around waiting for you to work on
them ;)

I don't know how much she paid (hopefully, not much). The trunks
that sell, are the stylish ones. Wardrobe styles and square all-metal
military styles are difficult. If you sell at antique shows, though, you
can use them to haul your wares. The straps were usually leather,
so if you can re-create worn leather, you can make this work. You
may have to find a leatherworker to help you.

Nancy2...

You could also check out a Goodwill or Salvation Army store to see if
there are any worn leather gloves big enough to make straps from, or
worn leather jackets to cut the straps from - better than trying to
make brand-new leather look worn. Belts are another option.

If I were trying to sell them, I'd mark them no more than $25 each and let
someone dicker. I bought
one once, and it took me a year to sell it for a higher price. I eventually
settled for $15.

Kris Baker...

I'm always amazed when someone has a story about grandpa (this is
his military trunk, and he was gassed in Europe)....but sells his trunk.

Anyway, by your description, it sounds like a common steamer
trunk. I haven't one I wouldn't part with, because my grandmother
came over from Denmark with all of her possessions in it. It's

Kris Baker...

Sit down with your wife and have her detail all of her expenses.
What she pays for merchandise, her antique mall fees, her
antique mall monthly rent, and her mileage. (If she doesn't have a
mileage log, she'd better make one fast, because the IRS business
deduction is about 44cents per mile right now.) Anything she's
bought to restore items, including, cleaning. If you are storing
items in the home, figure the percentage of space. The percentage
of your total utilities can be deducted.

"Making" the antique mall rent is the game they play at those places; most
dealers don't know how much it's costing them to be in business.

She's running a business, and needs to be businesslike.

priceless to my family.

That kind, with the wood, and in good shape, might sell for
between $75 to $100. Don't mention the gas ;)