FAQs for Prospective Consignors

 

-Why North American Glass?

 

We are the world's leading seller of North American historical glass fruit jars, and have been doing so for more than 30 years. We sell historical glass and stoneware of all kinds because we love it, and this is all we do, full time! Over the years, our sales have consistently pushed the market to higher levels, realizing numerous World Auction Records, including the highest auction price ever paid for a historic fruit jar at $41,143.00!

 

All outlets for historical American glass are not the same, and there are significant reasons why North American Glass is one of the most respected specialty auction houses in the country. Our unsurpassed knowledge in this specialized field, along with our work in outreaching to collectors has helped sustain and transform the hobby. One of the reasons we are consistently successful is that our large base of bidders has come to rely on us in ways they may not trust other venues. This field has traditionally been plagued by both poorly attributed items and incomplete assessments of condition. Our painstaking condition reports, detailed descriptions and color photography are essential in realizing the prices we do.

We are a constant presence at most major glass shows and our website has a large following which is by far the most prominent with regard to historic fruit jars and other glassware. This means your items are always exposed to the widest customer base possible. The ultimate effect has been that jars and bottles are now receiving attention previously reserved for more "elite" categories of American antiques.

Finally, we have long-standing, strong relationships with the highest end of the collecting market, from collectors to dealers to investors. When you allow us to sell your item, you are opening it up to buyers who trust us implicitly and who, in many cases, would otherwise not be bidding.

Another important theme in the way we're dedicated to running our business concerns our accessibility, availability and speed of response to our clients, both buyers and sellers. If you need to call us at 11 pm we are always here to serve. If you want to swing by our location at 9 am on a Sunday to drop off items or inspect upcoming auction lots, just ask and you will be more than welcome to do so. We're never "off duty" when it comes to taking care of you.

After reading through the guidelines below, please feel free to reach out to discuss your consignment needs using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page.

 

 

-What types of items do you accept for auction?

 

We accept quality bottles, flasks, jars, blown glass, insulators, lamps, stoneware, advertising items, glass house memorabilia, related go-with items and miscellaneous.

 

 

-Is there a minimum value for items accepted for consignment?

 

If your prospective consignment consists of only one single item, the minimum value we can accept is $1000.00 or higher. For groups of items the total minimum group value is 2000.00 or higher, with the individual items in the group valued at 300.00 or higher. While we frequently list items of lower value than these minimums, we already have an adequate supply of these type items, and are unable to accept more.

SPECIAL NOTE: A question we are asked often is: "I saw that you listed an item in the auction that sold for 15.00, so can I consign that type of item?" The answer to that question is provided in full detail in the paragraph above. Again, we are neither seeking nor accepting new consignments of low-value items. Thanks for your understanding.

 

 

-Do you also purchase items outright?

 

Yes we do. In addition to our full-service consignment auction, we can also offer you the option of direct purchase (high-value items) if preferred.

 

 

-Do you accept irradiated glass for auction?

 

No, we cannot accept color-altered items including irradiated, stained or coated. You will see these items in our auction in rare cases, as a result of estate consignments, and they are always clearly described.

 

 

-Can I place a reserve price on consigned items?

 

We conduct an "absolute" auction without hidden reserves. With our large, world-wide audience of knowledgeable collectors, we obtain strong selling prices without reserves.

 

 

-Can you sell my item from just my pictures?

 

Consigned items will need to be in our possession in order to inspect, photograph, research and describe them for auction. If you're located too far away to drive your consignments to our location, the best way to get your items to us, is to ship by US Mail insured. We also attend many bottle shows across the country where we can meet to take your consignments. For large consignments or collections we can make arrangements to travel to your location for pickup.

 

 

-What are the terms for sellers?

 

If you have individual items or a collection to consign, please contact us at the link below. Alternatively, our direct contact information can be found on the About Us page. Once you let us know the specific items that you wish to consign, we will then provide you with contract information and fully detailed sales terms and commission rate.