Andrews Gallery Article

Selling Your Lladros - Part V - How Much Are They Worth?

The short answer to the title questions is that your Lladros are worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for them. Unfortunately, this is not a satisfactory answer. Nevertheless, the answer holds a great deal of truth. What you sell your Lladros for is what they are worth at that moment, but could you have sold them for more? Perhaps you might have been able to achieve a better selling price, but you need to know three things to determine what you should ask and you need to dispel one myth. Let's start with the myth.

Myth: All Lladro figurines always go up in value such that you can always get a great return on your investment.

Truth: While Lladro figurines do tend to appreciate because they are collectibles as well as works of art, their value (or what you can sell them for) follows the law of supply and demand economics. An illustration is useful at this point.

In 1985, Lladro started the Lladro Society. Members were given the opportunity to acquire an annual figurine, available only to members. The first figurine offered in 1985 was "Little Pals", Lladro number 0107600. During 1985, if a member of the Society, you could purchase "Little Pals" for exactly $95.00 US. The piece was retired at the end of the year and was no longer available as of January 1, 1986. At an auction in 1992, "Little Pals" was purchased for $4500.00 US. This is an increase of 4736 % in seven short years. This story of "Little Pals" seems to support the myth and not the truth. Why?

The answer is in supply and demand. In the collecting world, plates, Jim Beam bottles, Lladro figurines, or whatever, new offerings of a series of pieces are made. Usually the first offering is not as widely subscribed as subsequent offerings. If the series is well received and lots of collectors jump on board after the initial offering, a lot of collectors end up with incomplete sets. Collector fever sets in and demand pushes the price of the first item of the series up and up and up.

"Little Pals" was the first piece in a series of Lladro Society annual pieces. If you were an avid collector of Lladro, you had to have a complete set. If you were a wealthy, avid collector of Lladro, you bid $4500.00 at the auction without hesitation.

So the questions remain, how much are you're Lladros really worth? To answer this question you need to know the name and number of each Lladro, the year it was retired, its last retail price. If it's not retired, you can use the current retail price as your guide. In Part VI, identification is explored.

Andy Andrews
http://www.andrewsgallery.com

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