I HAVE a silver plated tray in good condition which has the…

What a lovely tray. I have a similar one.

This tray was made, as you noted, by the firm of Thomas Otley and Sons which produced silver items in Sheffield UK from 1860s to 1872.

The tray, however, is not the famous Old Sheffield Plate made 1740-ca 1860.

That famous plated silver was actually a layer of silver fused on a layer of copper by hand.

The type of process used to make your tray was patented in ca 1840 by Elkington & Co. It involved using a chemical to deposit a layer over a base metal. This method is called electroplating. It produced a plated silver much more easily than the hand fused method of Old Sheffield Plate.

Your tea tray, some called a butler's tray, would have an estimated retail value of $700-800 assuming good condition and depending on sale geographic location.

Online auctions like eBay generally bring wholesale selling prices.

If you would like to sell close to estimated retail, some ideas are:

The internet has your largest audience of buyers. Place small ads on these sites or set up your own small store on these sites.

Be sure to specify local pick up only for large items. That way the buyer would be responsible for obtaining his own insurance and transport.

These sites carry antique as well as vintage items.
Accept PayPal only.

Etsy.com - small fees - 20 cents to list plus 3.5% final price.
Artfire.com
Bonanza.com

These sites are excellent and more upscale but fees are higher. I only recommend them if you have several items to sell.
GoAntiques.com
Rubylane.com
Tias.com
cyberattic.com
trocadero.com

Or your nearest CraigsList.com where you can list items for free. Accept cash only.

A method that could be very effective would be to place a classified in the "Maine Antique Digest" It has a large readership of collectors all across the country.

I highly recommend this method. They only charge $25 for 25 words in a classified ad. This publication is a monthly newspaper as well as on their internet website.

http://www.maineantiquedigest.com/advertising

In general, a private seller to a dealer, via consignment or at auction can expect 30-50% of estimated retail value.

Insurance replacement values are usually about 20% more than retail values.

I hope I have helped you.

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Doris

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