Matching valuable antiques with the right collectors

Question: We are downsizing and none of the kids want any of the things we have ended up with due to the deaths of our parents and grandparents.
I have quite a lot of the ruby carnival glass objects that we used to buy for my mother who loved the stuff back in the '60s. It is mostly the straight ruby, before they started adding the amber shading to save on the cost of using gold to make the ruby color. I even have a lamp!
One mother-in-law had a set of Limoges pot de crème with a tray.
I have a fabric wall hanging in the forbidden stitch from China, done about the 1600s or 1700s with silver and gold threads in it. It has been a nightmare to find anyone short of Butterfields to price it! A local shop said things like "museum quality."
Can you tell me which shops in town might be the ones to handle the red glass and odds and ends that we want to sell?
We really will not have enough space for our own favorites when we move, and I can't find any of the younger generation in my own family who wants this kind of stuff. Can you help? -- Nancy Parker

Answer: You have an interesting problem. I think the first thing you should do is contact a licensed appraiser. They are listed in the phone book. You might even want to contact the staff of the Museum of Arts and Culture with your questions. They might be able to put you in contact with the right people.
Many of the major auction houses, like Butterfields and Christies, will accept email queries and photographs. It may help you to check online auctions like eBay or GoAntiques to see if there are items like yours for sale.
Any reputable dealer should do their homework to determine the value of your things so that no one gets cheated. However, a dealer will only pay the wholesale price because they will still have to make a profit on the resale. Selling to a private collector is the only way to get the full price.
An auction, advertised to collectors, is often the best way to sell valuable items.