If the trunk belonged to one of your relatives then we can put no value on it.  Keep it no matter what, DO NOT sell it.  We can tell you countless stories of the folks who have dragged their sorry behinds into the shop, red eyes, begging for Grandad's trunk back.  We tell them we're sorry, but the trunk was sold to a guy in Minnesota who stores his cross-dressing supplies in it when he isn't using it as a stand for his piranha tank.  Trust us on this one, you'll be sorry you sold it.

Next, if it says 'Louis Vuitton' on it anywhere (or if it has little LV initials on everything from the tacks to the ribbons) you need to switch to more expensive scotch than the brand you've been swilling.  Your trunk is worth a few thousand dollars, up to as much as $25,000.  Get help from a Vuitton expert (see our Links page).

Third, if your trunk has been painted by someone (or, even worse, if you painted it yourself) it is extremely difficult to get more than about $100 to $150 out of it.  Keep this in mind if you have a trunk that you're considering painting.  Sit down, think on this for a good, long spell before you slap the pea-green paint to the old unit.

Dome tops sell at higher prices than flat tops.  This has something to do with the fact that the same pricing relationship existed back in the days when everyone bought trunks - dome tops (camel backs, hump backs, whatever you call the darned things in your neck of the woods) were more expensive, by about 50 cents, than flat tops.

The average canvas-covered, flat-topped trunk in 'as-found' condition (most of the canvas is there, handles are broken, tray inside, smells like mothballs, has someone's name on the ends, some rust here and there) is worth about $100 to $200 un-refinished.  Once you refinish it the value can range from $250 up to a high end of about $750.  Little details determine where in that range the price will fall.  If you paint anything on the trunk black or gold (metal banding, corners, etc) the trunk's value will fall in the low end of the range.  Having the original key pushes the value up, as do any types of tags or labels indicating who made the trunk.

Remember - these are general guidelines, every trunk is different.

If you'd like an appraisal of your trunk's value we'd be glad to provide one to you.  Takes time for us to put one together, and time is sap, and sap is money.  In other words, we charge a fee for this service.  Not much - a flat $25 will do the trick.  We'll need to see pictures of your trunk, either by mail to our PO Box:

Brettuns Village Trunk Shop
PO Box 772
Auburn, ME 04212

Or by e-mail.

We'll also need to have a description of the trunk from you.  Please include:

• Dimensions
• Covering material type (canvas, metal, trunk fiber, weird black stuff that's tough as nails, etc)
• Numbers found stamped on any metal parts
• Names or words found on labels, tags, or parts
• Pictures of label or transcribe any words from labels found inside the trunk

That should be enough for us to go on.  We'll use the pictures and description to put together as much information as we can.  For some trunks we'll be able to provide quite a bit of information; for others, sadly, it may be more generic information.  We'll try our hardest.  Mail in your pictures and info, include a check to Brettuns Village Trunk Shop for $25.  We'll mail your photos back in a week or two or four; that's included in the price, along with our written report and estimate of fair market value and value for insurance purposes.  If you'd rather send in your photos and trunk information by e-mail, feel free.  You can also pay us with your credit card or PayPal account by clicking the button below.

Trunk Appraisal
$25.00

If you live outside of the USA  we will e-mail the appraisal report to you - this is to avoid the additional costs of international postage.  If you'd prefer a paper copy of the report and your mailing address is outside of the USA (yes, for more than 230 years Canada is still outside of the USA), please include an additional US$5.00 for Global Priority Mail.