Hello, I have a large vintage storage trunk and I am looking at selling it, however, I don't know what it is worth. It is in excellent condition, with one scratch at the back. It locks and I have 3 keys for it. The dimensions are: Height - 27.5", Width - 22.5", Length - 49".
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I see people asking up to $200 for these, but haven't seen one sell in ages.
The caveat about the asking price is two fold--most offer "free shipping" which means the seller pays shipping and that will be huge on these (so their profits will be low--maybe under $50 depending on where they ship it to) and second, these are asking prices, not SOLD prices so there is no way to gauge (in what I can locate), actual sold values by region.
I see people selling beat up ones at the flea market for $5-10, but I never see anyone walking around with one to see if that is a good selling price.
These were a staple in college dorms for years (pre plastic tubs) so not a lot of them survived so that works in your favor.
Yours looks to be in nice shape. Is it wood or particle board or something else? The wood ones I would start in the $200 range, the particle board ones, maybe start at $175. Then you can take best offer.
Like other "furniture" type sales values are regional so if you are in a colleges town in a big city, for example, these may be a dime a dozen or if you are in a rural area, they may be scarce.
Post back how your sale goes! Fun item! Thanks for sharing!
I agree with cybergrannie this is probably not a Seward brand. The company is still around, so perhaps they can confirm that it is not theirs. I believe theirs always had a marking usually on the handle and yours does not have a handle. sewardtrunks.com/
I went through a number old Sears, Wards, and Penney's catalogs from 1985-1995 and there were none that matched yours. Is it possible it came from another store?
This looks like a nice extra large storage trunk but it does not appear to be a vintage Seward brand trunk.
I believe your trunk was probably made for Sears to resemble the steamer trunks that were popular at the time. If your stated measurements are correct then it is larger than any of the similar trunks listed online as most of those appear to be either 31" or 28" long compared to your 49" long.
Reasons I feel your trunk is really a 'Sears' trunk and not a Seward is based on size as one point although it is possible Seward made larger trunks at one time but after reviewing over 100 listings for Seward trunks the largest I have found is 30".
Seward appears to have placed their name on their antique/vintage trunks - usually on the handles. Your trunk has handles but no name. It also seems that Seward trunks used larger metal rivets/nail-heads than yours but it is difficult to tell from the pictures.
You can find similar trunks listed for sale online but the trunks that have sold are all very low value - even as low as $6. These sales are from 2015 - 2021.
It appears Seward produced well made trunks but were usually sold as utility/storage trunk and were never considered a high end trunk such as some other brands were. Although Seward became the largest trunk manufacturer in the world, their trunks were still usually used by what was generally called 'working class'.
Sold for $6 in 2016:
www.k-bid.com/
This same trunk sold for 3 different prices from 2015-2019;
$10 - $20 - $50:
www.liveauctioneers.com/
This trunk has been listed for sale on eBay for over 4 years. It was reported sold but was relisted: $349.
www.ebay.com/
Since your trunk appears to be larger than other trunks this style that may be a selling point.
I'm not sure of the value of your trunk because shipping would cost more than the value of your trunk so the value will depend on whether this style of trunk is popular in your area. Maybe a college nearby?
You can always start at a higher price with best offer considered and free local pick-up and wait a few weeks to see if any offers are made. If no offers, you can lower the price and wait again.
Information about Seward company:
"Founded in 1946, Mercury Luggage Manufacturing Company began designing high quality luggage and bags in Jacksonville, Florida. In 1998, Mercury Luggage acquired Seward Trunk Co. of Petersburg, Virginia which was founded in 1878 and grew to be the largest domestic manufacturer of trunks and footlockers in the United States. Mercury Luggage established itself as a premier supplier of high quality luggage, bags, trunks and cases that are used by major corporations, pro and college sports teams, top retailers and all branches of the U.S. military."
It's great that my answer helped you.
My only desire is that everyone's answers will help provide information for the person asking the question as well as anyone looking for similar information in the years to come.
Thank you both for your attention to the questions submitted and your useful answers. I regularly get feedback about questions that are years old, thanking us for the useful information.
Many question and answer sites have gone dark over the last 10 years. I believe that Yahoo Answers just shut down recently. I'm so happy that ThriftyFun is still helping people after all this time and I hope we will be going strong for many more years.
You will need to look for a makers mark. It will be hard to identify without one.
Could you give us more information? Any stamps any where that could help identify? It seems similar to steamer trunks and other trunks. It's a needle in a haystack when there's no other information.
Unfortunately there are no stamps on it. I bought it from sears probably 30 years ago.
This is Vintage Storage Trunk by Seward 49"L x 22.5"W x 27.5"H www.worthpoint.com/
Founded in 1878 by Simon Seward, the Petersburg, Virginia-based Seward Trunk Co. was once the nation's largest manufacturer of steamers, trunks and luggage. Seward has been a part of American lifestyles ever since sewardtrunks.com/
Since your trunk is in excellent condition and there are keys, the price can go up to $300-350.
Thank you so much everyone for the excellent detail. The time you took means a lot to me and this will give me a starting point. I will keep you posted when it's sold.
I think only your Storage Trunk keys can help. Please see what is written on the keys. If this is Sears Roebuck Trunk, then it must be written there, as here: www.ebay.com/
But I think you would have noticed this lettering on the keys, so I doubt it's Sears Roebuck Trunk.
Sorry, but sometimes vintage trunks cannot be identified. Write that you have Vintage Storage Trunk 49"L x 22.5"W x 27.5"H like here legacyvintage.ca/
My keys show on one side "LONG LOCK T-46" and on the other side "P"BURG VA-USA"
The information about the marks on the keys helped a lot.
The inscription on the keys means that the lock on your chest was made by Long Manufacturing Co., Petersburg, VA, Pennsylvania.
Now I highly doubt this is the Sears Roebuck Trunk. I found another key labeled Sears. But I can't find what the keys to the vintage Seward Storage Trunk look like. I think the keys were not labeled with Seward and therefore it is impossible to find vintage keys with this inscription.
It says here that Long Manufacturing "factory dates to the early 1900s when it was run by Rogers & Madison Trunk Co., a trunk maker... Long Manufacturing took over in the late 1920s or early 1930s, making trunk locks and keys primarily for the Seward Trunk Co., also in Petersburg and once one of the nation's largest makers of steamer trunks and luggage." richmond.com/
As I understand it, there are no inscriptions on the side handles of your trunk. I think that vintage Seward trunks did not always have an inscription on the handles, for example, this trunk does not have such an inscription: www.worthpoint.com/
I contacted yesterday Seward asking for help, but no response yet. If I receive any useful information, I will inform you.
You decide what to write, that you have Vintage Seward Storage Trunk or Vintage Storage Trunk with T46 Long Lock Co.
like here: www.ebay.com/
It is a pity that you did not indicate from the very beginning what is written on the keys. To be honest, it is sometimes very difficult to identify objects, especially when people give incomplete information. I have only been participating in the answer contest for the second month, besides English is not my native language. Sometimes I spend hours to find at least some information (in particular, to understand what it is called in English). But it was interesting.
Thank you for your hard work in searching. I appreciate the info you provided.
Hello,
Is this item still available ? Have you determined a price ?
I would recommend you to use this online appraisal service:
http:\\appraisily.com
Regards
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