Iets echt unieks voor Kerst? Bij ons vind je jouw one-of-a-kind cadeaus met elk een eigen verhaal
How does it work?
Deaccessioning
Just as in the Netherlands, deaccessioning is increasingly on the minds of collection managers in the UK. In the coming decades, millions of objects will be repurposed, around 3% of which will go to other museums. For museums, this means that there will be an enormous number of deaccessioned objects sitting around that could be donated or sold. Most museums are not equipped for this. The MuseumDepotShop web store was set up precisely for this reason.
Read more about deaccessioning here.
Web store
Participating museums can sell their deaccessioned objects to individuals through our web store. Most museums ask us to manage the entire process, from handling to fulfilment. This includes shipment to our depots, professional photography, object descriptions (including SEO), presentation on the website, packing, and shipment. Of course, it is also possible for museums to oversee this entire process and take care of the fulfilment themselves. The fee that the MuseumDepotShop charges ranges from 30 to 70% of the selling price, depending on the provided services and the price of the object.
The MuseumDepotShop also has a non-profit objective. Surplus money is available for museums that want to deaccession objects but don’t have the necessary funds or resources to carry out the process. These museums can submit an application to our organisation. There is only one condition for the allocation of these funds: the deaccessioned objects, that don’t go to other museums, must be sold in our web store.
Service to UK museums
Currently MuseumDepotShop has Letters of Intent with two museums, who are willing to repurpose objects through the MuseumDepotShop Foundation. Many other museums have shown interest in our activities and consider working with us after approval by the Ethics Committee.
The Ethics Committee, overseen by the Museums Association, has clarified its policy on methods of disposal. This means that after the completion of the full deaccession procedure set out in the MA’s Disposal Toolkit, museums are able to sell objects to the public via organisations such as the MuseumDepotShop Foundation. This gives museums the freedom and opportunities to endure in these trying times. *
* The Museums Association states on its website: “We recognise that there are operators offering to help museums dispose of deaccessioned collections items by sale. We do not endorse any specific private organisation that enables sales of deaccessioned items, but note that sale can – in limited circumstances and provided that the full disposal toolkit process is followed – be consistent with the current guidance on ethical disposal.
Page 20 of the Disposals Toolkit sets out requirements on methods of sale in detail. Any sales must be carried out in a way that is open and transparent, and any concerns about a specific sale should be raised with the Ethics Committee.” For further information, see: https://www.museumsassociation.org/campaigns/ethics/disposal/
Striving to be operational in the third quarter of 2021, whilst complying with all COVID-19 measures, the MuseumDepotShop Foundation is eager to speak to more museums. You may contact us through the form below.