guyette and deeter
Consigning Decoys

Consigning Decoys



Whether you have one decoy or an entire estate, consigning with Guyette & Deeter, Inc. is a simple process. Contact us for a free appraisal. You can mail us a single profile photograph (see details here: appraisal information.) We will reply with the fair market value of your item and let you know if we can market it for you, and in which venue. We offer competitive commission rates, and your items are fully insured from the moment they arrive at our offices. Complete consignment details are below.


Consignment Information:


  • Packing list with estimates must accompany decoys shipped to us.
  • All items will be listed in catalog, but we cannot guarantee that items worth less than $500 will be pictured in the catalog. Items under $500 may also be put for immediate sale on decoysforsale.com, our weekly online auction site or placed for sale in our retail gallery in Freeport, Maine.
  • Auction consignments must average at least $1,500 per lot.
  • Preliminary verbal or written agreements made by us will be subject to change if consignor alters makeup of consignment. Example: Consignor tells us they are sending one expensive decoy and three inexpensive decoys, but only sends the three inexpensive decoys.
  • Persons consigning more than $2,000 worth of decoys to an auction will receive a free auction catalog.
  • Commission rates are available upon request..
  • If shipping via UPS please send to: 1210 S Talbot St, Unit A, St. Michaels, MD 21663
  • If shipping via US Mail please send to: PO Box 1170, St. Michaels, MD 21663. Mail is not delivered to our physical address.
  • Payment to consignors is 45 days after auction.
  • An additional fee for insurance will be assessed at the rate of 1% of the estimate on your consignment contract.
  • All lots pictured in catalog will be in color.
  • All items in Guyette & Deeter, Inc. decoy auctions have a guaranteed condition report. This enables phone and absentee bidders to bid freely knowing they can have confidence in the condition report in our auction catalog. Not all decoy auction houses have a guarantee.

Appraisal Information:


  • Guyette & Deeter, Inc. provides free informal decoy appraisals. Send single profile photo of each item and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Guyette & Deeter, Inc., PO Box 1170, St. Michaels, MD 21663 or email single profile photo to jdeeter@guyetteanddeeter.com in jpg format. Multiple angle photographs will slow the appraisal.
  • Insurance and estate appraisals are done as well.

Office and Storage:

  • The Guyette & Deeter, Inc. business is set up in the most efficient manner possible, to provide safe and smooth handling of our customers' decoys, accounts, and payments. Our client histories and merchandise information are maintained in a computerized database of over 40,000 records. Our system allows us to identify and efficiently act on current marketplace trends so that we may get the highest possible price for our consignors' decoys. The Guyette & Deeter, Inc. "in house" computer programmer can correct problems and redesign programs easily to ensure swift and efficient handling of cataloging and accounts. However, we are not an impersonal computerized office. To personally meet with potential consignors and buyers, Gary, and Jon travel extensively. Even while on the road, they can easily be reached by cell phone. They are usually available to talk with customers after business hours.
  • Items which are consigned to our auctions are stored on shelves at our business facility, where they may be viewed by buyers anytime during regular business hours, as well as evenings and weekends by appointment. The decoys are photographed and shipped "in house." This means less handling, and therefore lower costs and chance of damage. We do not subcontract out our buyers' decoys to impersonal shipping and packing companies.
  • Being longtime decoy collectors themselves, Gary, and Jon maintain a business philosophy which is concerned with the needs of consignors and buyers. They are aware of the desirability of having auctions which benefit all, and they operate the business accordingly.

Promoting and Marketing

  • CONFIDENTIALITY - Guyette & Deeter, Inc. clients can be assured that all appraisals and consignment information is held in the strictest confidence.
  • CATALOG - Our recently updated auction catalog is without equal in quality and appearance as well as accuracy. It is sent to collectors, investors, decoy dealers and museums across the United States, Canada and Europe.
  • ADVERTISING - Guyette & Deeter, Inc. advertises regularly in most sporting and antique publications as well as runs ads in local newspapers near our auction sites. A full-color brochure is mailed to over 11,000 clients four weeks before each Guyette & Deeter, Inc. auction. The brochure features 100 photos with captions for a large cross section of the items in that auction. Public interest articles appear about Guyette & Deeter, Inc. in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, American Airlines Magazine, Forbes Magazine, Worth Magazine, Outdoor Life, The Robb Report and Home & Garden Magazine as well as antique and art publications across the US. For each auction we send detailed press releases with photos to over 30 trade publications, as well as major daily newspapers across the US. and Canada. We also send out auction press releases with local orientation to hundreds of smaller newspapers.
  • PROMOTIONAL DISPLAYS AND EXHIBITS - We exhibit many of the more important items in our decoy sales at major decoy shows both in the United States and Canada.
  • PERSONAL PROMOTION - Prior to each auction we send out color photos to potential buyers for particular decoys. We also, in many cases, personally take the decoys to a potential buyer's home or office so that they may view them.
  • PROFESSIONAL ADVICE - We provide sensible advice to our consignors regarding value, timing, and market conditions for selling their decoys.
  • COMPETITIVE RATES - Our high volume of sales and highly effective marketing techniques make it possible for us to offer very competitive commission rates to our consignors.
  • PERSONNEL AND PROCEDURES - Gary Guyette, Jon Deeter and Zac Cote have a combined decoy collecting and decoy marketing experience of over 75 years. There is no one at any other decoy auction house who can match their knowledge in the field. The Guyette & Deeter, Inc. office and auction staff is extremely efficient, courteous, and knowledgeable in the decoy field. Jim Julia has been our auctioneer for over 27 years, and is recognized as one of the best auctioneers in North America.
  • RELIABILITY AND STABILITY - Guyette & Deeter, Inc. has been conducting decoy auctions since 1984. We lead the field and will continue to lead. All decoys consigned to Guyette & Deeter, Inc. are fully insured. We provide accurate accounting to the consignor.