It's a furniture buyer's dream

Need any more proof that it's a great time to buy antique or used furniture?

This solid oak chest is $50 at the Stock Exchange, a great consignment store in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Ma.

10 antiques and altered uses for them

Junkies, that is Junquies are magicians when it come to making due with altered material.

Here are ten antiques which can be put to enhanced uses.

Now close your eyes and imagine this as garden gates

1. Cast iron youth bed: You’d have to be next to insane to expect someone to slleep in one of these. They were practically a prison.  But, these make great garden ornamentation and gates.
2. Old lamp bases make great hat stands and scarf displays.
3. Those old dining room table felt covered mats can be fashoned into great light box caves for online photography. Also, they can be good background displays for jewelry.
4. Books - Some many beautifully bound books are discarded due to damaged contents. How about turning them into scrap books or photo album covers?
5. Damaged prints and artwork can be trimmed to make collages, decoupage and paper-mache designs.
6. A beautifully framed old window may be an odd size to be put anywhere in the house, but can be fashioned into a lid for a portable display case. A simple boxed frame is all you need to place beneath and there you have it. The more rustic the window is, the better it can show off some antique primitive smalls. Finely finished windows are better for jewelry and higher end flatware.
7. Old compartment fishing boxes can be just the thing to cart around your minatures from show to antique show.
8. Any mirror used to set antique glass or porcelain on, will almost always enhance the value of the item being displayed.
9. Dressers with missing drawers can have the inside chamber which is missing the drawer, turned into a bookshelf with an easy modification.
10. Old bike wheels can be the start of a great garden cart.  

Ten mistakes to avoid picking furniture this Spring

If you’re reading this newsletter online, thanks very much. However only subscribers are eligible to win weekly contests. Since the content is worth reading, (at least in my opinion) and, I don’t spam, sell names or otherwise pester anyone on my list: Why not sign up?
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                             Spring is here, so in the North East we’ll be seeing  a lot more furniture soon.

Here are ten mistakes to avoid when picking for the stick:

1. Mistaking the period: This is first on the list, because it can easily be a costly mistake. Perhaps the piece in question IS an antique of 150 years old, but it’s original period and style were 200 years earlier. Can you imagine the difference in value? Collectors almost always want the original version and will pay much more.
2. Overlooking damage - Beware of shed and barn items that are on earth floors. The feet and legs get punky and rot, but look fine until you move them. Pull out drawers, turn it upside down etc.
3. Under estimating/or over estimating damage. Either way if you’re off by a lot, you could lose $.  Look at things like HOW something is broken. For example there’s a huge difference between a board that’s cracked in a jagged half on a table, and the same table having the undamaged top separated from the base. The most important thing about is is that it allows the piece to keep all it’s original parts, and would likely be a much easier fix.
4. Not seeing the parts: Sometimes we see the whole piece as it, and it may be severely flawed. But don’t overlook the parts. Does that spent Walnut cabinet have a set of 8 more original matching, rare pulls? Does that clock w/ the destroyed face and works being sold for $3 have a a $50 finial? These should usually be lower $ investments for a higher % return.
5. Not planning for size: Oh No! You bought the industrial sized, commercial antique roll top desk. Those are nowhere near as valuable as the the S-Roll Top Desks
6. Improper handling. Don’t lift that marble top chest by the edge of the marble etc. A large percentage of antique furniture when damaged, acquired the damage in transit.  Know how and when to disassemble properly and do so.
7. Improper re-assembly. Another big area of antiques damage. Causing severe damage could be as easy as inserting the wrong size screw which splits an untouched original top. It’s painful in the purse.
8. Re-finishing train wreck. There are times when an antique should be re-finished, know when it’ worth it. A bad re-finish can easily eat 60% of the value or more!
9. Improper display. The Heywood Wakefield Dining room set won’t get as lit up with let’s say a Native American feathered head dress, as it would with a huge bulbous porcelain arts and crafts vase.
10. Incorrect market entry: It’s the old pearls before swine meme. If you try to sell something to those that don’t appreciate what you have, you’re up against a brick wall. Have you done the research to make sure your original Shaker cupboard is in the right auction?

I have a live discovery auction starting March 19th in Salem MA.

The back story and other details of this auction will be here. http://AuctionWally.com/discovery

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No listing fees, only a 6% final value fee, that’s how Boocoo.com rolls.

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                               Don’t Pay For an Appraisal if You Can Avoid Doing So.

Free Antiques Appraisal Archive Search

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                                             Prices Realized is now a feed!

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Site of the Week

 

 It appears, at least at first glance, that everything I’ve been saying about bookmarks and favs has been concentrated into one website called Tribepro.com

I’m there and already have gotten some results on my efforts with the free version. That’s fast!

There are Free, Plus and Pro versions.

 

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ep94 of The AuctionWally Show was posted last week.

(The show notes are up)

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Old School Hobbies

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There’s no excuse for not having good stock to sell if you haven’t tried  Salehoo.com

There you’ll find hundreds of pre-screened wholesalers and drop-ship suppliers complete with an ongoing education and training system for those interested in extending their knowledge of online selling.Take a minute to see what Salehoo is all about.
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Weekly contest:

Last weeks question was answered by several people, thanks to all. Bill D was the first, with the answer Sterneau co., the question was, what company does this mark represent. I’m pretty proud of my readers,  there was a high % of correct answers on this!

This week’s question:  Tell me what the function of this is.

As a bonus question, if you can tell me the company that made it, I’ll link back to your site, or anywhere you sell a product or service online. (There can be two different winners, one for each question.)

The first person to email me with the correct answer to the question above, will be the winner. Now of course, I’ll need a way to get that package to the winner, so send your snail mail address along with your contest answers.The prize is a neat collectibles surprise envelope which includes things found in a recent estate purchase I made. Things likely to be in said envelope are vintage postcards, ephemera, books, old photos and who knows what?
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Please forward this to friends.



What happened to furniture?

This antique sideboard has more real wood than the entire chain of Walmart stores! Click the pic to see what it sold for at auction.

Furniture is S-L-O-W. Very slow. Almost dead. For the past five years, sellers of antique furniture have been scratching their heads wondering whether to throw that old oak office chair in the fireplace for heating fuel or try to sell it one more time.

At auctions throughout the country, bureaus and chests that used to bring $300-$500 often sell for $50-$75 and the auctioneer sometimes has to beg for any bid. Yup, furniture is slow.

                                                               What happened?

Well, first of all result’s may vary, although this is a pretty widespread issue. But faring better is higher end furniture, that is, pieces priced at $1,000 and up.

Also, used furniture that is priced very low is selling well. Especially pieces that people always need such as bureaus, small stands etc. (Of course the rub here is you have to find these things at a price that enables you to sell it cheap. The incentive to deal in this market is just not there for a lot of dealers )  Auctions are suffering the most, as they need to liquidate inventory in a much faster manner than other venues.

Here are the causes as I see them:

• The foreclosure crisis has brought a glut of excess furniture on the market.
• The slow economy has done the same.
• Violent Spring storms of the last few years have made it difficult for antique furniture dealers who sell at outdoor shows.
• EBay has many former furniture dealers turning to smalls for income sources. It’s easy slip a piece of antique jewelry in an envelope and ship it accross world.

                                                 Who benefits and how to take advantage

• Young couples and people just starting out who can often get a house full of furniture at a country auction for under $1,000
• Dealers that are savvy enough to adapt their buying practices. 

                                                             The Dice Throw

I know several dealers that are stockpiling for the day when the “furniture market comes back”. As an auctioneer, stockpiling is against my nature. I crave liquiditiy. Getting great deals on furniture could very well afford one to store up a lot for a furture windfall, but this is a market that may never come back full steam. Be careful, and make sure you’re buying right!

Stay away from:

Oversized pieces. The market is even more limited for these pieces.

Still selling to some degree:

Small stands

Painted furniture and chests of drawers.

                                                                    
                                                                What to do

If you have some good furniture to sell, it’s best to eliminate the middle man. I know, I am one such middle man!

Two good options I see if you must sell your furniture is:

On boocoo.com Boocoo is an online auciton site that has been taking off pretty well. It’s free to list, and has a unique business model that relies on ads in local newspapers to generate online sales. The way boocoo works is when people sign on, their PC automatically shows first, the auction items in their geographical area. 

This is a fantastic way to sell large items which don’t need to be shipped! In this way it’s like Craigslist. UNLIKE Craigslist, you have to register so there is a good degree of safety. Also boocooo has an automatic in-house insurance policy on purchases up to $300. There is no cost to the buyer or the seller for this insurance.

Another feasible option is Craigslist itself.

Ya Snooze Ya Lose!

Knowing me I expect to make mistakes. I don’t mind it, in fact I welcome it as part of the learning process that keeps things interesting. But if there’s one kind of mistake I really dislike making, it’s one where I KNEW BETTER, but acted carelessly.

Those just get under my skin.

Here’s what happened:

On my way to the Rowley Flea Market last Sunday, I saw on the side of the road, a set of “This End Up” furniture. A sofa, stand w/ door and draw, table, desk w/ writing platform, end table and chair.

All for $60 - a steal.

Since the flea was up the road a half mile and I had business there, I figured I’d touch base with a contact there quick, and come back. Oh, I knew the set wouldn’t be around all day, but it should be OK for 15 minutes right?

Nope.

I came back to the set about 20 minutes later and a woman was loading the desk into her jeep. (She only wanted the desk and the 1 door stand!) So the other items were available still, but it was the appeal of a whole set that made the deal such a bargain.

I helped her  son cram the stand next to the desk, and handed her a business card in defeat.

I wished her well. Although I missed a great buy, in this case I didn’t feel too bac because it was for her son who was lit up at the cool new aquisition for his room.

 At $60 I’m sure I  could have flipped it in hours for $150, so I lost a quick $90.

Ya snooze ya lose, and the great deals don’t stick around!