Antique furniture appraiser blowing smoke.

[Brian37]

Based on what?

Quality and worksmenship does not equal market value.  Typically a piece of antique needs to either have a particular feature that is in vogue in the market at the moment, or has a highly desired and demonstrable pedigree to command that kind of money.

I have to agree with this. A piece of antique furniture needs to be special to be worth any real money. Quality and condition alone aren't enough.

Bullshit. It is a matter of finding the right buyer, that you could argue might be difficult, but these pieces are most certainly worth it. I am not going to give them away for 75-100 dollars. 

It is finding the right buyer, not a matter of no demand. These are the types of furniture the can and do sell. 

I am going to take vid of them then shop around to multiple sources to see what they say.

[mlmooney89]

Without my prompting he advised even 'good' antique furniture is hard to sell in this area, his customer base is 'graying' out and younger people don't want to buy antique furniture, they want to unload antique furniture they've inherited from their parents.

That makes me sad. I would have a house full of antiques if I could afford it. While I'm still a poor kid I'm sticking to small antiques that cost under $60 lol

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Bullshit. It is a matter of finding the right buyer, that you could argue might be difficult, but these pieces are most certainly worth it. I am not going to give them away for 75-100 dollars. 

I agree with you Brian. I see shit pieces that go for at least 200-300. There are a fuck ton of antique stores around my area and I can't afford to buy anything of interest.

[Brian37]

Without my prompting he advised even 'good' antique furniture is hard to sell in this area, his customer base is 'graying' out and younger people don't want to buy antique furniture, they want to unload antique furniture they've inherited from their parents.

That makes me sad. I would have a house full of antiques if I could afford it. While I'm still a poor kid I'm sticking to small antiques that cost under $60 lol

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Bullshit. It is a matter of finding the right buyer, that you could argue might be difficult, but these pieces are most certainly worth it. I am not going to give them away for 75-100 dollars. 

I agree with you Brian. I see shit pieces that go for at least 200-300. There are a fuck ton of antique stores around my area and I can't afford to buy anything of interest.

I've got an idea of how his tactic works on people. He lowballs it, tries to sound helpful saying these things are hard to sell in today's market, then when he comes back with a higher price you don't expect, you think you are getting a great deal. Truth is if I let this guy find me a buyer, my bet is he'd buy it from me way below value, then resell it or auction it off and make a killing. 

I won't deal with him after he comes back with price. It should however give me an estimate to a low end. These are not shit pieces.

[popeyespappy]

I have to agree with this. A piece of antique furniture needs to be special to be worth any real money. Quality and condition alone aren't enough.

Bullshit. It is a matter of finding the right buyer, that you could argue might be difficult, but these pieces are most certainly worth it. I am not going to give them away for 75-100 dollars. 

It is finding the right buyer, not a matter of no demand. These are the types of furniture the can and do sell. 

I am going to take vid of them then shop around to multiple sources to see what they say.

As the old saying goes, "There's a sucker born every minute." Maybe you will get lucky and find one.

I am not going to sit here and tell you your stuff isn't worth what you think it is. You haven't given us enough to go on for that kind of assessment. What kind of wood? What kind shape is it in? Has it ever been refinished? How old is it? Who made it? Where was it made? What style is it? How big is it? The answers to all these questions help determine value. And yes, supply and demand is part of the equation too. I can buy a nice antique library desk off eBay for hundreds as opposed to thousands all day long. I can buy a new solid cherry Amish made Breckenridge writing desk retail for a little more than a thousand. I can drive 30 miles north of here and have one made for less than than that. So can most other people. Someone is really going to have to want yours to pay what you want. That's where PT Barnum comes into play.

[mlmooney89]

I feel like an appraiser that has no stock in sellin it might be the most truthful. Maybe one working for insurance?

[Anomalocaris]

I have to agree with this. A piece of antique furniture needs to be special to be worth any real money. Quality and condition alone aren't enough.

Bullshit. It is a matter of finding the right buyer, that you could argue might be difficult, but these pieces are most certainly worth it. I am not going to give them away for 75-100 dollars. 

It is finding the right buyer, not a matter of no demand. These are the types of furniture the can and do sell. 

I am going to take vid of them then shop around to multiple sources to see what they say.

Most certainly?   Based on what?

For anything, there is probably one person who woulf have paid an exorbitant (much higher than market) price for it if he didn't know any better.  That is the customer you looking for.

But keep in mind the very avenues through which you might look for such an customer can also be used by that customer to discover there are others offering equivalent wares for less than you are.

So a realistic price of your antique is likely not determined by how much you or the buyer think it is worth in isolation from the market.  It is determined by what the buyer thinks are comparable pieced to what you offer, and how much such comparable pieces go for on the matket.

[Godscreated]

Ok, looking for some extra cash to help pay for my new mobile home i intend on buying. Trying to sell off some furniture I damned well know is quality and not reproductions which were handed to my parents by theirs before they adopted me.

So today, I get an appraiser to look at them. One what I can only describe as a antique library or accounting desk solid wood, ornate with iron fixtures dovetailed woodwork, not machine, and a separating book shelf. With a matching coffee table and low boy. They are each worth grands each I am sure of it. The desk itself I couldn't see going for no less than 2 to 5k, if not more. 

What was absurd is he was trying to tell me I could only get 75 to 100 each. 

If anyone has any experience with selling antiques is it better to say put an add in the paper or let a consignment shop or auction house do it for you? I know the stuff is worth way more than he eyeballed.

Be careful of auctions, most will not guarantee a set price and if the money people are not there you lose. Dealers are at auctions looking for deals and so are those looking for antiques, I know I use to buy that way and I knew who the dealers were by the way they bid. Do not believe all you see on Antique Roadshow, remember they are producing a show to sell to a market.

I can tell you that coffee tables are a modern type of furniture and so will not command a big price, low boys are still in style and could very well be fairly new, don't misunderstand when I say new, i'm speaking of things made from the 20th century till today. Furniture style and the makers are more important than what the pieces are. Refinished furniture doesn't necessarily devalue a piece. there are a lot of things that go into making a piece worth what you say yours are worth, without some close up pictures, real age of pieces, types of wood, style and maker it's hard to know what your pieces are worth, they very well could be worth what you think or they could be worth very little. How do you know the dovetails are not machine made and even if they are hand made that might not hold much weight. Before the router almost all furniture had hand made dovetails. I make all my dovetails by hand, but that doesn't mean what I make is worth thousands of dollars. I actually can make almost all joints by hand and all that means is that I've spent a lot of time building a pieces, the maker makes a difference. If your pieces were made in a furniture factory they are probably not going to be worth as much as you think. Post some quality pictures of the pieces and some enlarged details such as the dovetails and hardware. I hope you take this as only as advice, without see the pieces personally I couldn't tell you a lot. Look on the back or bottom of the pieces if you find a stamped number it's a factory made piece and there could even be a date. I have a beautiful mahogany dresser that was made in 1930 and factory built and extremely well built, yet it want bring a thousand dollars. I hope your pieces are worth what you believe they are and that you get a good price for them, just remember most people believe their pieces handed down from a couple generations ago think they have those treasures worth thousands, very few are worth that much, but they do have treasures because those that came before them wanted to give later generations of the family something to remember them by. Sometimes the greater value is from who it came, not the monetary value.

GC

[Brian37]

Bullshit. It is a matter of finding the right buyer, that you could argue might be difficult, but these pieces are most certainly worth it. I am not going to give them away for 75-100 dollars. 

It is finding the right buyer, not a matter of no demand. These are the types of furniture the can and do sell. 

I am going to take vid of them then shop around to multiple sources to see what they say.

As the old saying goes, "There's a sucker born every minute." Maybe you will get lucky and find one.

I am not going to sit here and tell you your stuff isn't worth what you think it is. You haven't given us enough to go on for that kind of assessment. What kind of wood? What kind shape is it in? Has it ever been refinished? How old is it? Who made it? Where was it made? What style is it? How big is it? The answers to all these questions help determine value. And yes, supply and demand is part of the equation too. I can buy a nice antique library desk off eBay for hundreds as opposed to thousands all day long. I can buy a new solid cherry Amish made Breckenridge writing desk retail for a little more than a thousand. I can drive 30 miles north of here and have one made for less than than that. So can most other people. Someone is really going to have to want yours to pay what you want. That's where PT Barnum comes into play.

Just knock it off. I am not trying to "sucker" anyone. I said REPEATEDLY that the furniture is QUALITY and has been in my family long before I was adopted. It is REAL WOOD, no it has never been refinished, it is in excellent shape.

FYI, it isn't a simple small desk like you cherry picked. It is a very heavy cabinet style wall desk with arms you pull out to fold down to allow the leaf to become the desk table. the lower part has two heavy doors below the desk part to put supplies. The desk part once you fold out the leaf has cubby holes for supplies and small drawers for things like staples or stamps ect ect. The top of it is a bookshelf that separates for moving. It is all hand crafted.  The bookshelf sits on top of the desk, together it is intended to be put next to a wall and stands about 6ft 5in put together. 

If that person in that pic can get 400 for that simple desk, I most certainly can get far more for my ornate desk.

[Anomalocaris]

As the old saying goes, "There's a sucker born every minute." Maybe you will get lucky and find one.

I am not going to sit here and tell you your stuff isn't worth what you think it is. You haven't given us enough to go on for that kind of assessment. What kind of wood? What kind shape is it in? Has it ever been refinished? How old is it? Who made it? Where was it made? What style is it? How big is it? The answers to all these questions help determine value. And yes, supply and demand is part of the equation too. I can buy a nice antique library desk off eBay for hundreds as opposed to thousands all day long. I can buy a new solid cherry Amish made Breckenridge writing desk retail for a little more than a thousand. I can drive 30 miles north of here and have one made for less than than that. So can most other people. Someone is really going to have to want yours to pay what you want. That's where PT Barnum comes into play.

Just knock it off. I am not trying to "sucker" anyone. I said REPEATEDLY that the furniture is QUALITY and has been in my family long before I was adopted. It is REAL WOOD, no it has never been refinished, it is in excellent shape.

And everyone else have said repeatedly that quality means nothing.  Unless your family contains major celebrities, notable royalty, or close relatives of Hitler, it having been in your family means nothing.  Real wood means nothing.  Its shape means nothing.

Its value is largely defined by how much a comparable piece can be obtained on the market, not any abstract attribute it has or how much you think it is worth.

A person who will pay you a higher price because you think it is worth more than the market is the very definition of sucker.

You may find one, I wish you luck.

[Brian37]

Mine is more ornate, bigger and heaver, and instead of draws below it has two swinging doors and and Iron sliding bar to keep the doors closed. Two shelves behind those doors. But the fold out concept is the same. Mine also has a bookshelf that sits on top. But this is the concept I am referring to.