Why does nobody want to buy antiques?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Antiques cover the entire range from high quality Chippendale from the 18th century and out of the great houses of England to mass market 1924 American furniture (using 100 years old as the defining feature for what makes something an antique).

Each area of the antiques market has its own value and desirability so you can't paint everything with the same brush.

Overall, the very tippity top of the market, the 1% of antiques, sells for very high prices and has its buyers. But it is also weirdly distorted by the peculiarity of that world. A rich collector would buy a $25,000 table from a known dealer but will not buy the same table from you for $10,000. It's just the way it works.

Underneath that very top of the market, antique prices have definitely collapsed. Your nicely upper middle class Georgian antiques that were being sold for $5,000 a chest in 1995 might sell for $1,000 today, on a good day. There's no shortage of pleasant and nicely made 18th and early 19th century antique side tables and chests and desks and chairs going for a few hundred up to a thousand. There's a bigger market for 18th century American antiques but even that market isn't wildly expensive. The local auction houses are flooded with them.

There is truth in that people really don't want antiques any more.

Find any of this for me at these supposed prices and I’ll buy it all

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is outdated and does not go with the modern new builds. Think about it - you have nice new flooring and lights, why would you want to bring someone else's grandma's couch or dining set?

Grandma's dining set in likely full of lead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Antiques cover the entire range from high quality Chippendale from the 18th century and out of the great houses of England to mass market 1924 American furniture (using 100 years old as the defining feature for what makes something an antique).

Each area of the antiques market has its own value and desirability so you can't paint everything with the same brush.

Overall, the very tippity top of the market, the 1% of antiques, sells for very high prices and has its buyers. But it is also weirdly distorted by the peculiarity of that world. A rich collector would buy a $25,000 table from a known dealer but will not buy the same table from you for $10,000. It's just the way it works.

Underneath that very top of the market, antique prices have definitely collapsed. Your nicely upper middle class Georgian antiques that were being sold for $5,000 a chest in 1995 might sell for $1,000 today, on a good day. There's no shortage of pleasant and nicely made 18th and early 19th century antique side tables and chests and desks and chairs going for a few hundred up to a thousand. There's a bigger market for 18th century American antiques but even that market isn't wildly expensive. The local auction houses are flooded with them.

There is truth in that people really don't want antiques any more.

Find any of this for me at these supposed prices and I’ll buy it all

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/storage-case-pieces/commodes-chests-drawers/classic-georgian-chest-drawers-walnut-oak-crossbanding/id-f_37175262/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Antiques cover the entire range from high quality Chippendale from the 18th century and out of the great houses of England to mass market 1924 American furniture (using 100 years old as the defining feature for what makes something an antique).

Each area of the antiques market has its own value and desirability so you can't paint everything with the same brush.

Overall, the very tippity top of the market, the 1% of antiques, sells for very high prices and has its buyers. But it is also weirdly distorted by the peculiarity of that world. A rich collector would buy a $25,000 table from a known dealer but will not buy the same table from you for $10,000. It's just the way it works.

Underneath that very top of the market, antique prices have definitely collapsed. Your nicely upper middle class Georgian antiques that were being sold for $5,000 a chest in 1995 might sell for $1,000 today, on a good day. There's no shortage of pleasant and nicely made 18th and early 19th century antique side tables and chests and desks and chairs going for a few hundred up to a thousand. There's a bigger market for 18th century American antiques but even that market isn't wildly expensive. The local auction houses are flooded with them.

There is truth in that people really don't want antiques any more.

Find any of this for me at these supposed prices and I’ll buy it all

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/storage-case-pieces/commodes-chests-drawers/classic-georgian-chest-drawers-walnut-oak-crossbanding/id-f_37175262/

Love that! And I love 1st Dibs! Could spend hours shopping on there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Antiques cover the entire range from high quality Chippendale from the 18th century and out of the great houses of England to mass market 1924 American furniture (using 100 years old as the defining feature for what makes something an antique).

Each area of the antiques market has its own value and desirability so you can't paint everything with the same brush.

Overall, the very tippity top of the market, the 1% of antiques, sells for very high prices and has its buyers. But it is also weirdly distorted by the peculiarity of that world. A rich collector would buy a $25,000 table from a known dealer but will not buy the same table from you for $10,000. It's just the way it works.

Underneath that very top of the market, antique prices have definitely collapsed. Your nicely upper middle class Georgian antiques that were being sold for $5,000 a chest in 1995 might sell for $1,000 today, on a good day. There's no shortage of pleasant and nicely made 18th and early 19th century antique side tables and chests and desks and chairs going for a few hundred up to a thousand. There's a bigger market for 18th century American antiques but even that market isn't wildly expensive. The local auction houses are flooded with them.

There is truth in that people really don't want antiques any more.

Find any of this for me at these supposed prices and I’ll buy it all

Jeffrey Evans antique auctions.

Alex Cooper monthly antique auctions.

Freeman's monthly antique auctions up in Philadelphia.

I've bought a number from these auctions. Periodically there will be an auction of better quality antiques. Here's a good better quality one coming up at Freeman's: https://www.freemansauction.com/auctions/american-furniture-folk-and-decorative-arts-1806 and note that most of the furniture is in the low four digits. Quite amazing given they were going for at least double 25-30 years ago.

Spend some time browsing liveauctions.com and you'll get a good sense. Especially the the sold history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Antiques cover the entire range from high quality Chippendale from the 18th century and out of the great houses of England to mass market 1924 American furniture (using 100 years old as the defining feature for what makes something an antique).

Each area of the antiques market has its own value and desirability so you can't paint everything with the same brush.

Overall, the very tippity top of the market, the 1% of antiques, sells for very high prices and has its buyers. But it is also weirdly distorted by the peculiarity of that world. A rich collector would buy a $25,000 table from a known dealer but will not buy the same table from you for $10,000. It's just the way it works.

Underneath that very top of the market, antique prices have definitely collapsed. Your nicely upper middle class Georgian antiques that were being sold for $5,000 a chest in 1995 might sell for $1,000 today, on a good day. There's no shortage of pleasant and nicely made 18th and early 19th century antique side tables and chests and desks and chairs going for a few hundred up to a thousand. There's a bigger market for 18th century American antiques but even that market isn't wildly expensive. The local auction houses are flooded with them.

There is truth in that people really don't want antiques any more.

Find any of this for me at these supposed prices and I’ll buy it all

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/storage-case-pieces/commodes-chests-drawers/classic-georgian-chest-drawers-walnut-oak-crossbanding/id-f_37175262/

It looks like it spent the last 3 years in a shower stall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Antiques cover the entire range from high quality Chippendale from the 18th century and out of the great houses of England to mass market 1924 American furniture (using 100 years old as the defining feature for what makes something an antique).

Each area of the antiques market has its own value and desirability so you can't paint everything with the same brush.

Overall, the very tippity top of the market, the 1% of antiques, sells for very high prices and has its buyers. But it is also weirdly distorted by the peculiarity of that world. A rich collector would buy a $25,000 table from a known dealer but will not buy the same table from you for $10,000. It's just the way it works.

Underneath that very top of the market, antique prices have definitely collapsed. Your nicely upper middle class Georgian antiques that were being sold for $5,000 a chest in 1995 might sell for $1,000 today, on a good day. There's no shortage of pleasant and nicely made 18th and early 19th century antique side tables and chests and desks and chairs going for a few hundred up to a thousand. There's a bigger market for 18th century American antiques but even that market isn't wildly expensive. The local auction houses are flooded with them.

There is truth in that people really don't want antiques any more.

Find any of this for me at these supposed prices and I’ll buy it all

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/storage-case-pieces/commodes-chests-drawers/classic-georgian-chest-drawers-walnut-oak-crossbanding/id-f_37175262/

It looks like it spent the last 3 years in a shower stall.

Pretty much explains this thread in one image.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consider that a true antique is at least 100 years old, so furniture from 1924. That era was wood/all brown and trend is away from brown furniture so most pieces get repainted or donated or trashed.

The scale seems off - positively tiny in today’s new homes with open plans. I know from experience in that I was fortunate to furnish nearly my entire first home with so much from my late grandparents everything from nightstands to dressers to desks and a cedar chest. Twenty years later, only a few pieces remain. Some I’ve passed along to family members, some have broken and I’ve recently donated even more - I just want something newer and fresher and these pieces seem just…tired.

Same reason I’m about to donate my very plain wedding china - it’s just lost its appeal and my lifestyle and tastes have changed.

What was the brand? Are you replacing? If so, what are you thinking?

Sincerely,
Pondering Same

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Antiques are expensive for most people, even if for you they're not. We sold a bunch at Christie's years ago, so I know.

Yeah this is for real nice antiques. I agree that is out of people’s price points, but at least that stuff does get reused.

There’s a lot of nice enough, but out of style and not high end stuff flooding the estate sales and FB marketplace. The logistics of this though means you’re searching online postings, which may or may not be organized in a coherent manner to locate depending on the key words someone used to post it for sale. You can’t meaningfully sort by size, color, style, etc. Then assuming you find something you like within 50 miles of you, you need a truck.

It is the rare person who has this time to scour online for this stuff and desire to rent a truck and/or possibly hire people or ask friends to help move it. And I’m willing to bet that the person who will do that is going to expect a good deal for all their effort. I’ve witnessed first hand how many older people seem absolutely insulted that buyers want to pay pennies on the dollar for their beloved massive dining table and hutch that they considered a splurge on back in the day.

This is my MiL. We didn't take some Versailles worthy twin bed frames her ILs had and she was very upset. She has some pieces we would like but she is using them now and how she disposes of them when it comes time is her choice. I don't feel I need to take other pieces that don't work with our architecture and decor simply because she spent good money on them in yesterday's dollars. And believe you me, every time this topic comes up, she raises the price as if that is a synonym for style.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider that a true antique is at least 100 years old, so furniture from 1924. That era was wood/all brown and trend is away from brown furniture so most pieces get repainted or donated or trashed.

The scale seems off - positively tiny in today’s new homes with open plans. I know from experience in that I was fortunate to furnish nearly my entire first home with so much from my late grandparents everything from nightstands to dressers to desks and a cedar chest. Twenty years later, only a few pieces remain. Some I’ve passed along to family members, some have broken and I’ve recently donated even more - I just want something newer and fresher and these pieces seem just…tired.

Same reason I’m about to donate my very plain wedding china - it’s just lost its appeal and my lifestyle and tastes have changed.

What was the brand? Are you replacing? If so, what are you thinking?

Sincerely,
Pondering Same

PP and Royal Doulton Alice. Absolutely nothing special but I sure thought it was fancy in 1995. Not even Replacements Ltd wants it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider that a true antique is at least 100 years old, so furniture from 1924. That era was wood/all brown and trend is away from brown furniture so most pieces get repainted or donated or trashed.

The scale seems off - positively tiny in today’s new homes with open plans. I know from experience in that I was fortunate to furnish nearly my entire first home with so much from my late grandparents everything from nightstands to dressers to desks and a cedar chest. Twenty years later, only a few pieces remain. Some I’ve passed along to family members, some have broken and I’ve recently donated even more - I just want something newer and fresher and these pieces seem just…tired.

Same reason I’m about to donate my very plain wedding china - it’s just lost its appeal and my lifestyle and tastes have changed.

What was the brand? Are you replacing? If so, what are you thinking?

Sincerely,
Pondering Same

PP and Royal Doulton Alice. Absolutely nothing special but I sure thought it was fancy in 1995. Not even Replacements Ltd wants it.

Nice setting but very formal. Yes, selling this is very labor intensive.

What are you considering for replace?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Antiques cover the entire range from high quality Chippendale from the 18th century and out of the great houses of England to mass market 1924 American furniture (using 100 years old as the defining feature for what makes something an antique).

Each area of the antiques market has its own value and desirability so you can't paint everything with the same brush.

Overall, the very tippity top of the market, the 1% of antiques, sells for very high prices and has its buyers. But it is also weirdly distorted by the peculiarity of that world. A rich collector would buy a $25,000 table from a known dealer but will not buy the same table from you for $10,000. It's just the way it works.

Underneath that very top of the market, antique prices have definitely collapsed. Your nicely upper middle class Georgian antiques that were being sold for $5,000 a chest in 1995 might sell for $1,000 today, on a good day. There's no shortage of pleasant and nicely made 18th and early 19th century antique side tables and chests and desks and chairs going for a few hundred up to a thousand. There's a bigger market for 18th century American antiques but even that market isn't wildly expensive. The local auction houses are flooded with them.

There is truth in that people really don't want antiques any more.

Find any of this for me at these supposed prices and I’ll buy it all

The prices on that site are 100% obscene.

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/storage-case-pieces/commodes-chests-drawers/classic-georgian-chest-drawers-walnut-oak-crossbanding/id-f_37175262/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Antiques cover the entire range from high quality Chippendale from the 18th century and out of the great houses of England to mass market 1924 American furniture (using 100 years old as the defining feature for what makes something an antique).

Each area of the antiques market has its own value and desirability so you can't paint everything with the same brush.

Overall, the very tippity top of the market, the 1% of antiques, sells for very high prices and has its buyers. But it is also weirdly distorted by the peculiarity of that world. A rich collector would buy a $25,000 table from a known dealer but will not buy the same table from you for $10,000. It's just the way it works.

Underneath that very top of the market, antique prices have definitely collapsed. Your nicely upper middle class Georgian antiques that were being sold for $5,000 a chest in 1995 might sell for $1,000 today, on a good day. There's no shortage of pleasant and nicely made 18th and early 19th century antique side tables and chests and desks and chairs going for a few hundred up to a thousand. There's a bigger market for 18th century American antiques but even that market isn't wildly expensive. The local auction houses are flooded with them.

There is truth in that people really don't want antiques any more.

Find any of this for me at these supposed prices and I’ll buy it all

The prices on that site are 100% obscene.

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/storage-case-pieces/commodes-chests-drawers/classic-georgian-chest-drawers-walnut-oak-crossbanding/id-f_37175262/

Sure but you’re paying for convenience. It’s also great for researching. You can look at 100 Georgian chests quickly if you want, and then you’re free to wait for one you like to come up at auction if you want. 1st dibs is retail. That’s okay! Personally I don’t ever want to have to browse auctions or go searching so for the few times I want to buy an antique, I’m fine with paying a dealer within reason.

[Anonymous]

Because, that stuff is old and people like new, modern designs.