However, when Great Aunty Edna’s art nouveau vase is no longer winning favour in the owner’s heart, the time has come to pass the china onto a more appreciative guardian.
Determining the genuine value of antiques is not an exact science and people often have inflated ideas of what their cache is worth and they fear being swindled.
Conversely, they may have little perception of what the market will pay for Great Aunty Edna’s vase and it could be sold for a song in a house lot estate.
Antique collector and retailer Ted Waters says antique road shows can be misleading and the transitory dealers may not offer private sellers the best possible price.
“Historically people took antiques to a neighbourhood dealer or auctioneer to have them valued,” says Ted.
“A dealer should be able to tell people an accurate retail price.”
When antiques go to auction the selling price is dependant on the number of bidders and if there is more than one, the price can escalate well beyond expectations.
Ted says a local retailer would quickly be run out of town if they were buying something for $50 and then selling it for $500. Understandably people can be suspicious and they need to know the dealer has integrity.
Items that are in high demand achieve good margins and the current retro décor trend has made dining suites from the mid 20th century hot items.
Unusual and unique pieces depend upon someone falling in love with them and then the price can be an unknown.
People can read books and scour the internet to estimate the value of Great Aunty Edna’s vase, but like all commodities – it is only worth what someone will pay for it.
