posted on May 26, 2001 10:17:10 AM new
This is not a whine about how poorly my items are selling on eBay. I'm curious to know how you think the antique market will hold up in the next five or ten years. I'm sure that high end and rare items will still be bought. But what about the common items - golden oak, Eastlake,Country pine - that became decorators' staples in the not so distant past. Now that Mid-Century modern and contemporary more lean interiors are appearing in magazines and decorating books, do you think there will be a reaction against "old"? I know that people create eclectic interiors, but others take the easier path of just following the leader. Will the new leaders again be Aalto, Eames,Corbu?
posted on May 26, 2001 10:57:12 AM new
OK here is how I see the Antique market with the advent of ebay and other online auction sites many many antiques will be getting into the hand of the more curious hands and less ture collector hands more of these item unfortunatly will be damage and tossed out over time these item naturally will become older and rare and vaualble.
Anyique item will alway rise in price and become more rare and hard to find as more meet the fate of the trash man.
Think of the thousand of people who bid on ebay and bought Items merly out of curiousity of what online auction were with no real interest in the items at all.
all the barbies and hess truck and other collectable toys that were sold and rather then going in a collection were give as toys to be played with till they finily were such a mess they were tossed out.
Not to mention the shipping damage Just look at this every time you ship out a valuable old Antique and it is broken in the mal the value of the suviveing items out there incresses.
The Furture of true antiques today I feel is very good How ever in today world of mass production the future of new antiques is not as good as far as value goes.
posted on May 26, 2001 11:30:26 AM new
HJW
I had a lot of oak in the early 70's. After looking at houses for sale in the area and finding them decorated with the same furniture, I sold it at auction and made out like a bandit. But that certainly wouldn't happen now. I was lucky.
My two sisters each decorate with new oak and pine furniture made to look old. I can't understand why they don't buy the older pieces, but I think they're fearful of the unknown. Not as though they haven't had 20 or 30 years to educate themselves!
dman3
I agree with what you say, but can WE capitalize on common objects' value now or will our kids and grandkids? Is the past passe?
I have a hard time judging because I like many cutting edge things. What I like may never become popular.
[ edited by saabsister on May 26, 2001 11:31 AM ]
posted on May 26, 2001 11:37:38 AM new
WEll as alway the past is only passe while you through the teen years mostly.
And then this depends on home kids grow up in.
and yes it will be our kids and grand kids that benfit from our carelessness with our past as far as antiques go but ebay has incressed the likely hood of our seeing many values incresses http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
posted on May 26, 2001 11:59:07 AM new
This is just my feeling, but I'm wondering if the whole shabby chic thing has run its course, thereby affecting antiques and "junque". I used to be obsessed with collecting and antiques, but I've lost my passion for it. I can't speak for others, but ever since eBay, you can't get a break anymore at the flea markets or antique stores.
posted on May 26, 2001 03:03:52 PM new
Muriel, I've lost my passion for dusting the darn stuff. If it won't fit in my glass enclosed bookcase, forget it. I've attended the Big Fleas in Richmond and Chantilly for years and I've noticed that the crowd is generally 40 to 60 years old. There doesn't seem to be much interest from younger buyers - even in collectibles. Also as that age group that does buy starts to downsize, I envision a glut of similar items on the market. I'm not sure our kids are interested in all our stuff - they have their own. My parents have some items that I would be interested in - for sentimental reasons, but I sure wouldn't want all their furniture and nicknacks.
posted on May 27, 2001 07:04:59 AM new
I think that quality will always be in style, so some types of antiques will always have a market.
Then there's the trendy stuff - let HGTV or whoever do a special on Barbra Streisand's art deco home (long time ago) and deco goes high.
The boomers also have an affinity for anything that was around when they were kids, so while some of this stuff isn't technically antique, it will probably remain solid.
If you notice that most of the people interested in antiques are 40-60 years old, it might be that these are the people in this country with the most wealth. At this age, you also start to know what you really love. Don't forget, people younger than 40 may have children in the house - not an environment for precious antiques!
As to eBay, well, the prices are lower than in shops by far. As a buyer, of course, I love this. But for things that I don't want to keep listing over and over with a reserve, I use consignment now - even with the 30% cut to the shop, I usually do better than I would on eBay. Maybe people just like to be able to see and touch some kinds of things before they buy?
I think there will always be people who love quality, beauty, and just the magic of something that's lasted for a long time. So, I think that antiques will always be in fashion, but will have ups and downs like any saleable good.
posted on May 27, 2001 09:57:32 AM new
sadie999
I think you have pretty much hit the nial on the head here.
Not all people with kids are well enough to do to be able to afford house ing with extra room kids are not allowed in for high end antiques and collectables some with kid plain cant afford it.
as you get older and kids grow up and leave you tend to move back to hobbies and areas of your life you enjoyed before you had kids also you will naturally have more $$ and time to put into collecting and enjoying this.
I know in my life this hold true for sure I have to put so many hours into work to support this family there is just really no time to enjoy many of the thing I would love to have even if I did manage to have the money to get them.
I found the one thing that could be turned into a fun familly activity that also is a learning tool is selling on ebay.
posted on May 27, 2001 01:07:26 PM new
Antique lovers will always be with us. I was raised by one, I have raised two more. It may not be the fad that it is now, but they always have been and always will be, valued by people.
As for kids, don't let their presence keep you from buying antiques! That's how they learn to love them. When ours were small, we went primitive-not much a little one can do to an old table that hasn't already been done, and no one notices a few extra dents in the wash tub. And teach them to leave the curios in the glass cabinet alone. Otherwise, even though your home may be break proof, the people you go to visit will have theirs on display. The kids need to learn that some things are not meant to be played with .
But start them early learning to appreciate these things. Tell them the stories behind each piece, and they will grow up loving them to, and preserving them for their kids.
posted on May 27, 2001 02:23:26 PM new
I agree that the market for high quality,rare antiques will always be there though their values may fluctuate. The only antiques that I grew up with were my parents' Jewel Tea dishes, a butter churn,small tables, my grandfather's rockingchair, and an old icebox. My parents had mass produced furniture from Sears or Woodies and Hecht's(for you Washingtonians). My sisters are the same sort of collectors - a few antique crocks or dolls amid mass produced furniture. I've been the collector of the family. But like Muriel said - a lot of the collecting has been driven by the Shabby Chic and Country looks. What will take their places and what happens to the more run of the mill antiques?
As I've gotten older, I've wanted fewer things to deal with. I guess I'd like to pare down instead of acquiring more.
As Sadie999 said - the baby boomers have the money to spend. All around my area huge McMansions are sprouting on the landscape. Generally they are owned by those in that age bracket(baby boomers). Is this what we want when our children have left the nest and retirement looms - huge houses to heat and clean and fill? I must be really out of step because that doesn't appeal to me as much as freedom to travel. (Not to say that the two things are exclusive of each other.)
posted on May 27, 2001 04:19:28 PM new
saabsister,
McMansions! I love it. I am from the same area and I call them Maryland or Virginia Monster Houses!
I think good quality antiques will always be with us. We purchased West Virginia primitives like flour bins in the 1970s. Those pieces have boards that are 2-3 feet wide. The satiny finishes made it through our kids, meetings with 18 girl scouts and 10 cubscouts and Hurricane Andrew! When the insurance adjuster wanted to take them away I wouldn't let her. They are part of the family, as they have been to many others. The split up the side of my double pie safe
has a story to tell! Anyone else wouldn't know the hurricane story, but we do.
Recently I found a Heywood Wakefield table in a Goodwill Store. It had just arrived and stood out among all the other furniture. The butterscotch color is still beautiful and the wood is strong and wonderful. Fine woods beautifully finished just have a different feeling. It isn't an antique yet, but will be prized by someone a 100 years from now I am sure. I think I am putting off listing it because I love it myself!
I think we ended up with too many ducks, hearts and country blue or red gingham! A fine antique or primitive will always be around.
[ edited by labrat4gmos on May 27, 2001 04:27 PM ]
posted on May 27, 2001 04:30:46 PM new
For those of you from the spelling thread...yes, I know I spelled primitive with an "a", but for some reason I can't get it changed with an edit.
posted on May 27, 2001 06:10:26 PM new
labrat4gmos
Yes. Heywood Wakefield made some nice looking furniture. And I like furniture with a story to tell. I bought my husband a wicker chair for his twenty-fifth birthday. It's been in every house we've lived in and will more than likely continue to be, but it's never experienced a hurricane!
As an aside: I did see a lot of younger people at the Georgetown Flea this morning.
Do any of you Washingtonians attend that or the Eastern Market one?
posted on May 27, 2001 07:34:58 PM new
I have always wanted to go to Eastern Market but haven't made it. Where is the Georgetown flea market? Don't think I have heard of that since we moved back.
I like the Big Flea in Chantilly, but haven't been to the one in Richmond. There is another higher priced show I enjoy that uses Chantilly Expo. It is alot more expensive so I do more looking at that one.
I spoke with someone who goes to a flea market in Gainesville, Virginia recently. I would like to try that sometime too.
The last Big Flea I attended I checked under my home state at a post card booth, and immediately found a real
photo post card of an American Legion cottage my cousins used to stay in every summer. We would join them. How cool is that!
posted on May 27, 2001 09:05:24 PM new
Good for you, keeping that pie safe, labrat! The people who buy the reproduction antiques are the ones who don't see the beauty in something that has been loved, and used.
There is a child's oak rocker in our playroom. My chihuahua teeted on it when I was a child-nothing serious, but a few teethmarks. Then my son's dachsund teethed on it as well. He wants that chair for his children because those marks have given sentimental value to it. Hubby suggests 'fixing' it once in a while, but we would never allow that! These are the things that give antiques value; knowing that someone treasured them enough to keep them even when they did show wear; and now they have been entrusted to us to use and cherish.
Good for your son. I'm glad he wants the rocker and remembers all of its history.
Labrat4gmos
I haven't been to the Eastern market flea. The Georgetown flea is held on Sundays in the school parking lot across from Safeway on Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown. There's another larger flea market than Gainesville - it's held on Quincy Street in Arlington on the first Saturday of the month. It's in a parking lot that straddles Rt.66.
