How do I find out what the true worth of an antique table that I have. I am afraid to take it to a dealer, for fear of not getting an honest answer. I would like to sell it because I really can't use it for anything, and do not have the room for it anyway. I just want to know if it has any worth, and what that might be.

-- Loretta Lee Graves (hairzog@hotmail.com), April 09, 1999

Answers

The "true worth" of an antique table, or anything else for that matter, is a concept that will probably forever escape most of us. What you really mean is that you don't want some shyster dealer to rob you. That's not so unreasonable. You have several avenues.

You should take your table around to half a dozen dealers, preferably not too close to each other, and ask them to make an offer on your table, with the understanding that you were not prepared to sell that day, but would be prepared to sell at some point in the future. Even if your table is something very, very special, they'll likely ALL lowball you, because they will jump to the conclusion that you are either trying to get a free appraisal or conducting an auction. Naturally, they're going to make an opening bid, not a final bid... But at least you might learn the bottom of the value range.

You should do the same thing with area auctioneers. Many of them aren't in the business of buying material to sell (though many of them are), so they might give you a fairer idea of the range of value, though you will have to establish whether their sales are primarily to the trade or to retail customers. You also have to be aware that some of them may inflate the value range in an effort to secure your property, the table or whatever else you might have.

That introduces a necessary digression. You probably don't want to invite any of them into your home. Even though they are supposed to be just looking at the table, you can be quite sure that they'll be looking all around, and even if they make you a "fair" offer on the table, they might lowball you on the figurines, the andirons, or the pictures they spotted in the attic, all of which they want to buy together as a lot with the table... Best not to trust them.

You should definitely make the rounds of the shops in the area, looking for tables similar to yours. Again, you'll want to search until you find at least a half dozen or more pieces, similar in size, age, quality of manufacture, presentability, and desirability. Allow, encourage, even ask (if you have to) the dealer to point out the "high points" of the table for sale on the floor. It's by asking that you'll learn what makes one piece worth more or less than another similar piece, and, by extension, how your table compares. And, of course, make a note of the price. Remember that in the antique trade the "price" is usually negotiable; though sometimes not, usually there is a little room, and sometimes a lot. Your efforts in the shops will, with luck, supply you with the 'top' of the value range.

Go to antique auctions, as many as you can; specifically go to auctions that offer for sale a table similar to yours. Preview the table carefully. Ask the auctioneer or floor manager questions, about the condition, the age, even the desirability of the table to be sold. Pay attention to the crowd. Is the table being turned upside down and carefully examined by the trade? Is it being longingly caressed by the retail buyers? And, in the end, who is bidding on it? And how much?

By carefully comparing and digesting the information you have gathered you will have arrived, as closely as anyone can, at the "true worth" of your table. This should always be expressed in a range of value, not in a single figure, because an actual sale is dependent upon so many variables that we simply cannot list them all, much less address them beforehand.

It is possible, alternatively, to pay an appraiser to describe and evaluate the worth of your table. By definition, an appraiser is one who is intimately familiar with the market (as described above) but one who does not participate in the market. You certainly have to be wary of dealers (wolves) dressed up as appraisers (in sheep's clothing); you will probably want to assume their valuations to be self-serving. Unfortunately, experience has shown that different appraisers have different opinions of value, so you will probably want to get several opinions from appraisers as well. Three or more, rather than a half dozen or more, should suffice to establish some sort of consensus.

There is a downside to this process that must be noted. Although your efforts may have led you to a reasonable estimate of the worth of your table, you haven't started to try to sell it yet. Having made your presence known in so many shops, and the presence of your table as well, it's unlikely that the dealers will want to purchase the table. In the parlance of the trade, it will have been "shopped", that is, everyone will have seen it already. What dealers want to buy is "fresh" material, that which hasn't been seen. In order to realize the value of your table, you will pretty much have to offer it to the trade outside of the area in which you researched. It used to be that valued varied widely according to geographical area; happily, that is less true today, given the advantages of better communication and more evenly dispersed knowledge and appreciation. Although there are still regional preferences in action, you can be reasonably certain that your efforts at establishing value will not have been in vain, even if you do have to locate an interested party and transport the table several hundred miles from home in order to sell it.

Sadly, most people are not willing to put in this effort. Faced with a table that they really can't use for anything and have no room for, they simply sell it and get on with their lives.

PS

-- Charles Gardiner (cgard@rclink.net), April 13, 1999.