Antiques. Today when you ask a young person to define Antiques they will respond an antique is anyone who has a flip phone, landline, or someone who uses a pen and paper to communicate.
I looked up the definition of antique in the New Oxford American Dictionary.
An-tique – a collectible object such as a piece of furniture or work of art that has a high value because of its considerable age.
In an article in Economics, The Arts by Tyler Cowen he writes, “Compared with the heyday of antiques collecting, prices for average pieces are now “80 percent off,” said Colin Stair, the owner of Stair Galleries auction house in Hudson, N.Y. “Your typical Georgian 18th century furniture, chest of drawers, tripod tables, Pembroke tables,” he noted, can all be had for a fraction of what they cost 15 to 20 years ago.”
Why. What happened to so dramatically decrease the value of antiques?
Ebay, Esty, Amazon, Craig’s List have all helped to bring down pricing because of accessibility. A search in Ebay for Pembroke tables delivers 10 pages of Pembroke tables ranging in prices from $27,000.00 to $130.99. Or you could buy a book on how to build your own Pembroke Table for $29.99. Pages are filled with tables listed for sale now, not the ones that have sold. If I want to sell a table you need to see if a similar table has sold on Ebay and what price did it sell for. Everyone has access to this information.
Value is created when something is rare, original, unique, different. And most important value is created when something is desired.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary. Definition.
Value, worth imply intrinsic excellence or desirability.
Our lifestyles have changed.
Our cell phones have replaced, cameras, projectors, entertainment centers, recorders, turntables, postcards, landlines, fax machines, and so much more.
And our attitudes have changed. According to Greg Nolte large antique dining table sets are not of interest to his millennial customers reported by Allison Lee for Marketplace. She writes,”David Lackey is an appraiser on the long-running PBS series “Antiques Roadshow.” At his shop in an upscale neighborhood in Houston, Lackey said the market for antique furniture is down.”
I asked a friend’s daughter what her attitude was toward her Grandmom’s furniture and she responded. “I would rather Grandmom sell the furniture and take me on a trip.” A genuine 1840’s Victorian Antique Dinning Room Set King Cathedral Walnut and Marble Sideboard might be wonderful to look at and appreciate, however it might be hard to sell.
