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The Kitchen Table

Auction item for Marilyn_C

17 years ago

Marilyn, I saw this ad on the Kansas City Craig's List ... I don't know where Higginsville, MO is but they're having an auction and lookie at the kitchen cabinet! I remember you loving one in your area, but can't remember if you got it ...

anyway, this made me think of you and your new (old) house.

Did you hear back from the owners, and whether they're accepting your offer?

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen cabinet at auction

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Comments (6)

joann_ks
17 years ago
Stoney, Higginsville is 35 miles east of KC on I-70 and Hwy 13. Not to far from you.
marilyn_c
17 years ago
That's pretty cool. I'd buy it, if I were there. However, I am not short on cabinets/cupboards. They just happen to be my favorite thing, and I think at last count, I have 15 of them. I have two like this one. The picture was made in the junk shop where I bought them and I couldn't get back far enough to take a picture of the whole thing. You can hardly see the bottom through the ship wheel. I would use them in the kitchen, instead of building cabinets, and just build an island for a work surface.

Anyway, haven't heard anything on the house. Jody is going to call on Monday. The guy who owns the company hadn't been able to get ahold of the sister of the guy who is in prison. Jody has also called her a couple of times with no luck. If need be, we will find out where she lives and go to Louisiana and try to find her and talk to her in person.

Jody will be home until Monday and has been taking care of a lot of things...had to go to the dentist, getting our taxes ready, and I wrecked my truck and that has to go to the body shop.

Not giving up on the house tho. Just no news yet. Thanks for asking.
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"Have antique values fallen that much in the last 30 years?" I think the real question is - did these Empire, Victorian, turn-of-the-century oak pieces ever have inherent "value"? I think you will find that c. 1700-1825 American furniture has appreciated during the time frame you mentioned (last 30 years). Fringe items such as Victorian furniture are subject to the home decorator's whims. That worked well in the 80s-early 90s but definitely not since 2000. There's not much you can do to change the direction of the average American's design aesthetic. Pre-industrial revolution American antiques are usually purchased by a different segment of the population. Most have established relationships with individual brokers and/or auction houses for new acquisitions to their collections. They don't cruise garage sales. These collectors keep the market stable and appreciating. But they do not seek out Victorian sofas, unfortunately for those needing/wishing to sell. IMO, you are going to have to adjust your expectations if you want to sell these estate pieces. I know this sounds really hard but, unfortunately, it's reality. Pre-1825 American antiques are considered a "hard asset" similar to gold coins or artwork. They are something that shows up on a financial statement. With an established market, prices remain fairly stable with the usual up/downs of daily movements. Marginal pieces - there just isn't that stable market. /t
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I see this posting is now 3 years old however it is still coming up quite high on google rankings so I'll throw my two cents in. I own an estate sale company in Long Island, New York. Henry Laurent Estate Sales. I'm happy that you were able to post your concerns and then follow up with the results. As one poster said you usually read the question - which rarely paints us in a good light - and never hear the outcome. If people stumble upon this post in the future there are some things to keep in mind. Companies should provide you an itemized list. Always. My staff will write "Sheet $1". It is the only way to accurately account for every dollar in and every item out. Also we always have questions of " how much did xyz sell for?". It could have only been a $10 item but it was sentimental so they are curious. Secondly, for a normal household mixed with small and furniture the average sale is around $6k - $10k for a 2 day sale. Lower end for higher amount of smalls, high end with several nice pieces of furniture, jewelry (over $500 a piece). 35% is just around the national average right now and is what we charge. About 80% of that spent towards advertising. While one poster said that you should do it yourself because Craigslist is free ... that is true but only one site out of the 12 that we use and I'm sure others do as well. Out of the 12, 3 are free the others are subscription based with additional fees to highlight or bump your sale to the top spot. Local papers also cost around $300 - $1,000 for a proper 7 day run depending on amount of lines, bolding, placement ..etc. Finally, there is always the concern that we will under price things. Believe me we put the price at the high end of estate sale prices because we know that there will be haggling and bundling. We also know what the market will bare. While chairs might be selling on ebay for $300, it doesn't mean they sold for $300. You are seeing them because they are still available. Average dining room and bedroom sets go for around $500. All in all I'm happy that you posted and that you had a good experience. A good review for one estate sale company is always good for the industry.
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Oh I was bad; went to an auction one block away...
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Harry and Sam may "approve" too much! LOL I want to put the set out in the back yard. It's heavily shaded under the spruce trees and the bright yellow looks great there, but boy dogs being boy dogs... They "know" they are supposed to go in the far left corner of the back yard. Until Sam infiltrated our family, Harry never went anywhere else. I was very sick while Sam was a puppy and he was lucky when I could creep to the door, open it, and let him out once in a while. He would run out, bark and run, chase squirrels, and sprinkled everywhere. I'm still amazed he was so quick to figure out the "house training." He had only two tiny accidents right by the door. Those two were my fault for not being able to move fast enough to get the door open for his little baby bladder. Of course, once he started marking all the fences, and the trees, and the old telephone post, Harry took up the same habit. So I don't think I should put the chairs there. Everything on the patio is "safe" for some odd reason, but any thing in the back yard is fair game. We pick up the large yard twice a day; it's always clean and fresh out there, but they will still mark. I'll be getting photos of all the treasures, soon. Of course, I have been wanting DH to build an arbor/gazebo/deck/ramada type structure, raised about 18" from ground level that would solve all the problems. Someday.
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He's not in any pain but I wouldn't be exercising him on feet like that. He doesn't limp and if he was hurting, he would. Also, his appetite hasn't slowed down one iota. He is constantly eating....his feed 3x a day and hay, all the time. The vet agreed with what I am feeding him and the fact that I am feeding him often. It will be two more days before I make his update pictures. I bathed him yesterday, prior to going to the vet. It was warm. He has some kind of substance all over his legs, up to his knees. I thought it was mud but it has been hard to get off. It also looked like dried blood from biting flies, but that would have washed off easily. He is fairly banged up from being at the KP with all those other horses, and also the way they haul them from the auction, packed so tightly with other horses in the trailers.
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lydia1959
17 years ago
That does look like it'd go with Marilyn's new house.

I went to one of those auctions a couple years ago - I couldn't believe the prices things went for. Too many bidders get caught up in the moment. They could have got the same things on eBay for a lot less.
marilyn_c
17 years ago
I have a hard time finding old cupboards, like the one above, that are in good condition. When I go to the flea market, I see a lot of them, but on closer examination, they are often new or cobbled together. Or badly painted and in poor condition.

However, one of my favorite ones, my husband found sitting out in someone's trash. It needs a new glass in the door, but it is way cool with lots of stacked/crown molding and original hardware on the door. I'd take a picture of it, but it is in the Rust Palace...which is what I call the storage building because I have so much old iron stuff in there, and I can't get close enough to it to take a picture.

Another one I have, I went to an estate auction in Galveston years ago. There was so much cool stuff in that house...but out in the garage was a couple cupboards. One, hanging on the wall, that had an old window for a door. The other one was huge....and extra wide and deep....and very heavy. The owner had stored paint and all kinds of stuff in them.

I waited all day to bid on them and passed up a lot of nice things that I would have liked to have. When they finally came up...I got the hanging one for about $35, and I was pleased. But the big one....a dealer was there to buy it and she was determined. I had waited on it all day so I wasn't going to let it go. She kept uping the bids by $50 trying to scare me away. I just stayed with her, and I don't remember how much it cost...maybe $600. She left...mad. I left...happy.
Mystical Manns
Original Author
17 years ago
I didnt realize you have so many of them, Marilyn. I bet your house will be marvelous (thinking positively, here) when you have them placed throughout.

LOL! at your auction story! Obviously that dealer had no clue who she was coming up against. I love it!
marilyn_c
17 years ago
Well, I waited all day to get it, and I wasn't going to go home without it. I figure having the cupboards will not only go well in the old house, but also we won't to have to have any built, because, as you know, cabinetry is very expensive.

I have them in every size from a child's cupboard, two medical
cabinets that are metal with glass doors on up to the big one that I posted the picture of.

I am always looking for junk. I cut through a neighborhood a year or so ago, and saw a huge antique bookcase out by the curb. I asked if they were throwing it away...they said yes. The guy helped me load it into my little truck, and it was sticking out with the tailgate down.

I got home, and no one to unload it because Jody was away at school or some place, and I started to slide it out. It was so heavy, I was about to drop it...trying to pull it towards me. I tried to balance it on my upper chest to get a better hold on it, and when I did, it cracked my ribs. Oh, man, it hurt. I had to step out from under it and let it fall to the ground. Didn't hurt it at all tho. And when Jody came home, we got a dolly under it and got it in the house. He said it weighs about 300 lb. A lot of my stuff is like that...things I find thrown out...need work.
But,it's very, very cool, has reeded columns on it and will be very nice when I have a place to put it.

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