Not sure either however I would get more than one appraisal that is for certain.The story is very sad but the set is beautiful.

June

The old rule of thumb was that you could expect an antiques dealer to offer half of what he would sell the item for. On the basis of that, and the offer you had, if you go the eBay route you might put a $2,000 reserve on it. But if you specify "pick-up only" the number of bidders will be drastically reduced.

I agree with June that you need to see what another dealer offers you. You might want to post this on the Antiques forum, too. Lots of knowledgeable people there.

Maybe sell it at auction, after someone gives you a price estimate, then set a reserve.?

I love it and I would buy it, but there are some issues. The fact that the set was refinished greatly reduces its value for a true antiques collector. For me, I wouldn't care. Also, what size is the bed? Many times old bedroom sets have a three quarter sized bed, and it's really hard to find a mattress for it.

This is a double bed, and the antique dealer said that people don't like double beds anymore. He said everyone wants a queen-size bed.

Yes, it was refinished in 1985, but the antiques guy said it's not a big deal because it was very well done. Secondly, when this bed was in the family home, I didn't know it had flowers on it. It was literally black and I always thought it was just a black headboard, footboard and dresser.

The old shellac had deteriorated to such a degree that it was just an old black coating.

Thanks for the ideas. :)

A couple of things to consider--IF you sell on E-bay, and if the buyer is out of the area, do you have any idea what the shipping on something like that would be? About 8 years ago, my sis had an antique desk shipped to her son in another state--it was over 600!!!! So selling that way, you're going to have to consider the price of getting it to the buyer. If you estimate too low and end up picking up part of the cost, it's going to seriously cut into your profits. And shipping cost is going to be a serious consideration that may turn off some buyers, if you give the accurate price.

If I were you? I'd contact whoever seems to be the best antique dealer in your area for selling furniture, get a good estimate from them, and just let them have it for what they're willing to pay. yes, it will be less than the retail price, BUT you won't have the hassle of trying to find a buyer, getting the items shipped, etc. You also won't have to worry about meeting with questionable strangers, should someone ask to come and see the set (SO dangerous). Why don't you print out your photoes and maybe head out to visit some of the antique shops in your area, and see what kind of interest you can get?

Actually, the price you were offered already doesn't sound bad. Unfortunately, antique furniture--unless it's really something unusual, by a sought-after famous designer--doesn't seem to go for that much anyway. Probably because there's just so much old furniture floating around.

Good luck.

Azzalea, that's a really, really good point. I'm not trying to wring the last dollar out of this deal - I just want to get a good price.

Frankly, I want this stuff out of my life and I'm paying $115 in storage fees per month.

I once held onto my mother's beloved antique dining room set for THREE years, paying $60 a month in storage fees because I lived in a small apartment and couldn't bear to part with it. In the end, I sold the set for $600 and that didn't even pay back my storage fees!

Rose

If I were you, I would take the $1400 and be done with it. It will save you a lot of work, anxiety and storage fees. You may or may not get a better price selling on your own, and if you can't sell it at all, you are stuck.

I agree with fran, right now $1400 seems like a far price. Especially since you are paying for storage.

ML

An alternative to taking the pictures to other shops would be to call them and ask for their email address--then email the pictures. I've done that a number of times.

I once sold a piano on eBay, and specified that the buyer would be responsible for shipping. The buyer (from Texas) sent a shipping company to the house, and they took care of everything. I have no idea how much it cost her, but I know it cost me nothing.

I just looked at completed listings on eBay and very, very few that were listed even sold. The two nicest sets which I would say were comparable to your set (although they were very different - one was French with metallic and the other was highly carved) sold for $1000. and $1275.

I think the set you have is beautiful Rosemary. I'd check with a couple other antique shops before settling on a price.. but I do think that may be your best bet.

If you decide to try eBay, do not set a shipping price. You let the buyer arrange (and pay for) his own shipping.

And PS: Azzlea makes a good point about so much old furniture floating around. I recently gave up trying to sell four antique low-back ladderback chairs. We had paid $115 for them 30 years ago, but in the end I put them out by the road and stuck a FREE sign on them.

One other thought: I've sold several things through a major auction house. You can look them up online (Christie's, Skinner, Sotheby's, etc.) and follow their instructions to submit pictures. They'll give you an idea of how much the pieces are worth, and tell you if they're interested in selling them for you. Even if you don't want to go the auction route, it's useful to get their estimate on the value.

When someone offers you money for ANYTHING, ask them what they believe it is worth first! It may be worth $10,000 and this guy will give you $1400 and you'll get the shaft when he flips it for the full value. The only way to cover your butt is to ask what the worth is.

Debbie, I noticed they do that on Pawn Stars.

The set is gorgeous! I'm surprised at the low offer, but I guess it proves the saying that just because it's old doesn't make it valuable.

What about posting pics on that TV show's website where people bring their treasures to be appraised (can't remember the name right now).

I would not be confident that someone offering to buy an item would give me an honest evaluation of its worth. This is why the standard advice is never to seek an appraisal from the same person who might buy it.

Could you contact the Biltmore House? Maybe they would be interested. I have no idea if they buy period pieces or if everything in that house is original. If they were not interested, they might know a good appraiser.

First, is this it? A highboy w/attached mirror and a double bed headboard and footboard? I'm thinking there would have been a vanity and/or side tables. Perhaps *someone* has another piece and would pay more to reunite the set? Is the chest *signed* anywhere?

I like Susan's idea of contacting an auction firm w/photos.

(Sleeperblues -- There are many places that will make reasonably priced custom-sized mattresses. Verlo, in our area.)

You also might go to the Antiques Roadshow Web Site. Look for similar furniture and find out which dealers do post selling this type. Like several people say, most " local" antique dealers will give you the lowest price they can and sell it for many many time higher. I see this all the time on the Roadshow program. This happens no matter how well you know the dealer or how honest they seem to be. After all, there job is to make a living.

Have you posted it on the Antiques forum here on gardenweb? lot's of knowledgable people over there.

I personally would not like something as ornate as that. I wouldn't sell on Ebay right now, we're in a recession, people are out of work and no one's looking to pay top dollar for antique furniture. People can find cheap furniture other places, sometimes even discarded in the trash. I would shop around at least 2 more furniture dealers for estimates, get the best price and sell it. ($1400 sounds a little low,but then what do I know?)Since you value it for sentimental reasons, why not keep it , use it and display it in your own home?

This is a simply beautiful set. I would contact the appraisers you see (call their appraisal houses listed in credits) working on Antique Roadshow. Ask if they'd accept photos from you, and recommend your next step. This is definitely a set for an auction I would think...lovely but certainly understand why you want it out of your sight & life!! Here on the East Coast there would be interest in it I imagine as lots of home restorations when the economy allows anyway. Good luck.

you need to check your area for antique consignment show rooms where you can put all of it on display at the store and you agree with the management on a sales price from that you split your amount with them for use of their store.
that way you no longer have to pay storage fees and it is out there being seen in an arena that will have the most likely buyers> we have several of these type stores around here. There will be many dealers working through those type stores and they will be able to give you some good ideas on value and pricing.

Rosemary, I am so sorry about your family's history, but the furniture is beautiful. I agree with the suggestion to take photos to the various antique stores in your area. If you are in a small town, you could email the photos to stores in the closest city. There are always people with money. We have some chain stores that include antique furniture with their contemporary stuff, so I think the market is still there. (But we are on the east coast. It might depend on where you live.)

No, I would not bother with Craig's List either.

FYI - we once stayed at a bed and breakfast where the bed was a double but the mattress was a queen. They just added extra wood on the sides. Something to keep in mind when talking with the buyers.

this is a link to one of the type places I mentioned they may know of like stores in your area.

Here is a link that might be useful: consignment

You can email the pictures to Southeby's or Skinner Auctions and they will give you a free estimate of worth. I've done it often. Call them and ask for more info, they're dying to find unique items. If they do like it at a good price and you desire to auction it off, they will arrange to pick it up. You can even put a reserve price on the auction so you'll be sure to get the maximum value.

I'd take the $1400. and call it done. Is it worth it to agonize over $$$? You don't want it, let it go for the $1400. I have a house full of antiques and I wouldn't want this set. It doesn't appeal to me, and it won't appeal to every antiques lover. Take the money and have the peace of mind of having it gone.

"When my father was 13 years old (1932), his wealthy parents bought this *antique* bedroom set, which had been made as an exhibition piece. It's incredibly beautiful and all the wood you see is INLAY. Yep - INLAY. The furniture was made sometime in the late 1800s." "...in 1974, my father snuck out of the house one night and never returned - except to sneak back in another night (when Mom was gone) and steal this bedroom set out of the house."

The set belonged to your father. He had every right to take it. While his method (sneaking into the house when your mother was not home) may have seemed to be dishonest, it seems to me that he just wanted to avoid a confrontation when retrieving what was rightfully his. You can't "steal" what you own.

I agree with lindsey CA. The set belonged to him.

You don't seem to want it because it brings back bad memories. Take the $1,400 and don't look back.

(No offense, but I am surprised you were offered that much. I wouldn't pay $14, let alone $1,400. I always heard that refinishing is a definite no-no. It's quite garish, but maybe it looks better in person.)

The reason you ask it's worth is, (and get it in writing) if they tell you it's worth $500 and they give you $350, and sell it for $5000, you can sue them. That shows dishonesty. If they aren't willing to put it in writing, move on to the next buyer.

It's only worth what people will pay for it. The reseller won't have any way to know exactly what it's worth until he puts it up for sale. And yes, most will undercut it because they need to make a profit, plus it's a risk they're taking so there's a premium added to that. They could pay $2k for furniture that no one buys. You can't expect a reseller to pay close to what it's worth on the open market.

I'm not an expert, but I doubt you could sue someone for their best estimate anyway and it would be pretty hard to prove that they were trying to rip you off. And if a reseller put it in writing, I bet there would be a clause that it's a estimate and he's not liable for actual market value differences. IMO, it's up to the seller to do the research and know the ballpark and make the decision based on that. Research, research, research. Good luck!

Chi is exactly spot on. If you want to know an item's worth, you get an appraisal from an unbiased party, not from the reseller. I may be misunderstanding Debby's post, but certainly the reseller would not give the seller, in writing, a statement of what something is worth, that's what an impartial appraiser should provide. The research and homework should be done by the seller before attempting to sell, the responsibility is theirs to do so and then price it. Which is what Rosemary is doing here. It's not a reseller's responsibility to arrive at a value, then put the value in writing; but they can make an offer, as this man has done with his $1400 offer to Rosemary. It's up to the seller to find out a ballpark estimate of worth, not up to the buyer/reseller to provide that information, let alone put it in writing! The buyer merely states what HE is willing to pay, or he can counter to the seller's price, and then they negotiate. The buyer can either take or leave a buyer/reseller's counter offer.

Rosemary, I have two points to make. One is to contact the auction firms already mentioned, such as Christie's, as they can probably give you a good idea of its worth and saleability. Also calling and then emailing photos to some local antique stores to get a better idea of what it might be worth in your area. With this information along with online research, you'll know whether to accept the $1400 offer.

Secondly, I think $1400 sounds fair. I am an antique dealer and I know how hard beds are to sell, especially full size. I won't invest in one myself because they are so hard to sell and take up a lot of space and cost a lot of rent for the amt. of time they are in the booth. Other issues I'd consider are that it's been refinished, and also there might be a really small market for something that ornate. So I don't think, all in all, I would risk my money to buy something that iffy. If it were me, I'd probably take the $1400, but not until I'd further researched it and/or gotten an impartial appraisal. Also it is entirely possible that it may have more value in your part of the country than where I live. Antiques and collectibles really vary in value and popularity in different areas, as I'm sure you know.

I don't mean to get off your point here, Rosemary, but I see some misunderstanding, even in this thread, and just want to share some information that I was unaware of myself before becoming a dealer. The reseller is taking the risk of what an item will fetch. Once in a great while I'll buy something I see at a garage sale, then come home and research it and find that it is worth far more than what I paid. So occasionally I make out nicely on an item. But more often than not, I have items that I either make a little on, break even, take a loss on, or do not sell at all. Believe me, I have lots of things to donate to Goodwill or put in a garage sale. LOL. Not to mention that I have overhead - rent to pay, gas to buy, supplies to buy to fix/shine things up, plus taking a loss on items that don't sell or that I have to mark down, or that get stolen or broken. Antique dealers are not getting rich. Bottom line is even the good, experienced ones are making below minimum wage in this economy.

Another way to look at this is observing the chain of who makes what when an item is sold.
#1 person is someone who decides to sell of some of their belongings at an estate sale.
#2 person is the one conducting the estate sale.
#3 person is the antique dealer who buys the item at the estate sale.
#4 person is the owner of the antique mall.
#5 person is the final consumer who buys the item at the antique mall.

Ok, lets say person #3, the antique dealer, buys an item at the estate sale for $100. Person #2, who is conducting the estate sale, gets 30% which is $30. Person #1, the original owner, gets 70%, which is $70. Person #3, the antique dealer, puts it in her booth for $150. When it sells, assuming she hasn't had to drop the price, person #5, the final consumer/buyer pays $135 (plus tax) because the mall offers a 10% discount. And person #4, the mall owner, gets a cut of 13% of all sales, so that is $19.50. So that means that person #3, the antique dealer, realizes $115.50 minus the cost of the item, minus her booth rent, minus her gas to go to sales, minus any supplies to fix/clean up the item. And of course there's her time investment of going to the sale, cleaning/fixing/prepping the item for sale, researching the pricing, entering the info into her bookkeeping, making the price tag, and taking it to the booth and arranging it for display. All for a net of less than $10. Compare that to the estate sale lady, who made $30 (although she has business expenses, too) BUT she did not have to risk any of her own money in the deal.

And how many of the five are risking their money? Only #3, the antique dealer. And it may not sell, may take a year (or longer) to sell, may have to drop the price, may have to donate it. Just wanted you to see how it really works. LOL.

So you can see if an antique dealer is to make any money at all, they have to ask double what they paid (pay 100, price at 200, after the selling fees - realize 154 minus expenses which might be about 10 for a final net of $44. I'd need to make 454 like sales to make $20,000 annually. Most of us dealers could make more flipping burgers at the golden arches, but at least this is lots more fun!

Best of luck with this, Rosemary, and I am so sorry for your father's passing and all the pain you've been through.

Hey! Rosemary has told us that the guy was a jerk. Isn't this a part of the marriage vow: "With all my worldly goods, I thee endow." This was marital 'estate', no longer HIS alone.

"Rosemary has told us that the guy was a jerk."

There is no legal requirement for ownership that requires the owner to not be a jerk.

"Isn't this a part of the marriage vow: "With all my worldly goods, I thee endow." This was marital 'estate', no longer HIS alone."

Not everyone says the same vows in their wedding ceremony. I certainly didn't say that vow, and neither did my husband.

What is separate propery before the marriage is separate property during and after the marriage, unless the owner specifically gifts it to the spouse. In this case, I doubt Rosemary's father did that, since the set had been his since he became a teenager and was a gift from his parents.

Shea, thanks for taking the time to explain all that. I love antiqueing, and will certainly look differently at how an item is priced now. Looks like a lot of work!

I'd send photos to the Antiques Roadshow.

About dealing with antique *experts*...when my grandmother passed my mother had an antique dealer come to her house. The dealer was walking thru giving mom prices on all of Grandmothers furniture..He got to this one piece a huge bookcase that has been in the family for years...He told Mom $500.00..She said no not for sale..He went up to 600..still no not for sale..he kept this up until he got to the price of 1200.00, Mom wavered just long enough for me to step through the doorway and say SHE said it wasn't for sale..THAT piece is mine!
The point I am trying to make is that these resellers often start out low so their profit will be higher. I still have my piece sitting here in my dining room and I am also smart enough to know that had I not been there my piece would have been sold.

So get several opinions before you sell to the 1st bidder

I once sent pictures of a parlor table into the Keno bros(twins) on the Antique road show.I sent them pictures of it at all angles,including upside down.They replied to me with an estimate.So you could try doing the same.It was free ,so all i spent was my time to take the pictures and do the email
Just another thought for what it's worth.

Also go to the antique forum here on the GW,there are a couple of folks over there that seem to know a lot about antiques.
Kathi

Oh gosh. That is beautiful stuff! Yeah send photos to Southebys or another auction house. Some of local dealers would pick pennies off a dead man's eyeballs if they thought they could get 2 cents for them. Take the money and do something fun with it. It's just absolutely beautiful furniture - it's not your scoundrel dad. That is some of the best inlay I ever saw! Be careful...