First, let me say how sorry I am that you too, are having difficulties right now. We live in stressful times and none of us are immune, but sometimes it's just hard to cope, isn't it? And when you add others problems to your own.......well.. I am in agreement with the various suggestions, but I also want to say this. Many times, those facing stresses forget about the stresses or problems of others. They don't mean to, but it can overwhelm them to the point where they are only thinking of venting, not of sharing. And we do owe it to our friends to be there for them as much as we can, even though it may be difficult for us too. So, continue to be a friend, but maybe set a limit and tell your friend that you too are facing problems, but you don't want to worry her. She may prove to be surprisingly empathetic. Who knows? Red

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.

My husband makes the best french fries. He cuts the russet potatoes in rounds....doesn't peel them. Then he cuts them in sticks, so they are about the size and thickness of my little finger. He has a pot of oil, and he dumps them all in at once...which tends to cool the oil a bit, but when the oil reheats and they finish frying, it is like they have been fried twice, which is the real way to make french fries. You fry them, drain them, and then fry them again. They are lightly crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. I used to always cut my french fries length ways, but after seeing how he does it, I changed to his way. His still taste better than mine. I am another one who loves an electric skillet. I don't think I have ever fried potatoes in one, but I like frying chicken it better than I do using cast iron. And I have over 100 pieces of cast iron cookware. Or, did have. I have given a lot of it away.

Thanks Gray, they looked like disposables because of the length. I think the virus is in OK now. I'm not going to worry about gloves because you can get it so many different ways, even from cash. Not even masks prevents it. Stay home, eat, read, and try not to touch my face after grocery shopping or going to the pharmacy which I need to do tomorrow. Yikes. I woke up Tuesday morning with some type of 48 hour virus and I hadn't been anywhere in a few days, although people had come to my house, & they weren't sick, and still not sick. Who knows how we get it?