How To Find The Value Of Your Antique Furniture

You are one lucky duck! You have found an antique treasure that you cannot wait to either keep in your home as part of your home decor or alternatively, sell to make a mint. Before you go rushing to clean your antique furniture, however, you want to analyze it to determine its value. Some antiques can be worth a lot of money, but it can be really hard to tell when you have limited knowledge. Keep in mind that really expensive antiques are rare, but you could spot a treasure. Just take a look at websites like Antiques Boutique, for example, they have a wide range of antiques and they let people know about the latest antique fairs, so, you never know, you may find a rare piece at some point! Even if your new antique is not good enough to sell in an auction or antique show, you now have a new vintage piece to put in your home. Here are some tips on how to find value in your antiques.

Inspect The Furniture

You need to know what kind of furniture it is. If you do not know the exact style and maker, no worries. You can jot down the fundamental characteristics of the furniture like the type of wood it is made out of, any damages, labels or maker’s marks, signs of repairs and any known provenance of the piece of furniture. You should take a picture of these things as well as write them down. Make sure that you get the piece from all different angles. Gathering this information is useful when you start to research your antique. 

Hands Off

Do not touch your new piece of antique furniture until you know exactly how much it is worth. It may be counterintuitive to clean antique furniture effectively, but you do not want to mistakenly ruin the piece before you bring it to your appraiser. Any repairs that need to be made could be really difficult and expensive to repair or clean. This is why going to a valuer or appraiser is so important because you can never be too sure about whether or not repairs or restorations would increase or decrease the cost of the piece of furniture. A lack of knowledge can lead to you diminishing the value of your furniture.

Have An Understanding Of Antique Furniture Values

There are different types of antique furniture values. There is the retail value, wholesale value and auction value. Retail value is a fair market value of what a customer would be willing to pay. This is the highest value of all of the three, therefore, making it the hardest price to achieve when looking to resell. Wholesale value is the cost consumers would be willing to pay for an item, which could be anywhere between 30 per cent to 50 per cent less than the retail value. Auction value is what your piece of furniture is thought to bring at an auction. It is typically a range and is less than the retail value but more than the wholesale value.

Research Alike Antique Furniture Values In Print

You can look for books or magazines to look for your antique furniture. They often give more information about your furniture, but it is not very comprehensive. It's also worth checking out TV programmes like the Antiques Roadshow as you never know if you could spot your item. 

Let me know if you have any antiques.

*Collaborative post