How Do Antiques Dealers Price Their Items?

 

QUESTION: I’ve always wondered how dealers decide on the price of an antique. Sometimes, the prices seem deliberately inflated. And at other times, they seem downright cheap. What governs pricing in the antiques business?

ANSWER: That’s a great question. Most of the time, collectors dwell on the value of an antique. They usually don’t think about the price, unless it has a direct relationship to that value. 

The important thing to remember is that buying and selling antiques is a business. And just like any other business, dealers have overhead—if operating a shop, then electricity, heating, phone, and other utilities; if selling at shows, then the booth fee, advertising, etc. 

The key to making a profit in any retail business is to buy low and sell high. Most dealers mark up the price of their antiques by 50 percent over the buying price. But the higher the buying price, the less they can mark items up. High-end dealers selling antique for four to six figures often only use a 20 percent or less mark up. In this case, they need to sell the item quickly to make enough turnover to make a profit.

But a lot of dealers have antiques inventory that’s been in their shops too long. The longer an item remains unsold, the less the dealer makes on it because unlike the static price of an antique, the cost of running a business continues to change. 

And what about sales and bargaining? Many antiques dealers will bargain with a customer over the price of an antique. They know how much they must make on the item and won’t go below a certain price. Bargaining lowers the mark up and cuts into overhead costs.

Some antiques dealers, much like other retail business owners, will occasionally have sales to move merchandise. But don’t expect deep discounts on these items. Remember the mark up. Usually, sales bring customers into the shop who most likely will find something else that they like and buy that instead. Or they may buy several smaller items.

Generally, the higher the prices of the antiques, the less likely a dealer will bargain much for them. And those same dealers will not have sales.

Unlike antiques dealers who operate shops and do shows, flea market and antiques mall dealers usually deal in much smaller and less expensive merchandise. They’re more willing to bargain the price down a bit to make a sale. And often will lower prices on items that have been in their inventory for too long.

Antiques are such subjective items that prices vary tremendously depending on demand, current trends, and rarity. Prices can vary from dealer to dealer, so it’s difficult to compare the price of one piece with that of a similar or identical one. Antiques appreciate over the long term. Like the stock market, antiques rise and fall in value depending on demand and trends.

So how do antiques dealers ultimately figure the price of the items in their inventory? First and foremost is what the dealer paid for the item. Obviously, the higher the original price, the higher the retail price. And thanks to T.V. shows like The Antiques Roadshow and Pawnbrokers, the buying public has an inflated idea of what an antiques value actually is. 

The value of an antique is what someone is willing to pay for it. So the value is essentially what the last person paid for the piece. Values for high-end pieces usually result from auction sales while those for lesser valued collectibles may result from books dealing with a specific category of collectibles such as Depression Glass or world’s fair collectibles. While the prices of the former are kept in proprietary, subscription-only databases, those of the latter are available to the general public. And then there are auction/buy-it-now sites like eBay online. 

And many antiques dealers consult online auction results and other sites to determine what the going rate will be for the items they’re pricing. 

Finally, dealers add the percentage of markup, determined by the amount of their overhead and what their local market will bear.

One of the reasons many antiques sell for many times over their auction estimate is that many live on-site antiques auctions now include phone bids while many online auctions allow bidders to bid in real time. These phone and live online bids now come from anywhere, thus the final selling price of the item isn’t affected by the local market.

So the next time you’re out antiquing and come across that piece that you just can’t live without, remember the complexities of antiques pricing. And if you can purchase the piece for a reasonable price in the end, all the better. 

To learn more about what it’s like to start your own antiques business, read How to Start a Home-Based Antiques Business.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about railroad antiques in "All Aboard!" in the 2021 Summer Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

The Fair Where Electricity was the Star Attraction

QUESTION: I love to browse the small items found in showcases at antique coops and at flea markets. Recently, I came across a matchsafe with a cigar cutter that came fro the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. I’ve never heard of this. Could you tell me more about it? Is this matchsafe something I want to hold onto?

ANSWER: You’re not alone when it comes to knowing much about this world’s fair. Unfortunately, all the hoopla about the technology exhibited at the fair was overshadowed by a traumatic incident—the assassination of President William McKinley. And while this happened towards the end of the fair at the beginning of September, it undermined the importance of this event.

For six months in the summer of 1901, all the world came to Buffalo, N.Y ,to see the wonders of the new century and to celebrate the unity of the countries of North and South America during the Pan-American Exposition. More than 8.3 million people came to the exposition. Visitors called it “Doing the Pan.” For most, it was the trip of a lifetime. For one person, President William McKinley, it was his last. While canals and gardens dazzled them, the midway seduced them. The buildings, covered in the new electrical lights, kept them in awe.
                   
President William McKinley was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz while he was shaking hands with visitors in the Temple of Music on the fairgrounds on September 6, 1901. He died eight days later.

Every country in the Americas participated. The exposition Vacant land at the northern edge of Buffalo was transformed into a Spanish Renaissance style wonderland. Electric light bulbs outlined all of the major buildings. The 391-foot Electric Tower alone boasted 40,000 bulbs. At dusk, visitors gazed in awe at the display of electrical lighting, a novelty at that time.

The fair’s theme was to unite the Americas. Prior to the opening, the exposition’s organizers held a contest for the design of the logo. Raphael Beck, an artist from Lockport, a city on the Erie Canal northeast of Buffalo, won the $50 prize with his entry. The logo featured a map of the western hemisphere. North America was depicted by a fair-haired woman and South America depicted by a dark-haired woman. The women joined hands to form Central America.

The Pan-American Exposition produced thousands of souvenirs which collectors seek today. Many souvenir items were made picturing the buildings and other features of the fair. The Electric Tower pictured on your letter opener was the tallest structure at the fair and often appears on souvenir items.   Many of the souvenirs were pans, said Boyd. One frying pan had a button on the side. When the button is depressed, the lid opens and one sees a tiny buffalo standing in the middle of the pan.

Many of the souvenirs were made of aluminum, a new metal introduced at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. By the time of the Pan-American Exposition, aluminum had become a major industry in nearby Niagara Falls. After President McKinley's death, people bought presidential memorials made of aluminum.

Among the most popular souvenirs were postcards, of which about 500 different ones have been identified. Pan-American stationery allowed exposition visitors to send letters. The Pan-American logo, with or without a buffalo, appeared on the envelope.



Nearly every day was a special day at the Pan-American Exposition, and sponsors of various ceremonies and special days sent invitations. Many of these invitations as well as the envelopes have survived.

Post offices sold special issue stamps in denominations of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10 cents. These stamps weren't to be used as postage and had to be specifically requested by customers.

And visitors could find free samples of food or beverages or free souvenirs in the Manufacturers & Liberal Arts Building, free sample soap bars in the Larkin Building, free machine-woven ribbons, bookmarks, etc. These, in addition to free brochures and advertising cards, enabled those who could afford only the costs of getting to the Exposition to carry away remembrances of their experience.

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Thanks for the Memories

QUESTION: When I was a kid, my parents used to take me to Atlantic City every summer. As I get older, my memories of those summer vacations are but vague recollections. Recently, I was browsing a local antique cooperative and came across a small, red and white cream pitcher with “From Atlantic City 1897" scratched into what looks like a red coating. Immediately, memories from those vacations from my early childhood came flooding back, so I bought it. What can you tell me about my little pitcher?

ANSWER: Obviously, your little cream pitcher dates from before your birth, but like other souvenirs of summer destinations, it’s no less important. In fact, with the coming of the railroads in the early part of the 19th century and the Industrial Revolution, middle-class Victorians took to the road, rail, and sea in great numbers. Most of them wanted to take home a souvenir of their trip, and your little cream pitcher is one of them.

One of the most popular of these were ruby-stained glass toothpick holders, tumblers, goblets, creamers and pitchers inscribed with their name or the name of the destination and the date.

Glass souvenirs did not first appear at the Philadelphia Centennial in 1876, as many believe, but much earlier. Little keepsakes had always been made in blown glass. After less expensive pressed glass appeared in 1825, owners of fairs and expositions sought out these more profitable items. Manufacturers pressed plates and tumblers with pictures of an event. But it was the smaller items, such as match and toothpick holders and little creamers and mugs that became popular. Makers often stained these pieces red or amber and engraved them with an inscription. Glass makers created thousands of these small articles for the large expositions, such as the Chicago Fair in 1893, as well as the popular county fairs.

Staining a piece of glass involved painting an already-pressed piece of clear pattern glass with a ruby-colored stain and reheating it to 1000 degrees in a kiln which turned the coating bright red. Sometimes, makers used an amber stain to decorate their pressed pieces. Pieces stained in this fashion could then be engraved with flower or leaf bands or souvenir inscriptions.

Produced in the United States from 1880 to 1920, there were eventually thousands of patterns of pressed glass that flooded the market. Makers produced many of the more popular patterns in a variety of forms. They combined different colors of glass and different decorating techniques to produce hundreds of thousands of pieces of glass. People would purchase a piece of blank stained glass at an event or travel destination and could then have it personalized with their name and date.

One of the more popular ruby stained patterns, Button Arches, introduced originally around 1898, continued in production until the 1960s and 1970s. The design consisted of slightly overlapping pointed arches around the bottom edges and covers of pieces, each arch containing tightly packed "buttons."  Made in clear, clear with ruby staining and gold-stained bands, collectors can find this pattern highlighted with souvenir inscriptions.

In the late 1890s, the U.S. Glass Co., a consortium of smaller companies, came up with the idea of marketing a series of glass patterns named after the various states. Though a few of these patterns were new to the series, some were reissues of earlier lines reintroduced as part of this line. The state series continued through the turn-of-the-century. Most of the state patterns featured geometric or imitation cut-glass designs, but a few had a plant and flower motif that added to their appeal.  Obviously, state patterned glass was popular as a souvenir from the state for which the pattern was named.
   
To read more articles on antiques, please visit my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 17,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac.