Florida - Not that many years ago, there were very few people conducting estate sales in North America. For the most part, estate sales (or tag-sales, as they're commonly referred to in the UK), had almost always been the domain of the English and Europeans. A common practice of disposing of one's finer goods and chattels when an auctioneer either wasn't required, or one didn't have the requisite volume of goods to necessitate the auctioneer's services. Fast-forward a decade or so, and today estate sale agents and representatives have literally become the go-to service for many aging North Americans wishing to downsize and liquidate their personal property collection. However, in the race to one-up the liquidation offerings provided by garage sales, and smaller auction companies, many estate sale agents and companies have become trapped in a dilemma of their own making. As more and more baby-boomers seek the services of estate sale agents, their requirements for professional appraisal credentials from these agents has also risen, making the days of operating an estate sale business with little or no decorative arts knowledge, somewhat problematic in today's marketplace. Nancy Johnston, an Asheford graduate who operates an estate sale services business in Raleigh, North Carolina, summed it up best by saying, "Fifteen years ago when I started out, no one asked me about my appraisal qualifications when I advertised estate sale services - nobody cared - today, that's all they ask me about." For many, the main shift of focus in this industry, from glorified garage-sale to professional service, has been the change in the quality of goods being presented. "Most of the baby boomers who contact me today," said Johnston, "want me to prove that I can evaluate their antiques, collectibles and vintage items correctly... that's their first requirement before they even consider hiring me." Nickolas Brown, another estate sale agent from the bay area in San Francisco, echoed Ms. Johnston's sentiment, and said that he'd watched people come and go in recent years as many tried to jump on the estate sale bandwagon without any formal training in the decorative arts or appraisal field. "If I didn't already have the knowledge of antiques and collectibles from my family antiques business, I'd be out of the estate sale business," said Brown. "Clients now want credentials - they want to see some kind of professional certification before I even walk in the door... it's all just part of the changing landscape," quipped Brown. Many within the estate sale liquidation business recognize the need for change. "There's a huge divide," said Sally Walker, a certified appraiser who represents a number of estate sale companies in the northeast. "I get a lot of my business from liquidators who are simply over their head when it comes to providing accurate evaluations - but they still won't turn down the job." Walker went on to say that even though she's glad to be of service, she still thinks there needs to be some form of standardization in the industry when it comes to evaluation techniques and procedures. While there is no specific formal qualification standard on the horizon just yet for estate sale liquidators, most in the industry feel that the personal-property appraisal designation issued by professional societies, and internationally recognized schools such as Asheford, would be more than sufficient to cover the knowledge base required by those in the estate sale business. However, as Ms. Walker pointed out, "Showing them the way is one thing - getting them to sign onto a regulatory code of professional conduct is another..." - AIA Staff Writers *NOTE: For those looking for more information on why product knowledge and appraising credentials are so important in today's estate sale marketplace, we recommend that individuals visit the Institute's page on Conducting Estate Sales as an Asheford graduate, in order to fully understand the benefits behind professional-level credentialing within this field of endeavor. Florida - Everyone likes to read or hear about the lottery winner, or the Antiques Roadshow participant who garnered an astounding value for something they had laying about in a drawer. But, the truth of it is, more often than not, most people don't win the lottery or come to realize a half-million dollars in a kitchen cupboard find. However, when it comes to running across a thrift store find, it would seem that the odds might be a bit more in your favor. Consider the last two big-ticket items that have come to the fore in the press recently. First, there was the English lady who splurged ten-quid (about $15), in her local thrift store around thirty years ago on what she thought was a rather gaudy and over-the-top piece of costume jewelry - turns out she was right - it was over the top, to the tune of 26.27 carats. Experts now predict that the 19th century antique cushion-ring could fetch a record setting $650,000 at auction later next month. On a much smaller scale, but still of considerable note, was the recent find by workers at the Mennonite thrift store in New Hamburg, Ontario of an original Maud Lewis painting. A Canadian east coast painter who rose from hardship and obscurity in the 1970's, eventually selling two of her paintings to former President Richard Nixon. Pre-auction estimates put the thrifting-find at $16,000, but it sold this past week for almost three-times that, reaching a final hammer price of $45,000 Canadian - a record price for a Lewis painting. Just a few years ago, Ohio resident Zach Bodish, a thrift store enthusiast who could often be found wandering the aisles of the Volunteers of America charity store came across what he considered was a nice repo of a Picasso print for $14.00. "I thought maybe it could possibly be a poster for an exhibition, or at best a non-reproduction." But to his surprise, after doing a little due diligence and research on the internet, Bodish found out that it was actually a print for a 1958 show of Picasso’s ceramic work, and was numbered 6/100 with the phrase, “original print, signed proof” which was written in French. The Swann Auction Gallery in New York later confirmed the signature and print as authentic, giving the piece an estimated value of between $10,000 to $16,000. Now, while not everyone is going to find a diamond in the rough or an original Picasso, what these stories do point out is that there are some awfully good finds out there for those that are willing to take a little time to look around and do their research. While the stories you may hear in the news are always going to be about the big-ticket items selling at auction, there are going to be far more tales you will never hear about, where items were bought for a pittance and quietly sold for thousands - earning one a far better return than most lottery tickets ever will. So, the next time you're perusing the aisles of your local thrift - don't just give it the once over - but give it a second look too! - A.I.A. Staff Writers |
A.I.A. Staff
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December 2019
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