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Antiques! => Antique Questions Forum => Topic started by: debodun on February 21, 2012, 04:08:55 PM
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Almost everyone says you can't go by antique price guides as their values are very inflated compared to what one could realistically hope to sell for as well as the constant fluctuations in market values and geographic locations. This begs the question, then why are there so many of them being published? Are there any that approach realistic estimates? I am especially interested in Depression glass guides. I pretty much know the patterns now after researching them for months, but there is a wide difference between price guides (I have Gene Florence's 11th edition, a really old Kovel's and Hazel Weatherman books - my mom must have bought these when she started collecting) and even for the same thing on Ebay.
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Thats why they are only guides !! Really there is nothing better than your own judgement !! Ebay is good to see what people are actually buying !! I don`t even look at start prices when I research something I click on ending soonest in the sort menu and see if anyone is actually bidding and how much the ending price is !! Even then you will get some variation for two like items !! You might check into Antique Trader magazine or Antiques Journal !! I think they are bi-monthly !! There is also one that used to be on the newstand that is a bi-monthly price guide !! Even those are inflated prices !!
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When the economy went south prices changed almost overnight. I wouldn't consider anything published in hardcopy to be more than a suggested starting point for further research and I would look carefully at the date of publication and figure it out from there. I agree, Ebay is a great place to get a feel for what people will really pay for an item. Some items have been "recession-proof" and others have been hit hard.
To try to answer the question of why are these guides still published in hardcopy, I guess I will answer with a question... is anyone still buying them?!!
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I personnally find Price guide good of Identifaction of a item, and ignore the price. If I see a price guide at the thrift shop I will pick it up but not to judge value, matter of fact if you need a price guide I have a stack of them :D. I think they still sell to those starting on their treasure hunting adventure, When I started I got a few new Price guides myself, but soon learned about the value. I think they are still able to sell them cau,se still alot of folks think they are a great gauge of value. The best source is still the internet cause of its flexability.
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Ebay has driven prices down on a lot of items or at least the sellers have. Someone selling a piece of depression glass that they found in the attic will let it go for one third of what it was at one time with a Buy it Now. Then they jack up the handling fee to make extra money. Someone with the identical piece wants to sell and they are forced to low ball. Great for buyers. Rare items that have little or no competition sell high. I once had the only brown paper Pepsi Six Pack bag and it sold for 125.00. It was a brown paper bag but it was rare and three collectors wanted it. Big name items like Rookwood and Steuben never go down.
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This begs the question, then why are there so many of them (antique/collectables price guides) being published?
The obvious answer is: people are buying them. ;D ;D
But actually your question is: why are people buying so many of them?
And here are a few of those reasons:
- 1. bout everyone collects something and many want to know what theirs are worth for both curiosity and bragging rights.
2. people who inherit items want to know what they inherited and its dollar value.
3. people just starting to collect an item that “turns their crank”.
4. weekend fleamarketeers, both buyers n’ sellers, to know what to look for and determine whether to put it on their table “for sale” or take it directly to a dealer.
5. “pickers” buy them for bout the same reason as #4.
6. dealers keep buying “new editions” to add to their library because they contain new items.
7. and many are probably purchased by the tens of thousands of younger, first time buyers/collectors that enter the marketplace each year.