Transcript of The Auction Wally Show - Podcast #14
Aired 3/17/2008
More info: http://www.auctionwally.com/
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AUCTION WALLY: Hey, start it way down low and let it go…you’re listening to the Auction Wally Show. This is Walt Kolenda aka Auction Wally and I want to thank you for tuning in to Episode 14, St. Patrick’s Day of 2008. I want to wish you all a Happy St. Patty’s day, especially my friend Willie the Picker. Who we’ll hear from later on in the show. So Erin Go Braugh.
I want to remind everyone listening that the prize for the first person to rate me on iTunes is still unclaimed. So get yourself over there and be the first one to rate the Auction Wally Show and you’ll win a collectible item that I found in an estate. How you rate the show is up to you. No matter what kind of rating you give it, you still get the prize. And as I’ve said before, it’ll be a collectible that at least I think is neat. Once the first person has rated me, all they need do is email me at wkolenda@gmail.com with their snail mail address and I’ll send that item out in the mail. What it’ll be, I really don’t know, but I’ll figure out something pretty neat.
I’m going to start off this show with a segment on identifications and values of roll-top desks, antique oak roll-top desks. Then I’ll move along to the differences between an antiques appraisal, an offer and authentication. And in honor of St. Patrick’s day we’ll let our friend Willie the Picker do a bit on the basics of depression glass. I’ll finish up with current news and my upcoming events I have slated.
So without further adieu, let’s move along to our section on roll-top desks.
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The roll top desk was patented by an Abner Cutler of Buffalo New York in about 1850. It’s a concoction derived from the cylinder desk which has a one piece barrel-type door and a tamboured desk with slatted doors which open sideways. The roll-top had been copied and modified in America since Cutler’s patent many times. Suffice it to say that like any antique, the early period originals bring much more than the later copies. An original Cutler roll-top of the 1850s can between $5,000 and $12,000 at auction.
However, most of what you’ll see in roll-tops are from the late 1800s to 1920s. The value of those will generally bring between $500 and $4,000 depending on the conditions which I‘ll be talking about here. Unlike the tambour and the cylinder desk, the thing about the roll-top was that it could be manufactured during a mass-production method that allowed it to be produced cheaper than those two previous forms. Because of that, and it’s practicality and ruggedness of form, it quickly became the staple of America’s business offices., the American Business man’s office. You’ll find some of the better ones sitting in lawyer’s offices next to a beautiful oriental rug or a barrister’s bookcase. If you do see one there though, it will be more as a show piece rather than something that’s being put to use.
The roll-top fell out of favor shortly after the 1920s to make way for those ugly steel desks that you find in gun-metal gray or depression green. Luckily, the handsome form of the roll-top inspired many people to save them from being thrown in the wood pile. They started showing up also on movie sets to create ambience for the scene. It’s an American classic so therefore a favorite in the antiques market. We love the classics, don’t we?
What some folks don’t realize is that antiques, like everything else, have fads and trends. What is worth good money today, may fall out of fashion tomorrow and be worth less. But when something is deemed a classic, prices will usually rise steadily and even during hard times hold a good, stable value. Of course the antiques market, like other markets, must follow the general economy as well. That being said, the classics just will hold their value especially far better than the fads and trendy items that come in and out of style.
So let’s talk about some of the qualities that make a great roll-top desk. First of all, the American roll-top desk are almost always in oak, either solid or veneer. To tell if it’s veneered, take a very close look at the edges of the drawer-fronts and the top of the desk. If there are any seams on the edges, it’s veneered. Generally speaking a veneered piece will bring about 10-40% less than a solid oak desk. Like anything else in the antiques world you want it to be as original as possible. Big points if it has its’ original finish and hardware. Look inside the drawers along the edges for stain-splash, evidence of refinishing.
The market demand right now is for the smaller-sized desks that could be put in a small office or home. It just makes sense that the more people that can use an item the more it’s worth.
The only measurement we’ll concern ourselves with is the length. And most folks would like a desk under 44 inches long or so. One could argue that the large ones are most likely to end up in a banker’s or lawyer’s office and thus command a higher price, that’s true. But as is often the case with exceptional and high-priced, sizeable items, you have to wait for just the right buyer to come along. So they can be very difficult to sell. I would put one of those behemoths in the $1,500 - $4,000 range. But again, finding the buyer that needs one that size and is willing to pay for it is the trick to getting that kind of money.
Regardless of the size, here are the attributes of better and more saleable desks. There’s a saying in the trade called “it’s got eyes”. Which simply means it’s pleasant to look at. The more industrial a roll-top appears to be, the less likely it is to sell well. People want nice looking and refined roll-top desks., in as much as that is possible.
The more refined models has an S roll instead of a C roll. Which means when you roll down the top, there’s a double hump or an S pattern to the roll as it follows, as opposed to the plain half-curve of a C roll. If you’ve ever seen one, you’ll realize that the S one is much nicer looking.
A good desk should have an intricate box of multiple cubbies and small drawers. Points for brass locks and escutcheon fixtures. The sides of a good desk should have raised panels. A better and even higher quality desk will have a paneled back. We definitely want to see double banks of drawers that go all the way to the floor. Instead of drawers ending up on short legs. The legged models are worth much less.
In the middle of the back of the knee hole there was usually a panel that joined the two banks. Sometimes when the desks were moved the panels were lost. If you see a desk without one, look at the back sides of those banks to see screw holes for evidence of such a panel. Points off if it had one and it’s missing. And by the way, on a side note, the raised panel backs of a desk mean that the desk could be put in the middle of a room and still have it’s aesthetic value as opposed to being placed against the wall. And they were usually the better examples that the cabinet makers or the manufacturers made, that had those finished all the way around type of formats. So if they’ve got panels on the back the desk didn’t need to be hid to be placed in the room.
Back to the double banks of drawers, sometimes you’ll find one bank actually has a sort of cabinet type of compartment on one side as opposed to drawers. I never found this to be a value factor, simply a matter of preference. On occasion you’ll find a roll-top secretary, which is a roll-top with an elaborate cubby-hole system that sits on top of the desk, making it into a secretary. This can increase the value of a desk and will increase the value significantly.
Some of the better roll-top manufactures are George H. Derby of Boston Mass, Slitt and Field Company of Rochester New York, National Office Furniture of Washington, DC, and of course there are many others.
Rather than give specific values on the types of desks I’ve talked about, which would take too long, let’s go into a simple formula that will help you determine the value of a desk you may have or are looking to purchase. The price range reflects the retail value. So if you’re looking at the thing from a reseller’s perspective, adjust accordingly to your budget. For an excellent desk with all of the above positive attributes, as I mentioned earlier, $4,000 would be reasonable to expect. For every one of those attributes missing you would obviously subtract value. Rather than assign a complicated formula to which attributes cost what, I’d just ask you to look closely at the desk and ask you to use your own better judgment. That said, the biggest decrease in value would be for a desk that sits upon short feet. Second, we’d subtract points for a C roll as opposed to an S roll. And of course, a veneered desk is worth less than a solid oak desk. The less industrial looking the better and if your drawers have brass handles or fancy metal handles as opposed to the standard wood, oblong handles, points for that, points added for that.
Of course, condition is everything. With antiques and other furniture, something in poor condition is worth considerably less. A desk painted would be worth about 50% less of its’ prospective value. If someone were foolish enough to paint the inside, don’t laugh because it happens, take off even more. The reason being, have you ever tried to refinish the inside of a drawer? It’s next to impossible.
As I’ve mentioned, those are the antique roll-top desks that are most often seen, in the periods of about the 19-teens to the 1920s. Earlier Victorian models should definitely be appraised, and checked out closely and could bring significantly more than the $4,000 watermark that we mentioned for the more common desks. But for the sake of this pod cast and what most people might have, I’ve addressed the more common models.
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Let’s move on to appraisals, offers and authentications. An appraisal is an unbiased report on an antique based on experience, detective work and market research. Ethically speaking, an appraiser should never make an offer on an item they’re going to appraise. Nor should they recommend anyone that purchases such items. Expect to pay for a good appraisal as time and research are involved. Appraisals are often necessary for a n item to be covered by an insurance company and tax deductions. They can also be very helpful when selling or buying an item. Contrary to belief, appraisers are NOT licensed. But most auctioneers are. I back up all of my appraisals with my Massachusetts state auction license. There are guilds and clubs appraisers can be certified by. But none of them hold any regulatory weight. To be accepted by an insurance company, or for use in tax deductions, there are certain guidelines an appraisal must follow. Which for interest in time, I won’t go into here. Suffice it to say that I follow all those guidelonines when I conduct an appraisal. Appraisers charge between $75-$100 per hour on the average. As some of you know I have the best online antiques appraisal service on the internet. For $9.95 I offer a 100% guaranteed antiques appraisal of your antique within 3 days.
Here I want to explain the difference between an appraisal, an offer and an authentication. The reason I charge $9.95 for my online appraisals and guarantees is due to the many years of experience I have selling most of the items I appraise. So I’m able to gleam the most important information I need in a quick and efficient manner. Add to that the fact that I’ve become proficient with the internet and I’m able to conduct them in a manner that’s affordable to me. I want to explain the difference between an appraisal, an offer and an authentication. If I do come to your home in Central Mass to appraise my fees are in the standard range listed above.
So you should know when you need an antique appraisal versus an authentication. An authentication verifies period, age, style, etc. An authentication is usually much easier and should be less costly than an appraisal. If you think an item has antique or historical value, take the time and effort to first get it authenticated. I also do guaranteed authentications for $5.99 online.
And last, we’re brought to the offer. Sometimes people get an offer confused with an appraisal. As I’ve said earlier, a legitimate appraisal should never be followed by an offer. Expect someone in many cases to keep their knowledge of the value of that item a closely guarded secret. If someone is too free with the information on the value of the item they’re trying to purchase, ask yourself why they would divulge such trade secrets. Only you can decide if an offer for your antique is fair or not. It’s ideal when the acceptance of an offer is based from a qualified appraisal. Knowledge is power.
Now let’s hear from Willie the Picker on a few of the basics of Depression Glass.
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WILLIE: How’d he do and how’d he don’t. This here’s Willie the Picker and again I’ve found myself having to bail out Auction Wally with my antique’s expertise, due to him not having enough quality content to fill up his show. So, let’s have a little chat about Depression Glass, shall we? Then I gotta go. Today is St. Patty’s day, the most important holiday of the year in my circle and I’m expected for a speaking engagement later on this evening. So I gotta wrap this up quick.
During the 1930s movies theaters, stores and other businesses started giving away pieces of glass as a bonus for doing business with them and buying their product. Times were tough during the depression, and as you know many businesses found it was necessary to add value to their product by giving away certain bonus items. Often a pattern was offered with a different piece from that pattern being offered each week. So you might get the Mayfair or Open Rose patterned covered butter dish one week as you went to Gone with the Wind. And pick up a cake plate the next as you watched Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers shuffle off and flying out to Rio.
The most popular colors in depression glass is jadeite, pink, green, cobalt blue and ruby. Black, amber, amethyst and clear will bring the least.
Some of the companies that made these popular sets are still around today and some are long gone or joined forces, consolidated so to speak, I guess would be the word. A few of these big glass makers are Hazel Atlas, their mark is an A tucked under the bridge of a letter H. Federal Glass Company, their mark being the F inside a shield. Anchor Hawking, for obvious reasons folks will mistake Hazel Atlas’ mark to be that of Anchor Hawking. But the Anchor Hawking mark is actually an anchor. Then there’s the US Glass company and Jeanette Glass company, Indiana Glass Company and many others.
There’s a lot of reproduced glass out there. They usually take on a clarity and crispness that the old pieces don’t have. If you’re unsure just use your noggin for Pete’s sake and look at the bottom. Does it have the wear an old piece should have? Are the mold seams smooth as an older piece should be or are they rough and crude like yours truly gets when Auction Wally tries to pay me for my services with cheap moonshine instead of the upper crust Kentucky sill juice my delicate taste buds are so accustomed to?
Then, with the old Depression Glass you want to get a bit familiar with your patterns, now don’t you? Of course you do. And as you might guess, there’s more common and plainer patterns there’s ones that’re worth less. And the rare and fancy one’s is worth more, right? Some of the more common patterns are Bull, aka Bullseye, aka Provincial. Kind of made it sound a little fancy there, but it’s just a bubble in the bullseye. The Anniversary pattern, ain’t too hard to find either. Nor the cubist, the hobnail, Miss America, and again there are many examples of common depression glass, these just being a few.
Some of the more rare and valuable patterns are your Florentines, horseshoe, the parrot pattern, very rare, aka Sylvan, the Patrician, or Spoke, Peacock reverse, Rock Crystal, and again there are many other rare and valuable patterns. These just being a few.
What else you want to know is that certain pieces in different sets is worth more than others. It’d be crazy to try and give you the detailed break down here but let’s just say that the hard to find and more valuable pieces in the sets are covered butter dishes, drink pitchers and odd pieces. Butter dishes is especially hard to find with covers cuz they got so slippery during use that they was oftened dropped and damaged. So they’re especially rare. Well, I guess that’s about it for now and don’t you mind too much on the patterns cuz whether your hooch comes from a fine, fancy tumbler or a mason jar it’s the skill of the moonshiner that counts when it comes right down to it. This here’s Willie the Picker sayin’ have a Happy St. Patty’s day.
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AUCTION WALLY: Well thank you Willie for that bit on Depression Glass. You should have told me if your payment wasn’t up to snuff I didn’t realize that. I thought saving a few bucks wouldn’t make a difference to the quality of stuff I was bringing you. But anyways.
Let’s move on. I want to take some time to address the show format. And as far as that goes, it’ll vary from live interviews and call-in shows to pre-recorded content like this. Each hopefully entertaining and informative enough to have you tell a friend or two and keep coming back yourself. I’m also toying with the idea of doing some shorter segment shows that go out more frequently. We’ll see. Just like an auction, anything can happen on this pod cast.
Some of you following pod casting may find that it’s unusual for a cast to have a rigid schedule and venue. That said, I’m going to try to send these out on Blog Talk Radio on Monday evenings at 8pm Eastern Time. But barring that, let me assure you that no matter when or how the show goes out, you’ll be able to subscribe to the feed over at iTunes or by entering the Auction Wally Show in the iTunes store search you’ll come up with a show description, a little star system and place where you can rate the show, hint, hint. And a button to subscribe. But barring that, let me assure you that you’ll always be able to find the show and subscribe at http://auctionwally.libsyn.com .So I hope that you do one of those and you come back often. Of course the other thing you can do is find and listen to the show directly from my site at http://www.auctionwally.com.
Here are some of the things that are up with me. I’ve got a new blog that can be found at http://myweekonebay.wordpress.com where I’ll be blogging about, guess what, that’s right, my week on eBay. It’ll be kind of a step-by-step journal of an eBay seller. I have no idea if I’ll be able to keep the blog up with all of the other things I have in the fire, but it seems like a good idea to separate Auction Wally from the eBay articles I was posting there. Last week I wrote a post on my suggestions on eBay’s recent firestorm. I’m hoping that it doesn’t get me kicked off of eBay. And of course I post my eBay listings, a brief description of how I got them, how I picked them out of the other items that I purchased from estate lots. A little story behind them and how they end up. Along with eBay tips, advice, articles, etc.
Also, in the Central Mass area I’ve been getting back into doing live Antique Appraisal Days and Fundraisers. I have one coming up on March 29th in Barre, MA at the Village Common Shoppes for the Anne Marie Cancer Fund. And one on April 17th in Gardner MA at Second Hand Sensations for H.O.P.E. a great organization that combats violence.
And like most of the things that I mention here on the show you can find links to them on the blog at http://www.auctionwally.com and in the show notes here. At either of those you can bring by your antique to be appraised for a donation to those organizations. And 100% of the donations go to those groups. It’s a fun way to find out what it’s worth and support a good cause at the same time. How can you beat that?
I’m also excited about a new concept I’ve put together called a Micro Auction. I’ll be holding the first one on April 5th at Second Hand Sensations, 44 Main Street in Gardner Mass. What’s a Micro Auction? I’m glad you asked. They’re small auctions designed to be held right inside of antiques and consignment shops. They’re very easy to put together with little or no start up costs. And are a great alternative to sacrificing your lots to overburdened auction houses. A Micro Auction is in every traditional sense of the word, an auction and all the standard auction rules apply. But it’s much more for the shop owner. It’s a promotional tool, an instant money maker that will increase your customer base, and have your existing customer base buzzing about your business. What’s different about a Micro Auction compared to a standard auction? It’s not so much it’s size as the portability and work load of everything involved. I’ll auction off the partial existing contents of a store and fresh additions right from its’ location. Since there’s no hall to rent, crew to hire or stock to purchase, or additional stock to purchase, there’s really no overhead. It’s a fantastic way to get cash flowing for your business and as I mentioned earlier, start a buzz about your business. It’s created to be a standing room only auction, no seating will be available and can be financially successful with only a very small crowd.
Including in a Micro Auction service package if you’re interested in knowing more, are full promotional services, bid-calling and auction preparation. I’ve been promoting and marketing online and off for many years and I’m capable of handling all the advertising needs usually at no cost for these Micro Auctions. If you want to consider having a Micro Auction in a Central Mass store, email me or call the number on the website. If you’re outside of Central Mass and would like step-by-step instructions, to set up and hold your own Micro Auctions, I’m available for consultation at a reasonable rate. And there’s information at http://www.auctionwally.com about that as well.
I’ve been continuing with the posting of antique and collectible books on eBay, from the bookstore buy out in Spring of 2007 in Gardner MA. And I’m still listing that. A lot of 14 Landmark delighted me by finishing at $153.17. But a first edition of a JM Barrie book, Margaret Ogilvy (sp?), JM Barrie being the Peter Pan author, disappointed a bit by ending at $18.51. Auh, such is an auction. Don’t whine about the things that sell low and don’t brag about the things that sell high.
As usual, I’m listening to a lot of pod casts during the week and have commented at http://www.tengoldenrules.com episode 20 about the recent eBay kerfuffle. I was delighted that Jay Berkowitz not only gave me the air time to rant a bit, but even said he’d have me on in a future show. If any of you follow Jay Berkowitz you know he has one of the biggest and best internet marketing pod casts and I can’t wait to do a bit on his show. Nothing is set up yet, so it may be a little while. But I’ll let you know where and when so you can tune in. In the meantime, you should be listening to Jay’s show anyways because his experience is helpful no matter what your product, service or background. At least eBay thinks so, they’re going to have Jay speak at eBay Live this year. And that’s Jay Berkowitz at http://www.tengoldenrules.com .
It’s been interesting to see the marketing, branding and tech shows weigh in on the recent eBay changes. I’ve heard it addressed very colorfully on Twit and others in the latest episodes of those shows.
You may have noticed that I have a new sign-up box on the right top corner of my site. I hope you sign-up for my newsletter. I don’t spam or sell your name so don’t worry about that. Each month I’ll do a random drawing for new sign-ups. Right now for that drawing is a free online $9.95 antiques appraisal.
Also, I’ve been working on an eBook that teaches how to get the best quick money for your antiques and other valuables. It should be available soon. That’s what I’ve been up to.
So don’t forget, if you have any questions, or want to let me know about your site, or what you’ve been up to, I welcome your entries in the comments section.
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This is Auction Wally saying take care and thanks for listening.
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