Customer Reviews

Price It Yourself! The Definitive, Down-to-earth Guide to Appraising Antiques and Collectibles in your Home, at Auctions, Estate Sales, Shops, and Yard Sales

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this book thinking it would help me in my new venture of antique collecting. While the authors are very well-qualified in this subject I feel as though it wasn't written for the average person. This book WILL NOT help you when you go to your Saturday garage sale or flea market. The book spends way too much time on furniture and the second half of the book is all 'practice appraisals' which are for objects the average person will never buy or be able to afford. I felt like this book had a certain 'snob' appeal and if you can afford to buy a $5000 or $10,000 piece you probably have enough knowledge without having to consult a book. (I was stumped because the practice appraisals don't list a value for any of this stuff). Save your money and buy a book that directly relates to what you are collecting or hoping to find.

I am sorry, but who ever thought this book was in any way helpful in teaching people to "Price it Yourself" was oh so wrong. I was so excited about getting the book and when I opened it to find nothing but page after page of words with only a few drawings to back them up... I was, oh so sadly, disappointed. I guess it might work IF you were to come across the exact item(s) discribed throughout the book. It's like trying to read an encyclopidia, only not as informative. I tried to get through it, but put it down after five or so pages. It's off to the Goodwill, so if you want it, look for it there.

I have yet to use this book in any real-life, practical way. It is too big to bring to sales and takes too long to research stuff if you did bring it with you. By the time you found the item you were interested in, someone else would have snapped it up. My experience in buying has served me much better. This book has become another shelf-space-eating dust collector.

This book is an excellent purchase for any first time buyers
of antiques. The work begins with a discussion of the factors
to be considered in an appraisal i.e. material, origin,age,
size, condition and purpose/utilization. The author teaches
how to examine an antique by making mental notes and observing
important details; such as, carvings, initials etc. He provides
an example of the Gorham Company markings on objects. For
instance, a bell shape stamp means that the item was made

circa 1900. An item may have several valuations; namely,
retail value, cash value, liquidation value, replacement value
and the fair market value. The author provides major auction
houses; such as, Garth's, Northeast Auctions, E-bay and
Net-auctions.com. This book is a worthy purchase for any
potential collector or hobby buff.

Cleaning out the attic and needed to know what items are worth. This book helps put a price on items and not let others benefit monetarily from personal lack of knowledge. In this case, "let the seller beware."

I'm a beginner. This is a great learning book if you are interested in old stuff!