Thursday, January 9, 2014

The Importance of Research when Dealing with Antiques

Lots of people are fascinated by antiques. When an antique appraisal show pops up on the television, many people find that they can’t get themselves to change the channel. Being fascinated by and interested in antiques is different, though, from actually buying or selling them. You can visit a place like Castle Antiques, Inc to look through many types of antiques and you might be able to find one in your price range. You may even be able to sell an antique or two that’s been handed down to you. In either case, it’s very important that you do your research before making a transaction. There are a few ways that researching your antiques will help you.

History
First, you want to research the history of your piece and the history of those like it. You should have an idea of about when your piece or the piece you are interested in was made. Once you have an approximate date, you can start looking for information about the maker and the types of materials that were used in the day. This information should at least tell you whether your piece is authentic or not, and you may be able to find out how many were made.

Market Value
The next thing you should research before buying or selling an antique is its current market value. The antiques market is very peculiar and is always changing. The best way to find the value of a particular antique is to look at what similar items have gone for at recent auctions. However, items that may seem similar or even identical can have drastically different market values based on condition.

Personal Value
A final step before purchasing or selling an antique is to consider its personal value. In other words, what is it worth to you? Antiques are often handed down by relatives, so an item may have more personal value to you than monetary value. On the other hand, if you’re looking to buy an antique that you really love, you shouldn’t feel too bad about paying a bit more than market value. The prices at places like Castle Antiques, Inc and other places are just estimates. In reality, the value of an antique is whatever somebody is willing to pay for it.
 

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Happy Palm Sunday

~Hayley