Expert Counsel

I was approached last month by a woman asking me if I was interested in doing an antique appraisal at the Fallbrook Community Center last weekend. Due to a busy schedule, I declined but thought that the idea sounded good. I had a brief moment of professional introspection and wondered who would be appraising for them? Read Tom Pfingsten's column today and found out:

"...Stacey Riggs, who sells a variety of household items from her Fallbrook Trading Co. storefront on Main Avenue, said the market for vintage goods and antiques has changed drastically over the last decade.
“People are not necessarily looking for antiques any more, because there’s newer furniture that’s just as beautiful, but is better made because it’s not 100 years old. When I buy antiques, I buy them because they’re unique or well-priced, not because they’re old,” Riggs said. “There’s this misconception that, because it’s an antique, it must be worth something.”
Antiques can still fetch a good price, in other words — but not just because they are old.
Riggs was on hand to give casual appraisals, telling folks what she would charge if their item was for sale in her store. When a woman approached with an antique doll, Riggs had to break the bad news: “I’ve tried dolls in my store, and I cannot give them away.”

The word is out folks, antiques are over. To each his own. Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder but the idea that things are just as beautiful and are made better today than yesteryear is really quite laughable to me. More like we are in the great abyss.