 |
Buyer Beware
British dealers are buying English antiques here and selling them again over there “at one heck of a markup.
While driving home from Tyler, I was struck by the irony of it all “here I was searching Texas for English antiques that would be shipped back to the U.K. and sold to some American couple convinced that buying directly from England would be a better deal. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are no deals in England “not anymore. The real deals in antiques are right here at home, which is why I found myself with Richard, one of London’s most prominent dealers in fine English furniture, driving across East Texas in search of period (prior to 1840) English furniture.
Richard had flown over to inspect a Sheraton mahogany serving table, circa 1810, that I’d found for him. The table had been brought to Dallas in the mid-1960s, when Neiman Marcus was importing very fine English furniture, possibly for one of the Fortnights. A faded Neiman’s shipping label was still attached underneath the top. The dealer said he’d purchased it at an estate sale. Richard used calipers, a tape measure, a magnifying glass, and a torch (translation: flashlight) to verify that the table was genuine”a process that took him 45 minutes and gave me a lesson in what to really look for in an antique. After his inspection, Richard and the dealer agreed on a price of $10,000.
We then proceeded to one of the local antique malls. Amongst the plethora of merchandise, Richard found a set of George III mahogany bed steps priced at $695. I negotiated the price to $495. Richard remarked that he would be able to get 3,500 pounds sterling (about $5,000) for them in London, which would pay not only the air freight for both the table and the steps, but also his expenses. He told me that 80 percent of his clients are Americans and that he finds most of his inventory in the States. He was particularly pleased about a piece he’d purchased on 84th Street in New York, shipped to England, and then sold to a lady who lived on 82nd Street. Talk about taking a circuitous route.
As we left the area, I told Richard of my own outstanding antique-mall find: a kidney-shaped English Regency reading table made of mahogany, circa 1800. I looked at the price tag, expecting the worst, but the tag read, Circa 1930 maple side table, $239. Wrong date, wrong wood, wrong description, wrong price. You could not find such a deal in England or France, where there would be 30 dealers who knew exactly what the piece was and what it was worth. I paid only $200 for the table and later sold it in London for $6,500.
Two months after our trip to Tyler, I received a $4,500 check from Richard, 10 percent of the final selling price, our agreed-upon commission on items I’ve located for him here in the States. He had sold the serving table to a couple from West Virginia for $45,000.
During another of Richard’s visits, he and I went to one of the area’s annual antique shows. While browsing, we saw two other English dealers he knew. Both were looking for English antiques to air freight back to England and then sell to Americans, who would promptly ship it back across the Pond.
I’m waiting for the enterprising Dallas dealer to hang out, instead of the obligatory New Shipment From England (or France or Italy) sign, one that reads New Shipment from Waxahachie. Your chances of finding a true gem are certainly better in Waxahachie.
Michael Renshaw is a local dealer and the owner of Chaucer Antiques.
