where to sell excess antiques?...any suggestions

By the way, these are dining room table chairs that are not matched (hence, way, way cheaper than a matched set so old). Both side chairs and end chairs.

Check out Christies Interiors auctions--they do them once a month and it just might be the place for these types of item. Some other auction houses I like are Doyle NY and Keno Auctions. Keno might be a good place for the chairs, actually. Sothebys is good too, but may not be right for the objects you're describing.

I agree with bramstar.

Take good photos and email them to the specialist at the auction house to see if there is any interest.

You'd be surprised at how quick and easy it is to deal with the auction houses, they have a snobby reputation, but they are actually very professional and friendly.

Thanks for the suggestions. I had assumed I was too small fry for an auction house but I should try it, why not.

No, you are not small fry. You'd be amazed at what can be found at those Christies interiors sales. Old couches, wobbly side tables, knick-knacks as well as some very good higher-end pieces. The objects you are describing sound quite nice and could do very well at any auction. If you contact one of the auction houses you may actually find that your chairs and Soviet posters are better served in a more specific sale--Continental furniture, for example, or prints and multiples.

Remember, just because you don't have a 'full set' of dining chairs does NOT mean yours aren't valuable. It is actually quite rare to find a complete set of chairs from the 18th century and collectors generally buy these objects individually. Continental antique furniture tends not to fetch as much as does its American counterpart but there is still a very robust market for it.

Definitely shop around before making a decision to consign with any one house.

i know ebay as a great place to BUY funky old stuff, but knowing exactly what you are looking for, and usually AT since the best stuff you come across by accident, and what it's approximate market value might be. but being a seller looking to get the best price for you, you should probably deal with an auction.

Posters, prints, etc can go to Swan Auction Galleries. Just email them pics of what you have. Furniture can go to any of the auction houses (sothebys, doyle, etc). Just send pics, compare their seller premiums, and see if they'll give you a reserve. But ebay is a great place to test the waters -- it costs almost nothing to list an item and you can specify "pick up only". Pay very careful attention to the item title -- many many collectors search on terms like "Chippendale chair", "Queeen anne side table" etc.

While I'm at this!...I also have a pretty large turmenistan rug which is hand made (or whatever it is they do to make orientals, the loom I guess). It is newish. About 8 x 12 or so. I just don't like the style they used which, I was told by a dealer is a repeating pattern of what are called "elephant footprints" with no center design, so it is kind of boring, at least to me. Apparently the rug is only worth about 1000$, but he told me dealers in NYC charge way more than in the rest of the country. I bought it in an outdoor market in Russia.

Looked up the chairs receipt: "hepplewhite designs and period", "mahogany", "1780-1800". They are in good shape structurally, nothing loose, but show plenty of signs of use. There are two end chairs that I don't like too much that I might sell.

Re: the rug--again, that sounds like a good candidate for Christies interiors sales. They take modern objects as well as antiques.

Re: eBay--I don't recommend using it to sell higher-value objects. eBay has a very strict buyer-protection policy and sellers often find themselves on the short end of the stick. Buyer scams are not uncommon. Plus, shipping of larger items is a true bear. I've been selling lower-end items on eBay for several years and it's been great for that but I don't think I'd list anything with a value higher than a few hundred dollars. Too much potential risk.

buyerbuyer, dealers of anything charge more in new york. this is why, as a seller, it's best to act locally.

bramstar what kind of stuff do you sell?

I've been selling a lot of stuff on Amazon lately. Agree with bramstar's assessment of Ebay.

do you both sell things you had and no longer need? or do you do this in some limited pro capacity?

Lucille--I sell mainly odds and ends--lower-value collectibles, etc--on eBay.

Re: dealers--I don't recommend selling to them. It's best to put the object on the open market.

Re ebay -- I've been buying and selling antiques on ebay for over 10 years. Bought and sold many items $5000+. For furniture it's not the dollar amount. It's the shipping. Shipping is a big pain. If it's pick-up only as a seller you are fine. The buyer comes by, kicks the tires and takes it away. or not. Act like adults and it works fine. if they're not happy, relist it. If you're worried about selling too cheap, set a reserve. EVERY serious collector and dealer of antiques is on ebay. It IS the market. Amazon is for beanie babies.

i was just asking because you guys had such a strong opinions against buying expensive antiques on ebay. i am nowhere near being in the market for single pieces of furniture costing north of 5K, outside of a huge sectional couch. i did become mildly obssessed with broyhill brasilia in the last few years and was able to find really cool pieces on ebay. had to pick them up myself, but very pleased with the entire process. i inherited a biedermeier chest dating to about 1820s and a set of french art deco bedside tables. one day i hope to acquire some fancy roomates for them because right now they have no place in our ikea saturated home and live in storage with a some grotesque victorian beasts from my mother in law's family who never forgets to remind me how lucky i am to have posession of those monstrosities. the minute she drops dead, those suckers are going on ebay. don't tell her.

Lucille, I'll let you know how things go with my chairs if I sell them on ebay.

thanks hb, and good luck with the sale.

You have got to be kidding.

So Huntersburg is buyerbuyer?

I'm huntersburg.

Also no capital 'h'.

hotproperty, listen, the chairs didn't go well in my place in StuyTown anymore. Husbie didn't like them now that he moved law firms.

(now I'm aboutready)

Huntersbuyer hoist by his own petard. Idiot.

Really?

i'm sorry, but what kind of "petard" didn't already know this?

Who knows, MitownerVirgin/Wtushy likes words like petard, leotard, etc.

I guess when you sit in your "smallish 1 bedroom" all day waiting for your "girlfriend in Brooklyn" to call, this is all you have to keep you occupied.

Buyerliar Huntersliar -- Nice chairs, you lying piece of shit. CC had you pegged the entire time.

The last several comments are just lunacy. I appreciate the substantive info from the earlier posters.

MidtownerVirgin/WTushy, the only problem with your theory that you were easily led to, is that if I am or if I'm not buyerbuyer, either way, the accusation isn't an insult.

Now, some of the things you/WTushyEast say, watching Barney videos, being fascinated by dirty condoms in the old Times Square, that's sick.

Why don't you reveal all your alter egos at once so we can keep track? I am convinced now you also made up the virgin poster just so you could attack him/her. No one listens to you anyway, but thanks to your slip-up on this thread, we all also know that buyer buyer = Huntersburg, just as CC said, and that you have lied about that. You also are trying to cover yourself by falsely claiming that anyone who criticizes you has an alter ego. I am not Wbottom or any other handle, but now you have been exposed. So just shut up and quit trolling.

Hey, clever, switch that shit up, accuse me of being the virgin poster! Nice.

By the way, wasn't the headline from the Virgin poster about "trolls"? Have you ever heard me talk about trolls?

I haven't accused anyone who criticizes me of having an alterego. Just you and WTushy. Who seem to be the only people who defend each other, and be emotional about it.

see: http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/25500-tenant-rights-do-i-have-one for MidtownerEast's emotional defense of Wtushy.

And MidtownerEast as the Virgin poster: http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/24949-virgin-post-calling-all-finance-geniusestrolls

MidtownerVirgin, ok, how about we call a truce? Give me some suggestions on where to sell my chairs and we'll call it even. Do you need any? I can give you a good price. Or is your "smallish 1 bedroom" too small for sitting down?

m-east. Absolutely no idea what you are talking about, or who or what is the "virgin poster" or who is hburg. You ruin threads with this boring stuff.

Lame attempt, buyerbuyer. You start a thread on selling chairs and you ask about Ebay. Lucille recommends that you sell them on Ebay. Then "Huntersburg" replies as follows: "Lucille, I'll let you know how things go with my chairs if I sell them on ebay." Is there any clearer evidence that you are also Huntersburg? Yet you persist in lying. Pitiful.

What hburg writes, which could be anything, which i rarely read, means nothing, obviously....

bbuyer, I don't read what you write either

(wink)

say wha???

Well, well. This started out as a good thread; good for me anyway since I have a current, similar topic. So thanks for these suggestions.

helen

OK: I'm now taking guesses as to my Secret Evil Twin Alias Dopplganger Alter-Ego.

Oopsie: Doppleganger.