8 Things Only Avid Antiquers Will Understand
1. We'll drive hours to add that ONE item (like that Camark pie bird) to our collection. The heart wants what it wants, and sometimes that means logging time on the road.
2. Being "nice" never got us anywhere. Okay, so we're exaggerating here—we're always nice!—but when it comes to haggling, nothing is personal. Our priority is getting a fair deal, and we're not afraid to be direct.
3. We have buyer's remorse, but only for the things we didn't buy. The fact that you returned to the antiques fair on Sunday to buy that gorgeous (albeit overpriced) Chippendale cupboard, only to learn that someone else snagged it, still haunts you.
4. That neighbor with the truck is our new best friend. How else are we going to get this thing home?
5. Estate sale guilt is real. We feel bad digging through the earthly possessions of the recently departed. That is, until we find an English transferware gravy boat in our pattern.
6. Our penchant for random facts comes in handy. Knowing that Kewpie dolls were originally made out of bisque, or that staples weren't used in furniture production until the 20th century, can save a boatload of heartache later on. Few things leave us more crestfallen than learning, from an appraiser, no less, that our prized 19th-century Alsace jug is actually a spot-on reproduction.
7. There's no greater rush than seeing the Louis XVI Bergere armchair we just bought for 15 bucks going for $2,000 on 1stdibs.
8. Except for maybe turning a profit on said chair. One Apartment Therapy reader scored an "uber-rare Russel Wright snow glass vegetable bowl" for $6 at a Pasadena thrift store and sold it on eBay for $750. (That's a 12,400% return on investment, folks!)
Tell us: What are your biggest antiquing struggles?
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