Out and about

[grannyfrogsmith]

I went to an auction yesterday and have to say I feel for those that were selling,yes it was good for buyers as there were some great bargains to be had.

As a Carnival Glass collector I was appalled at the low prices pieces were fetching,some were even passed in.

If I had had the funds I would have bought them.

Australian pottery was the same,yes I bought some as they came before the Carnival,oh well never mind.

It will be interesting to know how eBay sellers and those that attend fairs cope with what I think is a downturn in prices of a whole scope of collectables and why this is happening.

[2chappies]

I think postage is a killer now and with the rising cost of living, electricity etc people are not parting with money without great thought.

[oldworldlady]

I do fairs on a regular basis and prices have plummeted, especially on English china. Plenty of people still come through the doors, but they're looking, not buying as a general rule. One old dear even said to me "I love these exhibitions" 😮

Having said that though, there are still collectables in fashion. The trick is knowing what they are from one fair to the next.

And anything $10 or less will gets lots of picking up and putting down, with the occasional sale.

Another disturbing trend is the increase in theft. At a big fair in Perth this weekend gone I had three items go walkabout, and another seller had a very expensive piece of Moorcroft stolen. people still want their collectables. They just can't afford or don't want to pay for them.

[grannyfrogsmith]

Thank you Mon and Owl on your feedback.

Do know what you mean about theft it has happened at the fair myself and two friends attend.

Also things have gone "missing" from a four dollar table,surely anyone could afford four dollars!!!!!

One can only hope things will improve.

[oldworldlady]

I had a real classic this weekend too. I find lots of 50 something children bring their 70-80 something parents to the fairs to remind them about how things used to be, and some of them are somewhat more than foregetful. For the second time in about 3 years an old person picked up one of my lovely irish linen and lace handkerchieves and blew his nose on it! 😮 It wasn't even a bloke's hankie!

[2chappies]

:O:O  Did you say anything???

[siddieswans]

I went to an auction yesterday and have to say I feel for those that were selling,yes it was good for buyers as there were some great bargains to be had.

As a Carnival Glass collector I was appalled at the low prices pieces were fetching,some were even passed in.

If I had had the funds I would have bought them.

Australian pottery was the same,yes I bought some as they came before the Carnival,oh well never mind.

It will be interesting to know how eBay sellers and those that attend fairs cope with what I think is a downturn in prices of a whole scope of collectables and why this is happening.

I missed that sale - we were away. However at the 20th Century sale the week before there were some rather choice pieces of vintage glass which I thought made solid rather than spectacular prices, but there was good bidding competition. Overall I thought prices were OK for both buyer and seller - for the better items, reasonable prices were achieved. Although a smaller sale with fewer items than they usually have at these specialist sales, there were some very nice items - unlike the previous couple of specialist sales, which (after viewing) I have not even bothered attending. It appeared a lot of the more desirable items came from the same vendor.

The auction scene in Sydney is getting ridiculous - last weekend 7 different auction houses had sales on Sat, Sun or both. Neither the sellers (stock) nor the buyers (available cash) can support such a proliferation (IMO).

SMH Quirky Investments page today quotes Leski's (admittedly for such arcane items as Olympic torches) "this is a very fickle market and prices have settled, or even dropped, over the last few years. Estimates are about 30% less than in pre-GFC boom times."

[kitty-kat1234]

Thats a OMG in a funny sortta way OWL.

Was that the poke a dot(spell?) fair??

Never been to one but got an email about it.

A friend & i were gong to do the cannington one coming up but she is now going to Melbourne then,too hard by myself,spec when you also have to have a squiz at everything.

[kooriflag]

As a buyer only and a passionate collector of Aussie Pottery I was very happy with the outcome of that auction which I attended too.

Sellers need to take into account that it is "us" the buyers that drive prices up in the first place and every now and then we need to take back control.  I am very gulity of wild buying and making people think that everything is worth a fortune. But time, experience and ebay let me know just how many of a particular item are, out there.

Some thing are very rare and others are just not. How do we let sellers know that what they have for sale at over inflated prices are not rare? Simply by not buying it.

I am glad to see prices settle down a bit and to sit back and wait for the good bits to come out and to pick up a good bargain now and then.

Having said that here is my big buy of yesterday and when I say big I mean it. Alex Takacs at his best,

Pip

[grannyfrogsmith]

Very well explained Pip,makes me understand things better.

I love your Takacs piece,what a statement that will make on your wall.