All About Consignment

CONSIGNMENT GUIDELINES

In an effort to reduce paperwork, I will limit my consignment to items that are rare and very expensive. If your item has a retail value of around $20,000, let's talk about consignment. Otherwise, the following guidelines can be ignored .

These guidelines apply to items that are consigned to The Antique House.

We are honored to be of service to you by finding new homes for your treasures. 80% of our sales volume results from the sale of fine art and antique furniture.    Please call before you bring your items in, as the Owner must approve them, and be present when they arrive. In order to properly manage our space and maintain a variety of inventory, we sometimes have a waiting list. It usually doesn’t require waiting more than a week. Generally speaking, we try to schedule the consignment of heavy furniture on Saturdays, and the consignment of smaller items on Wednesday after 2:00PM, Thursday, and Friday. We cannot be responsible for any items left without the owner’s approval.

All items must in clean, salable condition.

In an effort to give our customers what they want, we hope that all small non-furniture items would have an initial selling price of at least $75.

If it is a piece of furniture, we like each square foot of floor space it will consume to convert to no less than $100 of initial selling price.

Fine art is always welcome. We have many collectors who pay top dollar for the artists they want to acquire. Listed artists are wonderful, but if the work is good we may be interested even if the artist is unknown. We are also interested in early reproductions such as lithographs, wood block prints, engravings, and even early prints.

If it is glass, china, pottery, or porcelain, it cannot be chipped or mended. Cut Glass (crystal) is accepted with tiny chips if it is pre-1920. Incomplete sets of dishes are usually not accepted unless they are pre-1930 or made by one of the finest china companies such as Rosenthal, Royal Copenhagen, Royal Doulton, Lenox, Flintridge, Coalport, etc.

Cloth work (coverlets, quilts, tapestries, piano scarves, tablecloths, napkins, and doilies) must be free of holes and stains. Quilts may have tattered places, mended or not, if they are otherwise desirable. Other textiles (blankets, rugs, tapestries) need to be individually evaluated.

If furniture needs minor repair, we can have it done at a modest cost if you will agree to reimburse us for it. If it needs major repair or refinishing it is not consignable, but we may be willing to buy it outright.

Upholstered pieces (such as sofas, settees, chairs, etc.) are sometimes accepted if they are pre-1925 and the upholstery is in good condition.
Silver: 20th Century Sterling hollow ware items cannot have dents unless they are very minor. Sterling pieces do not have to be old if they are traditional in design. If the item is silver plated, it cannot be showing its under ware unless it is before turn-of-the-Century or very elaborate. Silver plated items must be traditional in design and it must be polished.

·        Please make sure that pictures, mirrors, shelves, and any other items intended to hang on the wall are equipped with hanging devices.

If your item has old wire, check to be sure it is still strong. Glass in pictures, mirrors, etc. should be clean.

Pre-1930 electric lamps are usually acceptable but will sell better if they have shades, even if just for display.   If the wiring is brittle or unsafe in any way it will be clipped off.

Certain reproduction pieces of furniture are accepted if they are of high quality and traditional in design.

Books must be pre-1930 and must be in very good condition. Especially popular are children’s books, cookbooks, poetry, fables, first editions, and very old books.

Fine Jewelry is always welcome. Costume jewelry is consignable if it meets our minimum pricing requirement of $75 per item. It cannot be broken or have missing stones, and must either be pre-1940 or be signed by an important designer.

Consignments are accepted only after arrangements have been made. Your furniture can be picked up for a nominal fee. We have no one in our employ that performs this function, but we work with people who will do pickups/deliveries of approved consignment furniture occur at your convenience.

Please try to avoid bringing just two or three small items at a time. If you are consigning smalls on a regular basis, please wait until you have at least six or eight items before you come.

In a vote for life, both human and animal, we do not accept collectibles that pertain to smoking or drinking, such as liquor bottles, beer bottles, cigar boxes, tobacco cans or advertising of these items, We do not accept stuffed animal heads or fish; animal feet, horns, fur or ivory.

Welcome to The Antique House. Whether you are liquidating the contents of an entire house, selling just one piece, or are a dealer using us as your marketing outlet on an ongoing basis, we think you’ll be pleased. We thank you for your trust, and we promise to do our very best to sell your goods.