Buying Antiques: Expert Secrets for Spotting a "Find"

I recently had the privilege to chat with Carol Prisant, author of the upcoming Good, Better, Best: Trade Secrets for Spotting a "Find," a book which started out as a column of the same name that Carol wrote for House Beautiful. Carol is also the author of both Antiques Roadshow encyclopedias, a professional appraiser, a former antiques dealer (she started dealing when she was 25) and the American editor of The World of Interiors, which is to say, the woman knows a thing or two (or maybe two hundred) about shopping for vintage and antique goods. Carol was gracious enough to share some of her secrets with ShelterPop:

It's all in the timing. Dealers like to get to flea markets at the crack of dawn because that's when you get the bargains. But...if you go towards the very end of the day looking for, say, a sofa, dealers are much more likely to give you a deal because they don't want to cart bigger pieces home.

Shop tag and yard sales. "Let's be honest," says Carol, "[At a tag sale] you're playing against a non-knowledgeable seller, and that's to your advantage. It's a game. How much more do you know than the seller knows?"


The best way to get a deal is to know your stuff. "Learn a little bit about it before you go," says Carol. You have the best chance at getting a good deal when you are well informed. Read a book or ask a dealer to teach you -- most will be happy to share their knowledge.

Observe and learn. If you really want to educate your eye, visit as many antique shows as you can; it will make you more discriminating. You'll begin to see duplicates and triplicates. Knowing what is common will help you know what's uncommon, and what's uncommon is what's rare and valuable.

Head to urban areas for high quality pieces. "The closer you can get to a big city, the more likely you are to be buying the property of well-to-do people," Carol advises. This is important if you're hoping to find great art or well-crafted antiques, but less so if you're searching for vintage collectibles like toys.

Head to the sticks for undiscovered treasure. While the ascendance of mid-century modern furniture is well known on the coasts and in cities, you still might be able to score a Paul McCobb desk or a Bertoia chair at an out-of-the-way flea market.

Look for furniture that is substantial and well made. Pay careful attention to joints, finishing and evenness of surface. "It shouldn't look like something you can make in your basement." Just use your good sense: If carving is shallow and careless, that's not the work of a good manufacturer; if the hardware looks cheap, it probably is.

Never speculate. "Don't ever spend more than is comfortable for you on the chance that it's going to be good," says Carol.

Don't criticize the merchandise. "Dealers get their backs up when people knock something they want," says Carol. And if you think about it, they've got a right to get ornery: Why would you offer a dealer money for something if you were complaining about the condition?

Don't play tough when trying to get a bargain. If you really like something but it's priced too high, make an offer. "Leave your card and say 'If you ever decide that you can sell this for X, give me a call,'" says Carol. "Sometimes you'll get a call two years later, and sometimes they'll call you that day."

Some things don't improve with age. "Things that were tacky when they were new, are tacky when they are vintage," says Carol. Amen to that.

Avoid the name game. Fashion's obsession with labels in names has slipped into the world of design. Don't let anybody say to you, "Oh that's a such-and-such." A name alone isn't a reason to buy something.

There is no next big thing. Carol sighs, "The dealers have found everything: Everything that was under-exposed... has been re-discovered, gone up in price and found collectors." However, if she had to make a guess, Carol says we may see 18th century French and Jacobean furniture have a renaissance because it's been neglected a bit. (You heard it hear first!)

For specific advice about collecting everything from brass door stops to paintings of cats, pick up Carol's book GOOD, BETTER, BEST: Trade Secrets for Spotting a "Find".