Antique Cabinets/Clueless Seller (vent)

Furniture, furnishings and other items of antique interest
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Willa
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Antique Cabinets/Clueless Seller (vent)

Post by Willa »

I spotted an ad on Kijiji for what was described as an "Antique Built in Cabinet". I am still looking for storage solutions for my back porch but this looked pretty hopeful, if the price was right:

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After some back and forth the seller revealed that he actually only had the DOORS and countertop saved. Who knows what happened to the rest of the cabinets ? That was a disappointment. It would cost a lot to have the cabinets rebuilt around the remaining doors v.s. installing salvaged cabinets. No clue why his ad did not reflect the actual reality of what was for sale. I suspect the seller had no clue how to remove the cabinets intact and just tore them up and threw out the pieces. Sigh.

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Re: Antique Cabinets/Clueless Seller (vent)

Post by phil »

I think you did well avoiding that pile. ;-)

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Lily left the valley
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Re: Antique Cabinets/Clueless Seller (vent)

Post by Lily left the valley »

The first thing I thought of when reading this, Willa, was how these days when you see modern "update your kitchen" info, what are the two things they often suggest for cabinetry aside from changing out the "outdated" hardware? Putting on new doors and counter tops.

The seller may seriously have believed that was the only bits worth selling. Sad, but possible.
--Proud member of the Industrious Cheapskate Club
--Currently pondering ways to encourage thoughtful restovation and discourage mindless renovation.

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Willa
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Re: Antique Cabinets/Clueless Seller (vent)

Post by Willa »

Lily left the valley wrote:The first thing I thought of when reading this, Willa, was how these days when you see modern "update your kitchen" info, what are the two things they often suggest for cabinetry aside from changing out the "outdated" hardware? Putting on new doors and counter tops.

The seller may seriously have believed that was the only bits worth selling. Sad, but possible.


Here is the actual posting for the cabinets:

"BUYER WANTED - Antique Built in Cabinet"

"I am selling our beautiful hand crafted antique built in wall cabinet that we are carefully removing during renovations. As pictured, the dimensions starting with the far left side small cupboard width is 66", the remaining long cupboard is 29" in width with an overall height of 94".

Please contact for questions
Serious inquiries only please"

Like you would expect the rest of the cabinets to be there with that wording !

Sigh, sigh, sigh, frown.

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Re: Antique Cabinets/Clueless Seller (vent)

Post by Lily left the valley »

Willa wrote:
Lily left the valley wrote:The first thing I thought of when reading this, Willa, was how these days when you see modern "update your kitchen" info, what are the two things they often suggest for cabinetry aside from changing out the "outdated" hardware? Putting on new doors and counter tops.

The seller may seriously have believed that was the only bits worth selling. Sad, but possible.


Here is the actual posting for the cabinets:

"BUYER WANTED - Antique Built in Cabinet"

"I am selling our beautiful hand crafted antique built in wall cabinet that we are carefully removing during renovations. As pictured, the dimensions starting with the far left side small cupboard width is 66", the remaining long cupboard is 29" in width with an overall height of 94".

Please contact for questions
Serious inquiries only please"

Like you would expect the rest of the cabinets to be there with that wording !

Sigh, sigh, sigh, frown.
Ok, given that ad, that is really weird. I got nothing, then. :lol:
--Proud member of the Industrious Cheapskate Club
--Currently pondering ways to encourage thoughtful restovation and discourage mindless renovation.

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Re: Antique Cabinets/Clueless Seller (vent)

Post by 1918ColonialRevival »

The only explanation I have is that there is no shortage of idiots out there and CL and ebay tend to draw them like flies. You have the ones like you experienced and you have the others that think their dilapidated item is worth as much as one in mint condition.

One of my hobbies is restoring pinball machines. Several years back, I got a lead on a mid '50s Gottlieb woodrail from someone I know in Virginia. I went to see it and it looked like it had spent the last 30 years in a chicken coop. Feathers, dirt, and chicken waste covered the cabinet and beneath that was a ton of water damage. To add insult to injury the backglass (usually the most expensive piece to replace) was completely wasted and the playfield plastics were missing. The person selling the machine kept anxiously asking what I would offer. I told them that all I was seeing was a pile of parts worth maybe $50 max to any coin-op person. Boy, you'd have thought I insulted their mother. The person got very irate and kept on saying "I seen the same game on ebay for $2,000!". They wouldn't listen when I told them that I'd bet the game on ebay was in much better condition and that the $2,000 was merely an asking price.

Unfortunately, you can't fix stupid.

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Re: Antique Cabinets/Clueless Seller (vent)

Post by Corsetière »

I get so annoyed by the pricing on Craigslist and ebay.

Two examples of the sheer delusional pricing:

I bought a dental cabinet for $500, ebay: $2500

I bought a Renaissance revival armchair for $15, ebay: $900.

I also used to work for a jewelry store in college and I cannot tell you how many times people brought in those Majorca "pearls" thinking they were grandma's priceless heirlooms. *sigh*

I think we have Antiques Roadshow to blame for the delusional pricing. Amateurs think everything is priceless now.

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Re: Antique Cabinets/Clueless Seller (vent)

Post by Neighmond »

True story: I work in a jewelry store a couple of days a week and occasionally someone comes in with watches to sell. Not too long ago some old man come in with a couple of fake Rolex watches in a box to peddle. Nothing special, and in atrocious condition. I told him I didn't want any part of them, and he proceeded to tell me that he was doing me a favor by coming in at all, because eeeeeebay was getting thousands, and told the boss I was incompetent for passing.....boss said "we didn't have them this morning, we won't miss them tonight." Guy took them, put them on one of the Facebook sale groups, and they wound up back in for me to repair. I had to tell the purchaser they were fake, he printed the Facebook ad where the guy had eBay screenshot of similar but genuine merchandise and hinted in the ad that my store had inspected them and pronounced them good.

Would like to have been a fly on the wall when the (lawyer) purchaser called the seller back. Far as I know, he is still out his dough.

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Re: Antique Cabinets/Clueless Seller (vent)

Post by 1918ColonialRevival »

Corsetière wrote:I think we have Antiques Roadshow to blame for the delusional pricing. Amateurs think everything is priceless now.


They don't call it the "idiot box" for nothing! :lol:

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Willa
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Re: Antique Cabinets/Clueless Seller (vent)

Post by Willa »

On one hand people who don't know the value of something can be to your benefit - their loss, your gain(see: $ 15.00 chair that Corsetiere scored). But yes, the fantasy pricing by people who haven't done their research, who plainly don't know what they are talking about is exasperating(see: former neighbour who bought a 1920's business college shorthand transcribing textbook at a thrift store. She was super excited because someone on Amazon had one for $ 120.00 - while ignoring the many copies priced at $ 1.00 or less).

Here's my correspondence with the cabinet seller (slightly edited):

Me: Hi. Could you tell me what you are asking for these cupboards ? Have the uppers been separated from the lowers ? Is the beadboard backing still attached ? Thanks.

Seller : I dismantled them so I have all the doors and the counter top.

Me: I have not heard back from you. Could you tell me what you are asking for these cabinets ? I am interested but need a price for serious consideration.

Seller: Sorry I dropped the ball. I will get back to you. Also they are just the doors and the counter top.

Me: Sadly, this makes them useless for my purposes.Your ad describes the cabinet and cabinet dimensions.
It is possible to remove built in cabinets with a reciprocating saw, though the uppers must be separated from the lowers so they will fit through a door. They can be reinstalled to look complete.

You could have sold complete cabinets for much more than just the doors and countertop, too !

So bummed out.

Seller: I know it would have had to have been worth $2000 dollars. Would this have even interested you? it was built onto the floor and the sides and back were 3/8” tongue and groove wood, all nailed to the walls. (Seller attaches these pics but doesn't explain or clarify:)

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(In the second pic it appears that the cabinet structure is visible through the hole in the exterior wall. No clue what is going on with this house - why the bricks are torn off or why there appear to be new vinyl windows.)

Me: The value of a thing listed for sale is only worth what a buyer will pay. If a buyer is expected to do more (ie remove the cabinets themselves) then they would pay less. A seller like a high end antique shop will sell cabinets like this for a higher price - but typically they have done all the heavy lifting (ie removal, disassembly, transportation, reassembly and repairs and restoration before it hits the floor of their antique shop, which has overhead like rent, taxes and staff).

It is difficult to tell from the pics what the construction of those cabinets was, or what the pics you sent reference with regard to those cabinets, except that I sadly see what appears to be the back of them through a hole in the exterior.

In the last year I purchased a pair of built in 102" x 96" cabinets from a fine home in Toronto, which included the glass doors for the uppers, drawers and doors for the lowers, the crown moulding and quarter round plus extra glass shelves. As a condition of the sale I had to remove them myself. I paid $ 500.00 for everything BUT - I had to pay a carpenter to carefully remove them and save all the pieces, and movers to move them, and for a carpenter to reinstall them. They had tongue and groove backing which was very brittle and could not be salvaged. I used new tongue and groove to replace the backing, and finished it myself before it was installed. That said - the extra fees for carpenters, movers, new tongue and groove pine, etc. was more than triple the cost of the cabinets - and I still have one of the pair yet to be installed, which is waiting on my kitchen reno.

IF those cabinets were the original cabinets to a house built in 1835, with the original finish and hardware, they would be exceptional survivors, as kitchen and bathrooms are typically the first rooms "updated". Those cabinets look similar to many cabinets from the 1880's - early 1900's. While there may have been local builders who made things like cabinets, there were also companies similar to the big box stores of today who sold all manner of cabinet configurations, stained glass, doors, fancy gable trim, etc. which was mass produced and ordered from a catalog = not individually handmade.

Yes, I was absolutely interested in those cabinets, complete as cabinets. If you had listed a price like $ 2000.00 I would have not been interested as I am aware of the additional costs, including travelling times. I recently bought a modest late 1800's house, and have been looking for additional cabinets for storage, ones that would be the same age as the house. I am keeping and restoring the original wood frame windows, all doors, (these have the original rimlocks and porcelain doorknobs), and the house retains the original trim, wainscotting, stained glass, exterior decorative details, etc. I am in the minority - but there are other people who appreciate an old house which retains its original features.

If a house of this age is so dilapidated that it is structurally unsound, the best practice is to contact a reputable architectural salvage place, who will remove wood flooring, original doors, trim, windows, plumbing fixtures, cabinets, hardware, etc. so they can be reused v.s. the house being bulldozed and the debris taken to the dump, where they benefit no one. Even parts like antique hinges and catches are bought and sold on Ebay, Etsy, etc.

The doors are still worth something, but building cabinets around them, trying to match finishes, etc. is an even more expensive headache. Additionally, old growth wood has a tighter grain and is a superior quality to new wood that has been farmed = very hard to blend in and match.

(Why I even attempted to explain all this is frankly beyond me.)

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