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Just realized I've been overpaying for mid-century furniture at estate sales this whole time
I've been hitting estate sales in the Tacoma area for about 2 years now, always thinking I was getting a deal on those old Drexel pieces and teak sideboards. Then last Saturday, I was chatting with the guy running a sale over on South 12th Street, and he casually mentioned that their prices are based on what they see sell at the fancy vintage stores in Seattle, not what the stuff is actually worth locally. He straight up told me that a lot of the smaller companies just copy pricing from the bigger resellers in Capitol Hill, adding 30% to 50% markup. That really stung because I paid $200 for a Heywood-Wakefield table last spring that I could have negotiated down to maybe $120 if I'd just offered cash on the second day. Now I always check the price tags twice and look for chips or wear marks to haggle down, especially later in the afternoon. Anyone else notice that the big companies are way harder to negotiate with than the smaller ones around here?
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