Featured Did I get a good deal?

Looks to me like you accomplished your objective, and made the sensible choice of realizing that your time and energy are valuable as well.

You did your research - showing us these lovely pieces and soliciting feedback. Now you can move forward.

 

I don't know much about prices in the USA but you know that saying......"A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush"!

 

Pricing depends on where you are. I listed a lot of furniture pieces on Craigslist that were similar to what you sold. Some pieces took months of listing before selling. I think, on the high end, all that furniture would have sold in the $1200 to $1400 range here in the Boston area. The dishes don't sell at all around here. One piece took almost a year to sell. So I don't think what you got was all that bad. You saved yourself months or a year of answering questions, showing it to people who don't buy and storing it. Since you needed to empty the space, I think you did fine without investing lots of time and energy.

 

Sure the seller sold fast, but could have sold faster by selling for $200.00

 

Maybe for Ohio. But the OP is in Seattle. Seattle is a more progressive city. The architecture is more modern.
I've was only there once, earlier this year. Yes I did see areas that still have Queen Anne cottages, but overall, I got the feeling they had moved past the Victorian look.

 

Actually, out of all of it, I think the dishes have a better likelihood of selling first, as they have that modern look. Studio pottery is moving here in CA.

 

I had a set of studio pottery style dishes on Craigslist for 2 years. I kept marking it down and I finally gave up.

 

Around here they end up in thrift stores....and then don't move. But this is New England.

 

LOL, yup that'w what my apartment is filled with. Definitely not the best quality but it is light and easy to move which I will be doing soon.

 

Oh wow, that's a long time. If I would have put the pottery on CL or Offerup and it didn't move in a month I'm sure I would have just donated it anyways.

 

I am in the PNW.

 

I don't know what that means. haha

 

I looked at the Seattle Craigslist at comparable furniture and the pricing and I figured I might have gotten $950 for everything, so I was fine with $650 and having the convenience of it all being picked up and cleared away at once. It took them 15 minutes to load it all up and I didn't have to lift a finger. I haven't seen any studio pottery being sold around here so I probably would've ended up donating it anyway. In the end I ended up coming up $650 to put towards house renovations for furniture that I inherited that I never liked in the first place. My sister was much more sentimental about it and it was kind of weird seeing it gone but I just really needed it moved. My sister is keeping quite a few pieces that I can have later on if I change my mind but at 36 years old I feel like I know what I like.

 

Yep, that's what we all thought at your age too.
Boy were we wrong! ! !
Just wait, you'll see.

 

It means that It's better to have a lesser but certain advantage than the possibility of a greater one that may come to nothing.

 

Or put another way, better a dollar in your pocket than a lotto ticket.

 

I would gladly have paid $650 for your items; retail - in mid Michigan - I would estimate those items to sell for over $1500. the ceramic ware would sell for at least $80 to $120. The butcher's block would be an easy $150. The church pew would go for around $250. The bench is an easy $50. The dresser is around $300. The "Empire" dining table would be around $200. I recently sold almost that exact same Empire Buffet for $500.

However, that doesn't mean that you got ripped off. If he picked the furniture up - I actually think you got a good price; the nice thing is you got it all taken care of at one time. If you would have sold at auction, depending on may factors, you may have to wait a long time; also, you have to pay for them to pick it up (if you can't deliver); then there's the seller's premium (generally 20%); and at an auction, unless you have a reserve, you never know what it will sell for. I would never sell such nice pieces at a general consignment shop (there are high end shops); generally you pay 50% right off the top; and when an item doesn't sell quickly, most tend to keep cutting the price in half until it sells. You last possibility would be Craig's list (possible eBay if the seller picks it up); the problem with here is that everyone on Craig's list is looking for a deal.

I just closed an antiques mall and auction house in Holly Michigan after 10 years. I honestly think you got a good deal. But then again, so did the buyer!!