How should I handle this??

I know I've mentioned about this store owner once or twice before. This time it's really aggravating.

He showed me a watercolor by Myrtle Jones of Savannah, GA. It had foxing on it. It really needs to be taken to a conservator.

The consigner said she would take best offer. She denied an offer of $275. I told him $600 is about right for all the foxing and damage it had. I asked if he could mention an offer about $400. He said he would let the consigner know.

I stopped by last week to find out what the consigner said. He then told me he didn't tell her, that HE wants to get it appraised.

If the seller is willing to take best offer, what she believes is a good offer, who is he to deny an offer and not tell her?

I find that very unprofessional and somewhat rude.

 

A professional dealer and/or auction house should always act in the best interests of the consignor.

 

You probably won't like this answer but he's her agent and as she may have more stuff to sell, he wants to keep on her good side. He's going to be polite to you but beyond that is interested in keeping his source of supply happy. When one or another party gets "spooked" as may have happened here, things may move slowly or not at all with that piece-you may go back and find it gone with no explanation available, or if they are angry for some reason, may tell you a story like "we took an offer of $405." Happens all the time, you can never be sure what's really going on especially when multiple parties are involved.

 

I told him $600 is about right for all the foxing and damage it had.

you should have left that part out.....

 

Just asking...why? I only said that because he told me she was taking best offer.

 

I understand "looking out" for the consignor. It just confuses me that he would mention that she's taking best offer. I know that the consignor wants the most they can get. But I think the appropriate thing to have done was tell me about her taking an offer, after they had found out an appraisal. That way it was clear and cut that this is the appraisal, make an offer. Not make me an offer, then hang on, let me get it appraised. Maybe it's just me.

 

What was it priced at?

 

Then that's all you should have said.....your best offer !
Once you started suggesting a higher value the store owner got wise to the possibility that the work was worth much more than he...or she...would have taken.

I'm not saying he handled you fairly.......but I don't go into antique stores telling the owner that what I want to purchase is really worth 5 times what he's asking ....

 

It was not priced. He had it out and had a Best Offer sticker on it.

 

He knew exactly what he had. He told me that he had seen some auction off at $1,400 and that the owner of the painting knew that also. I was trying to tell him that he had an expensive painting but just saying that's what I would given for it.

 

I'll just sit back and see what happens. More than likely I won't get this painting. I'll be shocked if I do.

 

"I told him $600 is about right for all the foxing and damage it had."

Negotiating 101. Don't mention a higher value and then offer 2/3's of that as your starting position.

If you meant to say that it would be worth $600 (to you) after the problems were fixed, and allowing for the cost of that work, you were offering less, that's one thing. But that's not what you told us.

 

There's an example of my words not coming out right. That's what I told him, that it would be worth that to me after taking it to a conservator to have the damage repaired.

I really need to be more detailed in what I'm trying to say. It's not only here on this site, but in my every day life. Man, I just thought of it. I'm like my dad!!

 

I think the dealer not having a price on the item is part of the problem. People that do this are usually fishing to see what something might be worth. In my opinion, it is a very low class way of doing business. For the most part, I try not to get involved in such transactions. I f I do, I try to get the dealer to name a price first. The basic tenant of business is that the seller puts something out at a price to sell. Those that refuse to do so are not serious about doing business.

The dealer withdrawing the item from sale confirms what I said above. You telling him that you thought it was worth $600.00 piqued his greed. His assumption is probably that you are not being honest with him and it is worth quite a bit more. I have seen this type of person a lot in this business. If they get something that is a bit better than their usual class of merchandise, they think it is their ticket to wealth and are determined to get as very much as possible out of it. It really doesn't matter what it really might be worth. They just have the mentality that someone is trying to cheat them out of their profit and are determined to not let this happen.

 

"Man, I just thought of it. I'm like my dad!!"

One can only hope he isn't also an art collector.

 

Almost every inquiry within this Art Board looks more like signature chasing than art collecting. No mind, eye or experience appears to be playing a factor in almost any of these purchases or potential purchases.......only signature chasing. Sorry, JMHO.

 

In a way, the business of art is very much about signature chasing. I generally post about business so your observation is certainly valid but hope there is some element of appreciation in there somewhere. I don't think I have shown any of my art collection here.

 

Yep. We like 'em signed, but just because it's signed doesn't mean it's a listed artist or worth more money. There are so many hobby/amateur art groups everywhere, that you really do need to have a critical eye (and I mean discerning rather than criticizing) when purchasing. I would pay attention to what Nuff says as she has done very well with art purchases and re-sales and also what Brad posts as he has had a lot of experience in the art market. Much will never gain value over time. Case in point: all the limited edition prints of the 70s - 90s. My MIL bought quite a few of a noted Canadian artist and said that they would be her grandchildren's inheritance. Not so -- couldn't be sold for as much as the framing cost. But there you are.

 

I know enough to know I don't know much. Art for me is "what I like", or what a recipient is going to like regardless of whether or not it'll ever appreciate. If you're going to enjoy looking at it, it can be a black velvet Elvis and still be "worth it" to you. My stuff is generally signed, and it's worth less than the raw materials that went into it.

 

That may be true...I know for myself, in just beginning to collect art, finding a signature is nice. Having the eye and mind, like most of you all have said, comes with in time. I'm just beginning, so yes there are going to be mess ups along the way. If it wasn't for this Art Forum, then the ones who are newbies, then who could help guide them in the right direction? Yes books are nice, the internet is free but words of encouragement are priceless! So yes, you're right about the sigs and not having an eye, mind or experience...we all start somewhere, it's just now easier for collectors to help each other online.