We need 1st dibs
It is a nice virtual shop for some finest antiques items in the hands of merchants. You do not have to go places anymore just check 1dibs. I am using it as a price indicator such as WRIGHT.20 the famous design auction place in CHICAGO.
In a global environment,like the Mac Luhan concept of village would be described. 1stdib is a still photography compared to auctions majors such as Christies, sothebys which are the snapshots of the design market.
That's the way the antique business goes from brick and mortar boutiques to click and mortar businesses...
Try having a shop
In defense of 1st dibs. Try having a shop in NYC where your rent is $18k a month, & tell me that the prices asked for things that uneducated fat cats who come in off the street & buy without caring what price it is buy. Sell your crap on ebay for what you can get for it & be happy for it. When there is an $18k a month rent hanging over your head, don't begrudge a shop for getting such a large mark up. What does ebay charge you for rent?
Hello nevereatpork..
Are you in the trade yourself?, its just that the words "crap" and "uneducated fatcats" seem rather bitter?.Maybe if you are in the trade you might change these to "Stock" and "Clients", and maybe you might also assume that the wealthy clients on the whole are pretty savvy at business or investments instead of uneducated?.If you are not in the trade, why the bitter attitude?, personal experience?.
C'mon vivienne....
I'm not taking sides here, but in all fairness, the very first post by LRF is just as bitter, if not more so, than nevereatpork's post. To quote: "really sorry interior design stores", then "I am all for these clowns getting a million for any thing they can ( the American way )", "I would love to know the suckers that actually buy from these people and hope they realize that they are getting ripped off, by a bunch of greedy store owners who are just waiting to kill a fat hog". Vivienne, you were the first to respond and you did not question LRF's obviously negative tone/attitude, nor the use of the word "suckers" and "fat hog" instead of, as you suggest: "clients". Let's be fair here.
And if nevereatpork is a shop owner, he/she probably does not appreciate being called "really sorry" nor "greedy". The bitterness comes from his livelyhood and personality being attacked by anonymous voices on this forum.
In my opinion, these clients are wealthy because they probably have better and way more profitable ways of spending their time than trawling auction sites, estate sales, and thrift shops like the rest of us. People who spend their day negotiating and closing multimillion dollar deals, probably don't have the time to do an "eames era" eBay search, watch auctions, plan their bids, and then arrange shipping afterwards. I'm guessing after a long day at work, they probably want to spend their free time with family and friends than sit in front of computer searching eBay. And they probably don't buy "project pieces", as in the chair that was a great deal but needs reuphostery, cleaning, refinishing, etc. (or anything that requires even more time). 1st dibs is a convenient one-stop site where you can find the best design pieces in the best condition, immediately. It is this convenience that you are paying for, but if you can afford it, why not? If you have better things to do with your time, then there's nothing wrong with paying someone to do all the leg work for you, to find that perfect chair, or table, or lamp, or whatever.
Fair?
Fair!...
Understood and considered told off!!!.Trouble with me is im in a different mood every day so my responses to the same topic will reflect that i suppose. However, i have many clients myself who are indeed very well off finance wise and i have found most of them to be just as keen for a good buy as anyone and as knowledgeable re. design also. Of course there are investors (big time) who buy works just for financial gain, but if somethings for sale why not?. I hereby apologise to nevereatpork for any upset i caused the said Mr or Mrs Pork.
C'mon vivienne....
I agree with vivienne I don't mind being told off and Every one of those
so called antique dealers who took out a lease for $18,000 month had an idea what there rent was going to be before they signed that lease.
I love to see every one make a profit cause it would be a sad day if no one made a profit just a nation of losses , but give me a break everyone who reads design addict has some interest in design, furniture , mid-century modern or what ever.... we are big kids and we know what things cost.
We have all paid a little more for something we wanted or made a killing on a Swan chair, Egg chair, or Eames lounge chair. once in our hunt for goodies , but come on 6 timeing things to help pay the rent is just plain dumb and I don't buy the wall streeter after a busy day not wanting to go to ebay to look for a deal He is the one snipeing to get the best deal, those guys didnot get where they are being dumb they know what a bargin is .
Hello LRF..
Glad you came in..i was beginning to think that there was something wrong with making a profit!. Its all a game really isnt it honey, swings and roundabouts, thats the fun!.I dont mind being told off myself, i give enough of it out so i should get some back..karma and all that.Surely we all like to find a bargain or something rare that we can cherish and love (God,ive gone all mother earth because its Sunday!).As for rents, maybe a little forward planning on the part of the tennant wouldnt be a bad thing?,always assuming that of course rents go up and very rarely down.So now im off to sell something a vastly inflated price to someone who cant afford it thereby casting them into poverty and starvation then of course...the workhouse!.
i guess people here don't live in NYC
I live in New York and everyone one here is somewhat correct and incorrect:
1. the rents are absurd here, and $20k/month gets you avery small space indeed
2. there are way too many people with too much money here and consequently shops have a tendency to charge absurd prices compared to Europe - when you make $1M+ per year you are not going to spend too much time at the design shop thinking whether something is worth $5K vs $10K
3. i had a discussion about prices with the daughter of a very overpriced dealer here in NY (he essentially charges 10X what he pays at auction for the piece). As she put it to me, all her father has to do is sell one piece and he has covered all his costs for the year - and there is always someone that will pay the price eventually
There is a difference
between auction prices and gallery prices, just like the price differences between galleries.Just because someone pays a certain amount at auction doesnt mean that it the going rate for that piece.I recently bought a chair at auction in UK for just over £7000 and i know the chair is worth at least £10000, therefore if i were to sell it on i would want £10000 plus.Demand and supply.As far as rents go, if its too high then dont sign the lease in the first place!,landlords have to eat as well you know.
I agree with LRF
I agree with LRF on this one.
Last week I was cleaning up on furniture and was flying high after getting lucky on 2 big ticket items. So I have a fantastic find lined up that appeared to be a 750 to 1000 dollar piece tops. I had one person at the auction bidding against me, and let it go around 500. The profit margin was shrinking with every bid, plus I wasn't 100 percent schooled on the designer. Anyway my jaw dropped (1 week later) when I saw that the other bidder was a big city seller, with even bigger prices, and was reselling it for 6 times my high bid.
I see now why I don't shop at the big time guys stores! I do like visiting those guys websites and stores though. The ebay store doesn't require heat, taxes, rent, and insurance like a gallery. I just think that ebay has brought high design to the masses, and shows us on a daily basis what the real market value is. Even high side ebay is usually 50 percent less than most high brow MCM stores.
Don
already had first dibs
First of all...I love that site. Two main reasons...one: it is a great resource. And two: I enjoy finding the identical item I bought for $75 CDN listed there for $1200 US...or $3800...or whatever. Don't we all like our egos stroked (even if it is a false sense).
But...I don't buy the high rent excuse at all. They could just as easily move that merch out the door by pricing it accordingly, and pay the rent.
You can be sure Starbucks is in the same neighbourhood, paying the same rent. Do you think it is a reasonable business move to decide to charge $5000 per cup of coffee, and just wait for the 3 suckers to buy a cup and cover the rent?
Not to mention, not every member of that site is located in SOHO either....but they all more-or-less seem to charge the same insanely high prices.
Absurd analogy of course, I know. But, the point is not only is that a dangerous business practice, it doesn't wash here...they are not just local retail stores, but a web site...with a global audience just like e-bay....they don't rely on local walk-in customers either. Where's the justification?
I also don't buy the idea that they are just catering to the small market of stylish wealthy people who give their decorators carte blanche. Any decent decorator with a smidgen of experience or integrity can EASILY find the identical item at AT LEAST 1/4 the price. (very little offered is "that" rare).
Ok...I'm not saying there isn't the odd time some strange Park Ave type is throwing a dinner party and phones his decorator to inform him he MUST have a Paco Rabanne Space Curtain for THAT evening, or will have to cancel the event. I'm just saying that doesn't appear to be a big enough market to hang out your shingle for. (or maybe it is, and I'm just not going to the right Park Ave parties).
No...I think the real underlying reason you see the kind of prices you do, is that they are manipulating the market.
This is a collective of fairly influencial dealers. This market is extremely fickle, not unlike the art market. They influence what the average person sees and reads in the better mags...this is how the consumer learns what is "in". And whatever happens to be "in" this year...Todd Merrill and crew are never far away from the action (full page ads and always quoted in the interviews).
Somebody has to control the market, and those who control what the next hot collectable item is, usually has it coincide with their inventory.
Hey...you couldn't give away Paul Evans stuff a few years ago...now some of that stuff is approaching six figures. And you'll never guess who has a ton of it for sale?
Coincidence? maybe.
That was well written! Your...
That was well written! Your theory is really sound, and I like the starbucks analogy.
We see the same thing happening in "Blue Blood" muscle cars as well. The rare types are being price influenced, at Auctions like Barret Jackson in January. The prices get pumped up, and many times its key players pushing select cars, trying to get an illusion going that something is worth a go-zillion dollars.
thanks
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