Mogensen Spanish chair #226  

In today's market you can probably use it for firewood.

There was one at Wright 14 nov 2013, sold for $2,750.

I agree with Leif, white oak has a very nice BTU value ... of course if you could find the ever rarer Osage Orange Spanish chair, then you would really have something!

I would appreciate an answer from someone serious. I have googled so I know the prizerange for the 2226.

Serious answer: Please read the forum rules that appear below the "comment" box when you click on "Add a comment".

See what tktoo said.
And I stand by my answer. It was a serious answer. I wish it weren't, but it was.
And I have burned a lot of Emory oak in my time. It is a red oak, not white oak, but I assure you it is every bit as btu-filled, perhaps more, due to the slow growth of its desert environment.

Thanks tktoo, I didn't notice that it's against the rules to ask for a valuation.
So I read the rules a liittle more and found this: " You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use Design Addict to post any message which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate" etc.
So leif and Zephyr, you haven't heard of the Mogensen Spanish chair?

Relax Conny. The point is, that this is not a valuation service. People on this forum appreciate and revere the designs discussed here. I find that they are more than accommodating when providing academic information on identification, repair, maintenance, history, etc., why sully this wonderful exchange of information by inserting money into the conversation?
If you have Googled the chair, then you have as much information on what prices it has fetched, as most people here. Sure, some people on here probably have a little more information on price because they are dealers and the like, but at the end of the day, something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. The internet has lots of records out there on what people have been willing to pay, you just need to do the work searching. Furthermore, prices are highly dependent on condition, location, venue of sale, etc., etc. so wtihout taking an in-depth look at your particular situation, any information provided here would be speculative anyways.
As far as accuracy of information, I am not sure how you would apply this to an opinion/joke, and Osage Orange does have a higher BTU value than White Oak.

I was reading this thread and noticed an add on the side of the page in the "buy & sell" section... Does this answer your question?

Hi mvalen, that is not his prize, I checked his website and there is no prizetag on it.

Hi Zephyr, so now you can joke around with people all you like as long as they break one of the rules?
So who besides you and leif knows that it was a joke?
I didn't and perhaps more people thought it was odd that two "experts" like you recommended using it as firewood.

I might be a little old school but I think a little more respect and courtesy from both side would be nice. We are all the same kind of strange animals here after all...
As Zephyr said, valuation depends on a lot of factors and is not an exact science. It would be so much easier if there was a RRP on vintage furniture (and probably much less fun for us as well).
A valuation also greatly depends on why you need it. I mean, it will be different wether you want to sell or buy. And if you want to sell, are you a dealer with a well established shop or a private person that is selling on ebay?
Like many on this forum, I like to buy furnitures. I also live in a 80 m² flat which means that I often resell stuff. Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade... I guess what I want to say here is that I have experience on both side: buying and selling.
Now, to the point.
When I want to know the value of a piece here is what I do (I'll use the Spanish chair as an example - sorry if I am breaking a rule here):
* First, don't check 1stdibs as their prices are generally inflated. I am not a big fan of ebay sold listing neither.
* If the piece is still in production. How much a new one cost? In the case of a Spanish chair: ca. 3.500€. It is generally said that just like cars, designer furniture lose 30% of their value as soon as they leave the shop and 50% if they are in used but very good condition. That leaves us with a price range of 1.750 to 2.450 €.
* Check "Den store danske mobelguide" (a good danish book that gives valuation for a lot of "mainstream" pieces). The Spanish chair is listed at 10.000 DKK to 15.000 DKK (between 1.300 € and 2.000€).
* Then I would check an excellent swedish site that agretates auction results in Scandinavia (Lauritz, Bruun Rasmussen, Bukowsky's, etc.). www.vadardenvard.se. There I see that Spanish chairs in good condition sell for 8.000 DKK to 13.000 DKK. On this price, you have to add 20% of auction fee. That leaves us with a price range of 9.500 DKK to 15.500 DKK which is more or less what Den Store Danske Mobelguide says.
* Last. I would check how much established dealers would ask for the piece. My reference are often Roxy Klassik and Klassik Mobelkunst in CPH as they have a very wide range and I guess that as they are danes selling danish furniture, they know their stuff. There are no Spanish chairs on Roxy but Klassik sold one for 19.800 DKK (2.650€). As these two dealers are known to be expensive, you can also have a look at www.retrostart.com but the price range you will find is pretty wide.
If you want to buy a Spanish chair.
Unless you live in Scandinavia, buying from danish auction houses is complicated. It will require having a transporter picking the piece at the auction house and shipping it to you. This is pretty expensive. I don't know where you live but for France, I think that we are talking of 300-400€. Plus, you'll have to pay 25% of VAT. All in, that leaves us with an average price of ca. 2.400 €. You'll notice that we are not too far from the price tag of the danish dealers and the price from Wright you mentionned.
Now if you want to sell.
I think we can agree that a the value of a Spanish chair is around 2.500€ . But unless you are a dealer there is no way you can sell it for this kind of money on ebay or CL (or your local equivalent). From my own experience, people on these sites that are willing to pay for quality stuff are either people like us looking for bargains, either dealers. This is kind of logical: if I have 2.500€ to spend on a chair, I will not spend countless hours on the internet but I'll go to a reputable dealer with some kind of warranties.
Basically, your options would be:
* Selling it through a local auction house. Fees will apply and there is no warranty you'll get a good price. Risky.
* Selling it on consignement at a dealer's. Let's say, he will put a price tag of 2.500€. Minus VAT (20% in France), minus the commission (the dealers I know take 30%), that'll be around 1.500 € for you if it sells fast (price will gradually drop if it doesn't).
* Selling to a dealer. You'll be happy to get half of the end price. Indeed, dealers have fixed costs and need to make a living out of it. That leaves us with 1.250€. But for dealers cash flow is generally an issue and they won't spend thousands of euros if they don't have a customer for the chair. If they don't, they will only buy if the price is a bargain.
It always reminds me of my grandfather. He was a philatelist and had some very valuable stamps. As a kid I was amazed by his collection and very impressed by the value of some stamps he had. He always told me that he could sell them for half of listed value. It really puzzled me, if there is a listed value why can't he sell his stamp for this "official" price???
Sorry for the long post. It is really only my personnal opinion and I am not sure how it can translate to another country. But what I wanted to say here is that putting a value on vintage furniture is difficult. Sure, one can say the value of a standard vintage Spanish chair is around 2.500€ but is it really the value of the chair if you can't get more than half of that - in a good day. So, how much is a Spanish chair worth? 2.500 €? 1.250€ ? less?

Very nice post DrPoulet. I am in a very dark and pessimistic mood with the state of the world right now. And so are a lot of people. This actually change value of non-essential good dramatically.
There are also two different versions of the Spanish chair. One of them would worth much more. We don't know which version, because we have no photos. And condition, especially with vintage leather is a major variable. Finally, being in the US, I don't find Danish prices to be very accurate. There is generally less supply here, and a different range of supply. There is also a different range of demand.

For the record, I didn't understand Leif's firewood comment either, but now I get it. Context is everything.
ConnyE's location isn't visible when you click on his user name, but he said something in the past about "we in Sweden and Denmark" so your post should be very helpful, DrPoulet. Thanks for taking the time to be so thorough.