Anyone have thoughts on the price difference of Antiques between the various locations.
Yes, there is a big difference in prices. The primary one being "supply and demand", meaning the greater number of an item in a particular area/region, the less the price will be.
An item that has historical significance to a particular area will command a greater price in that area because of collectors of local memorabilia. Meaning, an authenic Boston Bean Pot is worth more in Boston.
And Period Furnishings probably have the biggest price difference and decorators/home owners will pay the price when renovating/refurbishing a home to a specific period, circa, year built.
For instance, walnut and cherry were the primary furniture woods on the East coast until the late 1800's and then oak furniture began being massed produced. But in say Texas and the Southwest, since they were settled later and had no walnut and cherry, oak was the wood of choice. So, oak furniture sells well in the Southwest.
I imagine if one ran statistics on E-Bay sales that the results would show "buyer hotspots" for specific items. And I will tell you an example of said.
A friend of mine and his wife sells a lot of small "cheapy" collectible items on E-bay and never sets the starting price at over 2 bucks. Well now, about 4 years ago they bought a box of "junk" for $2 or $3 and it contained a small slender brass vase of about 12" in height. It was nothing spectactular but maybe worth $5 to someone so they listed it on E-bay at a starting bid of $2. Well now, when the smoke cleared and the bidding ceased it sold for something like $1,700.
Turned out it was a unique piece made by a specific artist of the Arts n' Craft Era and collectors of his works were bidding furiously for ownership.
I love good "sleeper" stories.
