Just Because It’s Old Doesn’t Mean It’s Valuable

One of the easiest assumptions to make when you’re new to furniture flipping is that old furniture must be valuable.

It’s old. It’s solid. It has dovetails. Grandma had one. Surely somebody is going to pay a fortune for it.

Not necessarily.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from buying and selling furniture is that age alone doesn’t create value. A piece may be beautifully made and more than a hundred years old and still be difficult to sell. Another piece from a much later period may have buyers fighting over it.

Why? Because value needs a beholder.

A buyer may care about the maker, rarity, construction, original finish or history. But ultimately, somebody has to actually want that piece enough to pay for it.

That matters to furniture flippers because we have another decision to make: What should we do with it?

Sometimes an old piece deserves to be left completely alone. I once bought an antique side-by-side cabinet for $100, dusted it, listed it for $900 and eventually sold it for exactly that.

Other old pieces are damaged, unwanted and headed toward the landfill. A thoughtful redesign may be exactly what gives one of those pieces another hundred years of life.

The trick is learning to recognize the difference.

Before you reach for the paintbrush, stop and investigate. Look at the construction, condition, hardware, finish, maker and anything unusual about the piece.

You don’t have to become an antique expert. You just need to know enough to ask better questions.

Hit play below to listen.