Thanks...
Thanks LRF for this! i had never heard of this site until now.I just had a quick click around but it needs closer investigation!, thats my evening sorted then.First impression is a load of tat and some interesting bits.I must say, no matter how much cash you have to spend there is something satisfying about routing around for a bargain!.

Some first dids items are ...
Some first dids items are very high quality,look at the prices on mid level new furnishings at ordinary retail stores, not inexpensive...you will pay in time or money looking for quality.

1stdibs rocks!
they are worth the money. they don't actually sell for the stated price, but can come close as they mostly deal with the interior designer crowd who are very particular about their furnishing choices.

there is a space in each offering for an offer.

the dealers often spend more on the quality refurbishishing than they do on the objects.

great site though huh.

Bizarre.
And poor Hans not here to defend himself. Do any of you see him making those arms, with the odd quirk to the upholstery, etc ?

Well...
i think i have just about exhausted 1st Dibs now and seen more or less everything in the world thats for sale, interesting site but why is it called 1st Dibs? what exactly is a "Dib"?, is it American?.

Thanks Geo. H...
I see what "Dibs" means and i will endeavour to shout it whenever possible.Have you got a beard?,bearded guys know everything. I mostly do use the google a lot but ive had a rubbish day and so i asked humans.What is a Brachiopod?.......

I see!...
They are shells!. Probably a lot more to it than that of course i admit, but hey! they aint here to argue are they?. I just knew it would be a tweed, i have loads of that for when im in my country moods,and wellies (or i think they are called Rubbers in America).

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...

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?.

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.

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!.

vintageandmoderninc.com
new site for furniture, art, architecture and interior designers. you guys might like it. another shopping resource and only growing.

rent
I rest my case your honor ,

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

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

...and now a rebuttal from a 1stdibs dealer
I've just read through this thread, and I have so many points, I don't know where to begin. Firstly, I want to state that I am speaking for those 1stdibs stores (predominately the ones in NYC, LA, and to a certain extent, Chicago)that aspire to be spare-no-expense temples of the best of design. These are truly curated galleries, where buyers scour the world for unique, wonderful objects, and gladly pay whatever it costs (ie they shop at christies, or pay retail at other stores, or buy from estates of wealthy collectors, as well ebay, thrift shops, and flea markets)to ensure that they always have a uniformly incredible selection. Then each item is lavished with the highest level of restoration. If an object needs french polishing, it gets french-polished. If $150 a yard silk velvet is warrented, it is used. If ebay occasionally turns up a great bargain, that is wonderful. But no store of this caliber relies on ebay for generating great inventory...it's one little piece of the project. And that great $375 ebay steal usually ends up costing the dealer $2000 after shipping and restoration.

Now, about pricing. Pricing is a very complicated art, but I would like to make one or two points. Good curated galleries really try to focus on having a tightly edited collection that says something about the store and distinguishes it from other retailers. We are therefore really choosey about what we buy. It's not enough that an object be a collectible or rare or beautiful. It has to make sense in the context of what we sell. It is therefore a long and laborious process to build up inventory. In addition to providing us with an income, pricing is the basic control we have at pacing the rate of sales. If objects are priced too low (even if the mark-up in absolut terms is huge), they sell too quickly, and we run out of inventory before it can be replaced. If it is too expensive (even if, relative to what we invested, it is not marked up much) and sells too slowly, a cash-flow crisis can occur, which limits our buying potential and is generally scary and awful. Additionally, it is important that merchandise always remain fresh, so consistent turnover is important. The prices you see on 1stdibs reflects a combination of the investment made in the inventory, and what we need to charge to keep things selling at the rate we need them to. Depending on the time of year, the level of wall street bonus, and other factors, prices necessarily fluctuate a bit to compensate for the contingencies of the moment (...ask for a better price. Some weeks or months you'll get it).

And regarding ebay...Ebay is fun and great, but ebay is not the yardstick of value. Ebay pricing includes a 'buyer beware' discount. And considering you are buying without prior inspection, it can actually be quite expensive. Dealers, on the other hand, are selling reputation, trust, and scholarship along with the merchandise. OK...now tear me apart.

players
I think the players make the game in this case, so it is, in fact, correct to hate the players.

That said, firstdibs only exists on the www and can be blocked from view by putting it into the forbidden zone of your web browser. Easy to do and advisable.

I have two issues with firstdibs. 1) The lazy factor and 2) pricing as it misinterprets value and worth. It is all too easy to put something on a website with a photo and give it some ridiculous price with option to buy. And easy for a buyer to turn on firstdibs and buy it. It makes both the dealer and customer lazy because in this world worthwhile things are not EASY to find, buy or sell. There is a whole process that firstdibs seeks to avoid: education, introduction, context, rationale... It seeks to make buyers less educated by lazily presenting objects for transaction.

On the site, dealers list totally insignificant upholstered american furniture with prices arbitrarily high. In these listings it is only the pricing that is interesting. It is an unfortunate method as it skews the impression of what is worthwhile and worth looking at/considering. In the descriptions where a case can be made, there is only mention of a mediocre and similarly insignificant american furniture manufacturer. So, in fact, these dealers are wasting the market's time, selling kind-of-OK junk as a collectible. A previous post in this thread from a dealer indicated that so-much cost for research, scouting and restoration was added to the price, justifying... I don't see that on firstdibs. What I see are publicly auctioned items listed one week after auction at 4x price, not restored, frequently even the auction house image is used. Very lazy. There are Nakashima pieces listed that are completely irrelevant or not even authentic with totally unsophisticated descriptions indicating zero education or dealer value-add. At least many Ebay sellers know what they are selling and are willing to let the market decide the value. I think Ebay is more reliable from a buyer perspective than these other venues and I hope to see this design market migrate more toward that more free venue, or the specialized dealers, many of whom are listed in designaddict's list of links.

Ok, ok, room_606
I understand what you are saying room_606, with regards to "totally insignificant upholstered american furniture" and "these dealers are wasting the market's time, selling kind-of-OK junk as a collectible". I totally understand, but they are NOT selling it as a collectible. What I am saying is, that when you say "these dealers are wasting the market's time", you are talking about a different market than the market 1stdibs is serving. Yes, those no name pieces are not collectable, but these buyers are not after collectability, they are after BLING (for lack of a better word). Do you know what I mean? 1stdibs does not cater to collectors and the collectables market. If the piece happens to be collectable as well, then that is just an added selling benefit. The 1stdibs market caters to interior designers who are driven by aesthetics first, collectability second.


Same thing happens in fashion. 2 pairs of jeans, both made in the same factory who knows where. They are the same jeans, same cut, same construction, but one is ordered a distributor to K-Mart and the other gets odered by a high end fashion label. Same product, but the two different markets will dictate its price. The no-name American furniture is worth less in an antique store because that's where collectors shop, but worth more in a 1stDibs gallery because that's where interior designers shop.

So: "upholstered american furniture":

-insignificant in an antique store(or even eBay) because it is not collectable, eventhough it looks nice.

-significant in a 1stDibs gallery BECAUSE it looks nice, collectability not so important.

Agree, yes? no? Can we hate the interior design game, but love the collectables game. Just don't hate the players, that's all I'm saying. Too much hating in this world right now.

Exactly

This is insight the critics never see. Buying furniture on an "on approval" basis is a rare service, and of course on eBay that would be unheard of. It's just a different demographic altogether.

Don't hate the players!

1st dibs= flea market
I agree on certian aspects of the topic, but what diminishes the value of many of the products on the website is that they have very high end furniture mixed in with flea market worthy furniture. The way the products are listed is just boring and uninspired.

urns for sale
AOM:

None of that is true. These could have come from underneath my verndah, so much stuff has fallen off the ledge during this season's storms. There is some important stuff for the garden if you are into outdoor urns (which it sounds like you are). Check the link and buy something worthwhile and save yourself some hard urned money. (You think those firstdibs urns are pretty? I don't think they are so pretty.)
http://www.recyclingthepast.com/GardenEssentials/GardenEssep...