I went into one of the shops in a row of shops, the shop had several customers in it already but the shop keeper greeted me pleasantly and acknowledged I was in the shop (I like that!). I looked around at the items neatly arranged in this particular shop, and the inventory was decidedly Oriental, but there were European antiques and some Mid 20th Century pieces scattered about the shop, a pleasant mix. I noticed a nice piece of glass with a really nice color and form with gold foil accents. I decided to pick up the piece and look at it, and read the tag. In neatly written hand, it gave the diameter and height, color of the interior and exterior, the gold foil accents, and that the piece has an indistinct signature and is dated 1995. On the back of the tag was THE PRICE - $1800.00!
Where did this price come from? Thin air? Dream pricing? Tarot Cards? From the tag I am being told only that this is a piece of glass from the late 20th Century, and there is no idea who may have made it (could have been an art student from the local university) but you are sure that $1800.00 is a fair price, with nothing to back it up. Aren't prices determined from known selling prices of known objects from known sources? Auctions, recent sales, and price guides do exist and publish prices for known objects. What source was used here? The same people who priced the Helmsly Mansion? Which by the way, was priced at $130 Million originally, but recently sold for $35 Million, a $95 Million miscalculation.
Based on the asking prices on the other pieces in the shop, I was expecting a higher price, but not a high end glass price on an unknown glass vase. The other pieces had known designers and manufacturers and were listed on the tags. What was the basis on the price for this vase? I had nothing I could go on except the dream price theory.
Does anyone else wonder what methods are employed by some dealers to determine their prices beyond just guessing at a number they like?
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