Tip of the week, by Franz H. Metz

Why buy antique furniture? Considering today's market on new furniture there is a huge markup on profit, this is possible because of numerous things. One cheap imports from overseas where labor is cheap, the use of particle board, pressed board used in the manufacturing of furniture, the minimal used of hardwoods and of course the machines used to produce them. Most furniture today is a shell of the hand crafted pieces with little use of machines (depends of age of a particular piece).
Most early furniture still around today is a tribute to the use of solid hardwoods, hand craftsmanship and the idea the people would only purchase things that would last. Today's antique furniture still retains the longevity built into each piece. The prices on most pieces are relatively low compared to new furniture today depending on how old a certain piece is. Another hidden quality is that antique furniture will not lose it's value compared to the new furniture on the market today and may well go up in value.
The key to buying antique furniture is to know what you are buying, there are many reproductions out there and some pieces have been repaired and not restored and this is important if you want your pieces to increase in value. In the next weeks I will give you some tips on how to see if what you are looking at is the real "McCoy" or not. Nothing is fool proof regarding nock offs and questionable repairs but a little knowledge can help you weed out the fakes and purchase a quality piece.