OMGoodness, I won the dining set!

[berryblondeboys]

I'm so stinkin' happy! Now I'll divulge what it is. It's a 1961 Widdicomb dining set with a Mont influence. WHY it didn't sell for more, I have NO IDEA as every other Widdicomb item on ebay goes gangbusters. To get a set that has hardly ever been used (the guy was a world traveller) for $3300 shipped to my door when in 1961 it cost over $10,000 and these items are APPRECIATING, I'm so diggin' life right now! Woo! Hoo!

I found an advertisement for a pair of this style of chairs. They are slightly different, but VERY similar (same weird arm thing goin' on) and for a PAIR of these chairs they are asking $3500. I have SIX!!!!

The cabinet a few years ago was featured in a show hilighting Widdicomb great pieces too. Wow!!! Now I'll need to upgrade the rest of my living room! Well... at least the stained sofa. Boy, people may say microfiber is great for kids, but who are they kidding? EVERY drop of water leaves a stain and who can clean it every day!??! My couch looks like a leopard, I kid you not!

So excited!!! Here are pics again. Woohoo!!!

 

[berryblondeboys]

Here are a couple more:

 

[mello_yello_jen]

ohhh CONGRATS! That's a great deal and a very lovely dining room set!

 

[Taralindsey]

Wow! that is fan-freakin'-tastic! I really do like that set.

I hear you on the microfiber sofa. I have one and I HATE IT! I can not wait until I get a new one, probably after the kids get bigger though... I don't want them to mess up another one

 

[Vegas Long Legs]

Wow congrats! John Widdicomb is excellent quality

 

[berryblondeboys]

Thanks, even DH is excited about it. (Usually he drags his feet about these things), but I think he also sees that once we sell our set and the expandaway table, we only paid like a $1000 ($1600 including shipping) for this set and it is LEAPS better than ours.

I totally don't knwo why it didn't sell for more. I know it's expensive to ship, but she lives near NYC and there are MILLIONS and MILLIONS of people who live within 200 miles of her (including me all the way in the DC burbs).

Of course, I'll kill my kids if they abuse this set. henry may be sitting on his TrippTrapp chair for a LOOOOONG time and you betcha I'll be using the table pads for YEARS!

I plan to use this set for the rest of my life (We are like that - buy something we love and plan to keep it forever - for things that SHOULD last). I figure with great construction and good maintenance, there is no reason this can't last another 45 years... that will take me to 82 years old! LOL Man... they'll be 92 years old by then!!! Gasp!

Does anyone think I was crazy? Believe me, I did a lot of checking on this seller and with this set and with this furniture maker.

Here's an auction for two chairs that went for $3500 for two painted chairs!! (I cannot imagine spending $3500 on two old chairs!)

 

[Sweetpea83]

Congrats!

 

[Vegas Long Legs]

NO you are not crazy. I think the lack of bids has to do with people being scared about what's going on in the financial markets & the subprime problem. Furniture businesses are hurting. We've had some go under in the last year here.
I've had a fleeting thought here that I was crazy for taking some Widdicomb dining chairs to a consignment shop. The were the Russian Czar style, I had 5 & ended up getting about $200.00 a piece for them. Bet they ended up on ebay! They were $1700.00 each in 1985 & in like new condition. We don't have pets or kids so our stuff stays new looking.
I need to check out ebay. Quality furniture is very expensive. I'm with you on how you keep it forever. I never tire of the looks of it or the compliments from people in the know. I sold some furniture when we moved a couple of years ago. The buyer of my home wanted it & I told them I had the paperwork on it & I'd sell it to them only if they paid what I did & they agreed. They still got a great buy as all these items have went up in price. It was several Baker Stately Homes pieces, Widdicomb tables, Hancock & Moore sofas, Hendredon bed, Jeffco chairs, Lordis stools, Britsh Khaki dining table. I was very happy cause I only sold items I didn't want any anymore.
Start more threads like this if you like! Love talking about furniture/decor even more than purses.

 

[berryblondeboys]

NO you are not crazy. I think the lack of bids has to do with people being scared about what's going on in the financial markets & the subprime problem. Furniture businesses are hurting. We've had some go under in the last year here.
I've had a fleeting thought here that I was crazy for taking some Widdicomb dining chairs to a consignment shop. The were the Russian Czar style, I had 5 & ended up getting about $200.00 a piece for them. Bet they ended up on ebay! They were $1700.00 each in 1985 & in like new condition. We don't have pets or kids so our stuff stays new looking.
I need to check out ebay. Quality furniture is very expensive. I'm with you on how you keep it forever. I never tire of the looks of it or the compliments from people in the know. I sold some furniture when we moved a couple of years ago. The buyer of my home wanted it & I told them I had the paperwork on it & I'd sell it to them only if they paid what I did & they agreed. They still got a great buy as all these items have went up in price. It was several Baker Stately Homes pieces, Widdicomb tables, Hancock & Moore sofas, Hendredon bed, Jeffco chairs, Lordis stools, Britsh Khaki dining table. I was very happy cause I only sold items I didn't want any anymore.
Start more threads like this if you like! Love talking about furniture/decor even more than purses.

Cool! We have a 1980 henredon Curio Cabinet (love that thing) and we have three bedroom pieces (high boy, long, low dresser with mirror and an end table) from henredon too... I don't know what year though.... but it's classic and simple and SOOOOOO well made. I love it. It's at LEAST 20 years old and probably more like 40-50.

So... little by little we are improving our home. A couple months ago I got some great custom made bookcases/cabinets for $600 moved in and the people I bought it from (local) said they paid $8000 to have them made just 5 years previously.

I just don't have the $$$ to buy them new, so I just keep my eyes open.

 

[Nola]

Congratulations, enjoy!

 

[berryblondeboys]

Also wanted to add... I guess it's a good thing my husband is an economist then. While we don't like that finances are tight. We can make it on one salary and things RADICALLY change in the market, I can work quite easily (I have an advanced degree and am marketable). We just don't believe in over=extending ourselves. Even this set, paid in cash, not in credit. THAT we keep clean every month.

I have to say though, I was saving for a Prada bag, but then I started thinking, where is that $2000 better spent? On a bag or on something we ALL can use? I'll stick with my $300 bags (that I find on sale with usual prices fo $500 to $700) of one or two a year.

 

[VivaNYC]

Wow, they are gorgeous... love the chairs! Congrats!!

 

[fatefullotus]

berryblondeboys, what a fantastic deal. It's like one of those urban legends where someone buys a $5 table from a garage sale and finds a diamond taped on the underside or something. That price for a whole Widdicomb set is unbelievable! You'll have to go on Roadshow and brag about it! LOL

 

[berryblondeboys]

berryblondeboys, what a fantastic deal. It's like one of those urban legends where someone buys a $5 table from a garage sale and finds a diamond taped on the underside or something. That price for a whole Widdicomb set is unbelievable! You'll have to go on Roadshow and brag about it! LOL

Oh thank you for understanding my excitement. I've been searching for a dining set for three years. I look daily on our local craigslist and on ebay for certain brands. TWO have slipped through my fingers because DH was "thinking" for too long, but to be honest, NONE have been this great. Well, one was about as great, but also double the price!

I think I usually search for dining set and within 75 miles for my search on ebay, but I forgot to put the 75 miles in and this popped up at the 200 miles and under. When I saw it I was hooked, but shipping.... It's not SOOOOOo far, but still. However, I think $600 for blanket shipped and not just to my door (like so many deliveries), but in my home and placed, is worth it for the right price. I just had to take that into account in how much I was willing to bid. BUT... I got it for the opening bid!

I asked the lady why she thought it didn't go higher and she said she's given up trying to guess with ebay. Some things she says that she considers ugly go for astronomical prices and then gems go for peanuts.

In this case, she was just wanting to pass on the furniture of someone who is downsizing (a former client of hers). She had 32 people watching the item. She said over a dozen people asked for shipping quotes, but I was the only bid (and she was happy I won because we had been emailing over the last several days and just kind of clicked). She covered her costs, so that was enough for her.

I don't think my husband understands the deal we got and that's partly my fault. I just OKed a certain amount from him and got his asthetic approval and then he left the value up to me. He knows I'm like the best shopper around, so he trusts me finally (after doubting EVERYTHING for 12 of our 14 years together!) But... he's seen me double or triple (or more) on purchases and NEVER have lost big on resale (not that we sell everything. I sometimes find things cheap to sell for money for my fun money).

I can't wait to see it IRL!!! She's looking for a buffet/server to go with it. I don't want it matching, but complementing as it will go in the living room side of the room. So fun and getting a great deal always give me a buzz!

ETA: she also said it probably sold for less because so many people want smaller pieces, not whole sets. Several people asked about just the chairs or just the cabinet. I guess we are still poor enough that we don't have a houseful of excellent furrniture yet!