Pghgirl40
Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 196 Feedbacks September 27, 20181 found this helpful
Best Answer
What a pretty piece! Solid construction with the dovetail drawers! They do not make things like this anymore...today furniture is crappy and poorly made!
This piece is unique and very interesting. There is a similar piece on eBay with an asking price in the high $600s.
www.ebay.com/.../372441679817?hash=item56b74107c9...
I recommend watching this auction to see what it sells for and that will give you today's market value for your piece. I NEVER use asking price to value things in today's market--only SOLD prices tell you what someone is willing to pay.
Usually I tell people only to find exact matches to get value. In the really old pieces, like I think yours is, it is very hard to find an exact match...you can usually only find very close similar items and that gives you a ballpark range.
The downside to these type of pieces is today people like the crappy furniture that is being sold and are not always willing to pay for the good stuff.
I just sold off a very unique, very expensive in its day bedroom set that was over 100 years old, handmade, a true custom set....and all we got for it was the low $200s because people today want cheap disposable furniture. I don't get it!
You may do best to take this piece to several reputable antique dealers and get bids from them. I think this piece is worth being in the right market to get the best value for it!
Let me know what you learn and how well you do with the sale!! Thanks!!
September 27, 20180 found this helpful
Thank you for all of your comments so far! Im not sure if I want to sell this piece. I just was thinking about refinishing it but I was afraid that if I did it would affect the value.
I will check out eBay and see how that auction is going. I really appreciate all of your comments :-)
Pghgirl40
Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 196 Feedbacks September 27, 20180 found this helpful
So if you plan on keeping an enjoying it, refinish away and make it yours to love. If you are trying to sell. Refinishing usually devalues the piece. I personally think furniture should be loved and enjoyed! I would love to see pix of it redone if you go that route!!
September 28, 20180 found this helpful
Your dresser/chest of drawers looks like it was a beautiful piece at one time. I believe a lot of this is veneer and if that is damaged then it will be difficult to repair or clean up. The present condition will probably reduce the value tremendously.
- It would probably cost more to restore this to its (almost) original condition than it would ever be worth. This just means it will be difficult to place a value on a piece like this even if other (even similar) pieces are selling for several hundred dollars.
- A refurbished piece is usually never as valuable as one with the original finish but if the condition is what it appears in the pictures, this may be your only choice. It is always very difficult to judge condition by pictures as just the way they are slanted can make a big difference so you will be the only one to know for sure if the overall condition is bad, fair, good, or very good. The problem with this is we tend to see things that belong to us in a more favorable light than others may see them.
- This looks like it may have a marble top? If so, I believe that may have been custom added but marble can look bad over the years and it usually damages the top underneath where it rests.
- You also say that it has been a garage for several years and that may not have been the best place to store a piece of wood furniture - dampness, dry, changes in temperature can do a lot of damage to furniture so I hope you are lucky and this has not caused drawers to stick and even warp.
- The Sligh furniture company has gone through many changes over the years but it has never really "closed". It has changed hands (usually always with at least one member of the Sligh family still in control) and changed names and also what type of products they made.
- The company is still in business and specializes in office furniture - mainly desks. If you do any research you will see that desks are seen more often than any other type of furniture and the most recent pieces are very expensive.
- Sligh has retained its good name for building quality products (clocks were their main product for years and are some of the very best ever made) so their vintage/antique furniture still retains a decent value.
- You can date your piece by the type of label but it takes some research. Here are a couple of sites that have some information (some repeats itself but there are always bits and pieces to gain from any article).
- www.furniturecityhistory.org/.../sligh-furniture-co
- www.furniturecityhistory.org/.../sligh-charles-r-cosligh-furnit
- Here is a nice chest that I believe may be from about the same period as yours and it does have some damage but still brought a good price in 2015 - $315. Check out the pictures. Also, I believe that Sligh values have increased since 2015 and that is in your favor.
- www.ebth.com/.../2363674-vintage-sligh-chest-of-drawers
- Here is a chest that is presently for sale and has been greatly reduced because it just did not sell.
- www.chairish.com/.../sligh-vintage-mid-century-dresser
- You mentioned something about refurbishing so I tend to think you mean to change the overall looks (?) and sometimes that works even if you plan to keep it yourself. Much depends on how good a job gets done. Here is something along those lines that you might want to watch to see if it sells.
- www.ebay.com/.../162918948930?hash=item25eeb9e042...
- I believe you will have to evaluate the condition and decide what steps to take to restore or change and then decide on a price and places that you would like to list for sale.
- Local sites like Craigslist are very good because there is no shipping involved and eBay type sites are very risky for inexperienced sellers. Local auction sites may be too small a market to bring in very much money.
- You can always ask for an appraisal and maybe gleam more information before you decide what steps to take. Here are some free sites:
- www.whatsellsbest.com/.../antiques.html
September 8, 20210 found this helpful
I have been watching values of Sligh furniture for a couple years now. The prices have indeed gone up. It appears that antique/vintage brown furniture values are tending upwards. It also appears that people are buying more. It could be because we are spending more time at home. It is a beautiful piece, if you see this post I would love to see it now or know what the outcome was. Thank you.
September 9, 20210 found this helpful
I have been watching values of Sligh furniture for a couple years now. The prices have indeed gone up. It appears that antique/vintage brown furniture values are tending upwards. It also appears that people are buying more. It could be because we are spending more time at home. It is a beautiful piece, if you see this post I would love to see it now or know what the outcome was. Thank you.
I have had this dresser in my garage for years. I finally pulled it out to clean it up and I was just wondering what it was worth? The maker was Sligh furniture company.
