July 2004 Hotlines

China is a growing market, and eBay plans to promote its website in that part of the world. But it will take time. Few Chinese have credit cards or checking accounts. American dealers and collectors should consider the effect of a Chinese eBay on the U.S. market for porcelains, snuff bottles, jade carvings, and other small objects. There have been rumors for years that the Chinese government has warehouses filled with these types of antiques and that it’s allowing only a small amount to be sold each year. What if China decided to flood the market with 18th-century pieces?

Put together a “flea market transportation kit.” Have a large shopping bag to carry small items around the market. Consider a collapsible shopping cart if you buy a lot. Include packing material like newspapers, bubble wrap, boxes, or old blankets. Diapers and plastic-lined pads meant to be used on a bed are good for wrapping breakables. Carry a rope or bungee cords to hold items on the top of a car or to secure an unclosed trunk. Don’t forget a screwdriver, hammer, and rust-loosening oil in case you must dismantle a bed or table to put it in the car. Take a tape measure to check the size of a chair against the size of your car door. We have seen people trying to force a chair into a trunk or back seat by twisting it in the hopes of getting it past a narrow door opening.

The Pulaski Furniture Corp. is selling a new line of furniture licensed as the “Antiques Roadshow Collection.” Don’t expect to find authentic designs and reproductions. An authentic scrimshaw piece from the television show was copied to be used as handles on a chest. Several high-post beds, unlike any antique beds we have seen, are part of sets “inspired” by chests or sideboards. A Queen Anne chair was copied in a “simpler, more refined” version by adding carvings to the crest and knees and including strangely curved arms. But most astounding is the painted trunk that “reflects Scandinavian design, later to [be] called Pennsylvania Dutch.” Wouldn’t the German (Deutsch) settlers in Pennsylvania be surprised to learn they came from a different part of Europe?

The weak U.S. dollar is making it hard to buy at overseas auctions. German and English collectors are buying up bargains at U.S. auctions and Internet shops.