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Sunday, March 11, 2012
This Sat Unsold On Craigslist For Over A Week. I Tried And Tried To Let It Be. To Let Somebody Else Snatch It Up. Status: Farm Fresh.
While looking around the web at Erik Buck barstools a while back (after finding my Erik Buck barstools) I repeatedly spotted Erik Buck dining chairs. I had never really noticed them before but they apparently did make an impression because when I spotted this set on Craigslist I knew almost immediately what it was. Still, I hesitated.
I hesitated because of the asking price. It wasn't
outrageous. Not at all. It was actually reasonable.
But I was on the fence at the asking price. I could
live without it. I figured that since it was listed as:
"vintage 1960's Danish teak Dining room table w/
chairs" that surely someone would grab it up quick.
But the ad was still up the next day. And the next.
And still up a week later. I thought that the seller
must have just gotten lazy and had failed to delete
the ad. I couldn't take it any longer. I had to
contact the seller. I just couldn't believe that no one
else had recognized that this was an Erik Buck dining set! The seller had mentioned in his ad that "similar
dining room sets in a cleaner condition which go for
over $1000-$1500 in a vintage furniture boutique"
so he had a good eye even if he didn't do a thorough
research job. I think that dropping that line in the ad might have hurt him more than help. I
know that when I see an item at an antique mall with a tag showing an eBay printout of a similar
item and what it's "really" worth I get a sour taste in my mouth. I know these sellers are probably
just trying to be informative but it smacks of justification. I like to let buyers either think I'm mad
or figure out (or already know) why what I'm offering is special. I'm good either way!
The seller had even included a phone number in his ad. I shot him a text (since I was at work...
where it is noisy and I don't Talk on the phone) and he responded right away. The set was
indeed still available and we made arrangements to meet the next morning. I knew going in that
I wasn't going to pay full asking. The seller had included an "OBO" in his asking price and since
I wasn't all that interested in the set at full asking, I would figure out what number was good for
me after taking a good look at the condition.
It was a little rougher than I had anticipated and I made a pretty weak offer. The ubiquitous
short haggle session ensued and he got another $20 out of me. If the upholstery had been nice
and clean I probably would have made a much stronger offer but this Farm Fresh dining set is
sporting some crazy color (coolaid?) stains on much of the seating surfaces. I'll give cleaning
the original upholstery the ol' High School Try but it might be really stained. These pics are
truly Farm Fresh. I pulled this out of the sellers dirt floor garage, brought the set home unloaded
it and took these pictures. I haven't done ANY clean up yet. Not a bit!
Over all, I'd say the set is in good to very good (but definitely not excellent or mint!) vintage
condition. There are the aforementioned stains in the otherwise excellent condition upholstery
and there are some scratches and wear on the chair frames. The chairs are otherwise sturdy
and tight...and amazingly light! The table is super sturdy and solid as a rock...and HUGE with
both leaves installed. The finish has the usually issues; water marks, light scratches and scuffs,
the general wear and tear of life. I have no doubt though that this entire set will look absolutely
fabulous once given a proper cleanup / once over.
This will be available after I get it cleaned up and it's not so embarrassing but if you'd like to do
the work yourself before I get to it, shoot me an e-mail with an offer and we'll talk! I'd love to
spend a little time bringing the beauty back out of this set but if YOU want to save me the
work...far be it from me to deny YOU the pleasure!
That set is NICE. I've got a real thing for Scandinavian teak furniture, but it never seems to come in St. Louis.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you Saturday. That estate sale fiasco sucked, but I actually ended up bringing in a huge haul of stuff throughout the day. Filled the whole van!
Hi Nick. That was a fiasco...but we got some nice tastin' lemonaid out of those lemons. There will be more and better sales this summer...can't hardly wait!
DeleteThat looks like a great candidate for a face lift! Plenty of solid wood there to play with. Hopefully the seats will clean and you don't have to replace...
ReplyDeleteHi A Mod. Ever remove upholster like this...launder it...and replace it on the seats? I've never tried it but it seems like it might work.
DeletePerhaps you could try one of those "dry clean at home" bags so that it wouldn't shrink up on you in the wash.
DeleteI was just thinking "pretreat and cold water". I'm no expert but I don't think the upholstery would shrink if I used cold water, would it?
DeleteYou mean cold water in a bucket or "cold" water in the wash? If the latter, its still relatively hot and would shrink the fabric. On the other hand, the cold water and bucket method likely wouldn't get the stains out. If you look into the "dry clean at home" bags (I've only heard of them, never actually used them) and they won't work, it'd probably be worth it to take the upholstery in to a dry cleaner.
DeleteIf not a dry cleaner, maybe Woodard (the rug cleaners?) would be able to help you out.
Delete