RESEARCHING ANTIQUES ON THE INTERNET: The cost of free advice By marks4antiques.com
Many of us are accustomed to getting free information from the Internet. We believe it is our right. We pay our bill every month for the connection, so everything should be included. I am with you on this. But unfortunately reliable information is usually not free. Just because you found an old classmate on Facebook without paying a cent (or so you think), expert advice costs money. You didn’t think twice when paying for a specialized book at your local bookstore or when subscribing for that professional journal. But paying for finding out the value of your treasures seems to warrant a categorical no-no. You go to the library, ask your friends, and scour the Internet – heck, you even dare ask an expert at your local auction house. Maybe they’ll be generous today and spend some of their precious time on you. You even consider standing in line for hours when the Antiques Roadshow or that free antiques appraisal clinic rolls into town. Somehow that elusive answer on the maker of your lovely vase or silver teapot should be somewhere, provided you spend enough time to research it. In other words, your time is worthless, you’ve got nothing else to do and unlike the proverbial advice, time is not money for you. That’s fine, that works great for some and saves money… But does it? Is it really free and can you rely on that information when time and accuracy is on the balance? It may be fine when you have a couple of items that you’ve just inherited and you don’t plan to sell them anyway. They’re family heirlooms and their value is purely sentimental. But what if you’re a dealer or need to insure your property for what it’s worth and a wild guess would just not do? Consider the following scenario: you buy and sell items. Whether that’s your living or just an intense hobby is immaterial. Or you are an auctioneer or professional appraiser. You juggle hundreds of tasks to keep your business afloat and barely
functional, you still have shipping and photography to do and all sorts of other jobs. Plus your life and all that it entails. So you keep staring at that lovely blue vase you just bought from a nearby garage sale and are stuck for hours. You look at the marks, you measure it and size it and two hours have passed. How valuable is your time then? There is no denying that several free websites post great information. However, most of these begin as a labor of love by a dedicated collector and inevitably end up being financially unsustainable and overwhelming, often thankless exercises in futility. Many of these websites eventually become stale or outdated and most have screaming warnings to avert you from bombarding them with your pesky questions unless you “make a donation” or pay a fee per item. As some would say, money talks… - you know the rest. That’s not how we work. We get paid. Access to our reference guides to identify and appraise antiques & collectibles at www.marks4antiques.com requires a small membership charge. We’ve managed to create the most efficient and user-friendly method for helping our members that is constantly updated with all the latest research findings in the field and always available at your fingertips from any device connected to the Internet. To see us in action, check our YouTube video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ibsXizQ34k. But there are also other ways to use the Internet for researching your antiques. For example, a popular method is available through several chat rooms that offer some relief and a wider pool of similarly-minded collectors or dealers to share in your pain when stumbling in your work. Undoubtedly, this is a very noble idea and heart-warming experience, in tune with the down-to-the-core values of the Internet and collective thinking. And that works. Sometimes. If you can wait for the answer in the off-chance that someone out there has seen your question and you have confidence in the participants of each group, that’s a great resource and should be used regardless of any other research tools you may have in your arsenal, even if it only serves the purpose of confirming and validating your own efforts. But again, that’s not how we work. As a member, you can reach out to us at any time and as often as you wish to ask questions when in doubt at no extra charge. Directly, discretely and privately. It is like having an antiques expert on retainer at all times. You now belong to a “club” that is exclusively dedicated to you. No more sending questions somewhere out there in cyber-space and waiting for a kind stranger to respond. Our specialists are ready to engage and research your makers’ marks or hallmarks with a sense of responsibility and obligation. Not only we literally work for you, but we take pride in our efforts and enjoy the interaction.
It’s what keeps our operation alive and encourages us to continue doing even better. To learn more on all of our services and how they work in more detail, please visit www.marks4antiques.com.
About marks4antiques.com - Currently celebrating its 10th anniversary of service, marks4antiques.com is dedicated to providing the largest and most updated research tools to help its members identify and appraise antiques & collectibles. Registered members have access to comprehensive visual reference methods with thousands upon thousands of images of makers’ marks & hallmarks displayed in Shape or Letter Categories for fast access or can use the proprietary Name or Initials Search features. Also includes a huge database of millions of actual auction records and uses a ‘smart’ search that quickly deciphers key terms using advanced software technology to yield accurate and relevant results. The company is located in the San Francisco Bay area and has been in operation since 2004.