Jump to content

High end miniature furniture


shannonc60

Recommended Posts

I am not sure if it is that I am getting old or cranky or both. Or maybe I crawled under a rock and 10 years slipped past without me noticing. I was looking for a cabinet for my Duddingwells house and found a heap of the high end furniture has gotten so pricey. Here are two examples: The white cabinet is $84usd and the Walnut one $126. Would you pay that for these pieces? If I am not mistaken, they are made in the same factories as the Bespaq stuff, and likely the middle and lower end furniture too. It just seems crazy to me.

IMG_2073.GIF

IMG_2074.GIF

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, shannonc60 said:

I am not sure if it is that I am getting old or cranky or both. Or maybe I crawled under a rock and 10 years slipped past without me noticing. I was looking for a cabinet for my Duddingwells house and found a heap of the high end furniture has gotten so pricey. Here are two examples: The white cabinet is $84usd and the Walnut one $126. Would you pay that for these pieces?...

No.  Of course, if I were made of money and my tastes ran towards the high end furniture, here's what I would buy:  http://www.artisticvision.com/soboleditions/

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can still get really great furniture for a fair price, you just have to be willing to spend time looking and waiting for the right deal. Bespaq Direct has an eBay store and a web site with "bargain basement" pieces. I find that some are better deals than others. I am willing to pay what might seem ridiculous to some for a really neat piece, weather artisan made or just exceptionally unique. Even kits are really pricey these days. I try to mitigate the damage by making things wherever I can, but some things just have to be paid for. I generally find that the more expensive stuff just looks more in scale and realistic. If I have to do a project "on the cheap", I try to make it a bit more whimsical so I can get away with lesser quality minis.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Miniature furniture is not cheap. Even the pieces I seen at a thrift store are like $25 us  for  a couch.  I can't imagine furnishing an entire room.  Most places online,the cost per piece is pricey. (Imo)  I had been considering wish app for doll house stuff. Yet to do it. I just get what I can then figure out where to use later.

At some point in want a cute house with total furnishing and accessories to keep. 

Wow holly! I'm drooling. What amazing items. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find this frustrating too, especially when more times than not the item shows up with a piece broken from it. I think the answer is learn to make it or buy a kit like a House of Miniatures kit. Lots of YouTube videos out there for diy furniture. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All this talk of furniture.  I'm sitting here looking at old issues of Nutshell News (free today in St Louis).  The back covers have advertising for concord miniatures.  Wow what beautiful pieces they had.  Sorta torn between I wish they were still in business and so glad they aren't $$$$$

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Talk about some expensive dollhouse furniture.  I bought my fireplace from a seller on ebay.  I got it for a really good price.  She had just started selling off her dollhouse collection.  As time went on more and more people found her and her items all went for out of this world prices.  Here is just one piece she sold.  It went for $463.90.  It's a Roger Gutheil.  The lights went for $489.99.  Way to much for my pocketbook.

s-l1600.jpgs-l1600.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just the one painted niglo porcelain lamp in that lot would be 120.  I bought a lot of ni glo at one time and the funny thing is, I'm so afraid they'll get bumped and knocked over, I put them back in the box and don't even display them. That's one problem with spending a lot, it becomes "too precious".  Lesson learned 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

To visitors who ooh and aah over realistic furnishings and accessories, I tell them that everything available in real life is available in miniature -- at three times the price. :D  A bit of an exaggeration, but really not much. 

I tend to look for bargains, make what I can*, and pay full bore for the "perfect" piece.

*I'm not keen on the home-made look. I want excellent craftsmanship and realism and admit when my own work isn't up to snuff.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, KathieB said:

To visitors who ooh and aah over realistic furnishings and accessories, I tell them that everything available in real life is available in miniature -- at three times the price. :D  A bit of an exaggeration, but really not much. 

I tend to look for bargains, make what I can*, and pay full bore for the "perfect" piece.

*I'm not keen on the home-made look. I want excellent craftsmanship and realism and admit when my own work isn't up to snuff.

Whoops that lets me out then........he said hiding behind his home made cardboard cabinet that won't even open it's doors!

with you on the 'perfect' pieces though........just sheer pleasure to own and worth every penny!

ah...........now where did I put that bit of cardboard!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Colleen, those lights are amazing. 

4 hours ago, KathieB said:

I tend to look for bargains, make what I can*, and pay full bore for the "perfect" piece.

*I'm not keen on the home-made look. I want excellent craftsmanship and realism and admit when my own work isn't up to snuff.

Agreed, I want realism, so the vast majority of furniture I own is Bespaq, but I tend to buy bargains only - I wait until something comes on sale or pounce on Ebay bargains. I just think that the other names in the high end furniture business are over-priced, not as nice, less detailed than Bespaq. But obviously people are paying these prices as they are still in business and making new designs. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, MikeUK said:

Whoops that lets me out then........he said hiding behind his home made cardboard cabinet that won't even open it's doors!

with you on the 'perfect' pieces though........just sheer pleasure to own and worth every penny!

ah...........now where did I put that bit of cardboard!

Mike, your creations of cardboard definitely don't tall in the "home made" category. Keep in mind my mantra: smoke and mirrors, it's all smoke and mirrors. If it appears to be perfect, it IS perfect. :D 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

They don't appear to be that special to me - there are no embellishments on them, such as china. (Reutter miniatures often have plates, cups and other miniature accessories stuck to the furniture and have a polished look to them, which often increases their price.) These look like the pieces I would have paid between £10 and £20 for. However, when I have compared the prices I find on UK based sites (not the OOAK artisan sites where you expect high prices) and non-UK based ones, I've often found that items are more pricey on the non-UK sites, and I don't know why that is.

(After some bad experiences on ebay where things have turned up broken or not turned up at all, I no longer buy things from there and I always tended to avoid the auction sales anyway.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There can be a huge difference in price. Sonetimes it depends on whether the seller purchases them direct from the manufacturer, or if they buy in bulk, or just have lower overheads I guess. For $100+, I want spectacular.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I decide what I want and then research the daylights out of it. I'll look on eBay ad nauseum for what I like and the price I'll pay for it. For instance, I need two Renwal/Ideal bathrooms for my shadowbox and for the Arthur. The Renwal sets are seeming to be really high lately, but I did find the perfect Strombecker bathroom set for $7. Unfortunately, I was outbid (it went for $7.50). So I'll check again next month.

Meantime, the other day I drove a couple miles and bought two bagsful of miniatures for just a pittance from a lady who's moving. One of the kitchen sets alone is worth more than what I paid and there are two kitchen sets, a bedroom set, and a lovely Reutter Porzellan fireplace in the color I always wanted it in, besides all the other little items. I have bought one of those Bespaq clearance items about 2 years ago - a lovely little sofa and I think I got that for only $10. Some lady had two Classics staircases on eBay a little bit ago for only $17. Normal price is $19.99 for just one. And how often have we seen a Lawbre staircase on eBay for just a couple dollars because the buyers don't know what they have? A little research goes a long, long way.

Here's a hint, guys. Bespaq was originally selling their items under Fantastic Merchandise. I think some of it was a little plainer than what Bespaq does today, but it's still very nice. So if you have a seller who is just reading the bottom of the tag and lists something for a couple of dollars because it says Fantastic Merchandize and not Bespaq, grab it. Also you can occasionally get Sonia Messer items for very cheap, too. They don't look too bad and they're a "name" as well.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...