Nobody Rocks

About a year ago, give or take, I was helping an auctioneer friend on a pick-up.

The lady of the house was very happy to see us, "I've got so much junk to get rid of... and my grandmother's rocking chair which is worth a lot of money". Then she opened the garage door and, there it was!

A rather forlorn looking Windsor style, pine seat, arrow back rocking chair built circa 1976. "I'm sure", she said, "it's worth about $300 but I'll take $250".

While working for a different auctioneer a few days before I saw a rocker just like it. It was amid a pile of other brown furniture that went NO SALE at auction and was on a truck headed for a local thrift store. I learned later that the thrift store refused the rocker as, "too hard to sell".

Rocking chairs, at present, are terribly out of fashion and their value ( at least in Eastern PA and Western NJ ) is less than firewood of equal weight.

Where do people get these asking prices? I know some pretty wild prices show up on ebay but, I don't think this particular lady was an ebay maven. Maybe people just remember how old things sold back in the "hay days" of the 1970's up to around 2005.

Also, I'm confounded by people confusing the term "Vintage" with "Antique". The word Vintage refers to when a wine was made. (ie. Vintage 1988) Vintage, in my mind, needs to be followed with a date. But okay, I'm in the minority and I know it. I'll accept that "vintage" means 10 years old or older, as this is what I see on so many on-line stores.

However, with few exceptions ( motor vehicles, ephemera ) the word ANTIQUE means 100 years old, or older... according to the IRS.

So, a very ordinary rocking chair made in 1976 may be vintage but it doesn't mean it's valuable. We left the rocking chair with that very nice lady since she assured us she could get $200 for it at her next garage sale.

I truly hope she did.