So, I just spent a little time meandering around the local antique mall. They had a lot of old quilts there. What I noticed, though, was that they were all priced between $145 and $195. They varied in size from a small lap quilt to a queen size quilt, and while one was in beautiful shape, most had significant damage and/or staining, and some were just plain falling apart. It didn't seem to matter, they were all priced the same, even with their varying size, condition, and were in about 10 different booths. On top of that, there was a lap-size quilt top (not quilted at all) that was priced at $65. I asked the salesperson if they would come down on it, and they said no, because it was, "such an unusual, hard to find pattern that takes a lot of skill to make." It was a bow-tie quilt top. I've seen patterns for dozens of those. Heck, I have patterns for dozens of those in my stash of various quilting books and magazines. What is so unusual about it?
Anyway, I left the mall thinking that no one there has any idea what they're doing, and they're all just following each other and slapping similar prices on things without doing any research or having any logic behind what they do. I am not an expert on old quilts, but I have a hard time believing that they should all be priced the same, given the varying condition and size, and some I wouldn't pay more than $20 for, since I think they're only good for scavenging vintage fabric, which might fall apart in the wash anyway.
What do you guys think? Anyone here with experience with antique quilts? How much do they usually run?
Thanks for letting me ramble on...