Originally Posted by Jan in VA

I know as quilters we all love "old"/vintage/antique quilts and textiles. But we also too often have an inflated idea of their monetary value because we value them merely for their age and the work/love that went into them by a "sister" from years ago.

But you need to look at these quilts with a critical eye for their sale value, the replacement value, an insurance value, and so forth. Those are the values an appraiser will look at for any quilt for which they've been approached for appraisal; and their appraisals are what set the fairly standard values across the country. Emotion doesn’t sell well.

In "general", across the country, most certified quilt appraisers are finding that the quilts appraised 5-10 years ago would not appraise for the same value today. The market, along with much else in the economy, has declined.

There are more vintage/antique quilts around being offered for sale than most people realize, and their quality is usually very much higher than anything we can find at a yard sale, flea market, or even an antique store. The quilts that are bringing in upwards of $400+ are often to be found with reputable dealers, not for sale by your average owner/quilter.

There are thousands and thousands of quilt tops in this country that were never completed, like this one, all too often because they had construction problems in the first place -- and that made completing them nearly impossible without reworking in a major way. I'll bet every single one of us has seen one somewhere.

All this to say, that since you are selling this top in a rummage sale venue, you'll need to ask rummage sale prices for it. It is only worth what a willing seller will sell for and a willing buyer will pay; if you want to sell it during THIS sale, don't drive your buyer away with a price too high to even start a negotiation.

Jan in VA