Charles Coutney Curran - www.postershop.ch
This is a question that I am sure you are asking yourself each time you want to make an offer, even if it is a bargain. My thought on this quandary is that you should never feel foolish if you think your bid may be too low, because today it may be accepted.
I would like to give you my personal experiences with this problem. I was in Owensboro Kentucky, my home town, and I ran across two matched paintings by Charles Courney Curran. They were priced at $5000 each but I knew the dealer had owned them for some time. This made me figure that he might accept a much lower price so that he could free up this money and put it into new merchandise. Curran is a Kentucky artist and as you know Kentucky artists are one of my weaknesses. So I figured I would start at $5000 for the pair and work up from there. “Sold” was the immediate response and for a second I felt great pride in my negotiating skills.
To my amazement I still have them and they seem to be a weight around my neck. Truthfully, I don't seem to be able to rid myself from them. So what happened today? I received a call from a gentleman saying that a Curran painting just went through the auction and didn't sell. After researching it I found where it had been offered at Sotheby's with a price of $5000 - $7000 but it didn't sell. Next it was offered at $2000 - $4000 and again it didn't sell at a different auction house. I called about it and was told that it could be purchased for $750.
But now I am asking myself is that cheap enough? Maybe not and $400 might be a fairer price. But how would I know? To that question only you have the answer because the answer ultimately is what is it worth to you. If we continue to second guess ourselves we will never purchase anything and therefore not be in the business. The fear that is being felt in the markets today will not last forever and items that commanded higher prices will again. Unfortunately today you may have to hold some items a little longer then you would like or that I have told you to hold them but these aren't ordinary times. If you are buying quality, time will cure any mistake that you might make so be brave and march forward because this isn't a time to retreat.
On another matter even in these difficult times I don't want to forget the blessings I am receiving every day. My family are all healthy and if you know me I haven't missed a meal, however I do have friends that are suffering and have just lost love ones so please pray for Helen and Jane's children that they will find peace, God Bless.
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