I know. I KNOW.
Total furniture overload around here lately. Them’s the breaks though when all I’ve been doing, for what feels like the last month, is sorting and repairing and moving loads of furniture all around the house and garage in an endless circle of oil and tools and bruises. The blog suffers.
Anywhoser. For those who live far far away from Los Angeles* and can’t make the BIG SALE this Sunday I’ve just added some new pieces to the ONLINE SHOP. *Sorry to the international folks – your shipping is way hard. Also, can I get fancy and say Shoppe? Or would I then be required to ship internationally?
What?!
Look away. LOOK at this awesome danish Gangso Mobler A/S dining table. It’s huge. It’s teak. It’s got giant handmade ceramic inlaid tiles – signed and everything.
Yum yum. Modernist texture. So earth toned. So beefy. So 70′s.
And it folds down? Transforming into a smaller table? What can’t this dining table do?*
*Probably most everything…but you can eat on it. Or maybe do some work. I don’t know your life!
Yum Yum. Shiny bits.
Incised Greek key pattern? Super regency pagoda shape? All brass, all up in your face? What can’t this lamp do?
It can light your dark shit up. That’s what.
Yum yum. Burly beef slab steak.
Chunky to the extreme. Raw edge. Redwood. Radical. Raging. (Rrrrr)Coffee table.
So these be some of the vintage things hanging out right now in the ol’ ONLINE SHOP (SHOPPE).
Also, I will see you guys in LA on Sunday. I currently have nervous acne and sweaty palms…which must mean I’m slowly reverting back to my not at all awkward or awful adolescence. Hooray for feelings. Thanks again brain.
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71 Comments
Not a fan. Only like the lamp (not even the shade) but I can see these being big BIG hits at the sale. Stoked for the monaaay to be rolling in for you and the landscape!
That is the most amazing dining table I have seen in years! Where have you been hiding that? In L.A. more than I would like these days but unfortunately, not this weekend. Will check out your online sale.
Jill thats too bad! I haven’t seen you guys in ages and ages. I need to get out to JT. And soon.
I don’t think that calling it a Shoppe would require international shipping, but it would definitely require selling antiques that were older than mid-century. You know, something old English, or at least pretending to be old English — essential for Ye Olde Shoppe.
I’m really getting worried. It’s not only, that you have a really bad sofa and coffee table habit, you have a really, really bad overall furniture habit and hoarding tendencies.
The weird thing is, no hoarding is apparent in the photos. By now, I’m thinking, that outside every frame there is a large threatening mess of awesome 50s-70s modern furniture and accessories waiting to devour the space you just cleared to look lovely and pristine.
Seriously, what do you do? Walk along the street, see a giganticly huge, gorgeous danish dining table, buy it, lug it home and then say to yourself, this would look really terrific in my garage?
Say after me: Furniture is not snack food! Furniture is NOT snack food!
On the other hand, it makes an enormously entertaining blog.
Slurp. Just, slurp. As in i could eat that tasty table, and lamp. Florian is right, not snack food — but much more habit-forming and delicious.
Here’s to Landscaping Finance Awesomeness!
oh man…
sorry i am not there to help!, boo.
I was really excited when you announced that you would be having a sale, BUT then I looked at the eBay prices. I understand that you are trying to raise money, but what the he’ll happen to not spending over $100 for an item? Does no one else find this some what annoying, $599 for a table that you paid less than $100 for? While I love the your style I feel like there is no way I can follow your blog now since it seems you don’t practice what you preach.
The ebay stuff is way way way different than the in person sale stuff.
Consider the time and costs associated with online sales. There is initial cost, ebay listing fees, paypal fees, the time and gas spent buying something, the time spent fixing it up, the time to photograph, time to edit images, researching the pieces history, researching going rates on comparable pieces, time to create the listing, hours spent dealing with shipping, buying packing materials and then having to professionally pack a piece by myself to be shipped by freight folks who will abuse it, arranging and buying insurance, getting quotes, answering buyer emails. Then there is the whole seller liability thing with eBay as well. Frankly, the costs are high and the time spent is huge on each piece that goes up online in the end.
I’d say $599 for that table is a DEAL. And if I had $599 to spend, I’d be buying it and driving town to Hemet to visit grandma and picking up a Uhaul. For real.
You go girl! I hope you raise enough mula to get that beautiful landscape you dream of. Silly some people think you would sell your stuff at $100 bucks. I see your concept, you do the dirty work and bring it to the masses. People want deals, go out and find the goods. It’s that easy. Keep on!
Angie gets it. ; )
And trust, it is dirty and gross work most of the time.
selling stuff for a profit…no shame in that game
Third that notion — Morgan invests the time and education, the sweat, bruised knuckles, sawdust and fumes; she should be paid for her work on a piece. If you want to follow her fine rule, then get thee thrifting.
$599 for that table? Suweeet!
yeah, seriously!!
The brick house should be a brand name by now,
$599 for a table is a good deal!!, i mean, have you seen what is out there??? (i can provide examples if you want…) and trust me, the brick house stuff is NICCEE, even NICER in person.
Just wanted to mention that I spent about 45 seconds on Atlanta’s Craigslist and promptly got the hell outta there. I seriously can’t imagine scouring CL, newspapers, estate sales, yard sales, antique stores, flea markets, thrift stores and coming out with like, 3 things.
You either do all that work yourself, or you pay someone to do it for you.
And I totally lol’d at the idea that J up there can no longer follow your blog. You are clearly a horrible person, FORCING us all to buy your cheap things for all that money. He/She obviously had no other choice but to cut you out of their *life.*
Anyway – you’re a badass and I’m jealous of ur skillz. Good luck with your sale!
Here! Here! to you and your answer to “J”!
It will heretofore be known as The Morgan Defense in the annals of history. Or anals. J’s anals.
You certainly don’t need to justify anything to anyone. I’d wager 99 percent of the people who follow this blog do so because we are of the same mind set so we TOTALLY get it. AND we appreciate that these less than $100 dollar finds actually take time and effort to find and restore. I actually find you very generous of your time to entertain us and share your tips for FREE. BOOOOOO to anyone who doesn’t feel the same. Anyway enough ranting… that table is B.E.A yootiful.
What is that saying “pimping ain’t easy” well thrifting ain’t easy either. It takes time, dedication, and let’s not even begin to get into the restoration of items that need just a little TLC to those that need a whole overall. You have an opportunity here to take advantage of the great eye Morgan has and get Brick House style for your home. Those prices are very reasonable. If you want $100.00 items go find them yourself!
That dining table is aahh-mazing! You are making me want to move to the West Coast just so I can check out your sale!
first time commenter here, just showin some more brick house love.. morgan you inspired me to get my first cowhide and i LOVE it. im sure that landscape of yours will turn out terrific and good luck with the sale!
Reminds me of my parents Dining table.. They have a matching sideboard hutch and 6 chairs.. They’ve had it since the early 70′s..
SHAZAM that table. YUM. YUM. YUM.
your descriptions make me giggle. “light your dark shit up.”
psht, don’t let anyone make you feel bad for your pricing (not that you did!). Peeps, it’s all totally reasonable and the amount of work Miss Morgan puts into all those listings REALLY shows. All the best on Sunday… I’m trying to get my L.A.-dwelling sister to go but she’s playing the tease and thinks she’s taking a roadtrip up to san fran. Sometimes I question whether we’re actually related.
If my garage was full of stuff that I need to sell I would be buying. Awesome stuff, but you already know it
a haiku for you:
comedic writing
extra stylie furniture
san francisco much?
Sorry…but I am kinda on the same page as J.
While I agree that if Morgan bought something for under $100 and had to spend lots of time and/or money on it to get it up to speed..then charging more for it makes sense.
BUT….a lot of stuff that she posts is in good shape to begin with, so to charge a ton of money for it, if she paid under $100 is not something that I would do or agree with.
Part of the appeal of her blog is that she does what she can to stay under $100 and it encourages others to do the same…so to have a sale and charge WAY over $100 is gonna turn off a lot of people.
I will still follow her blog, because I like her style and the deals that she does find but I think you have to realize that many will feel the same as J.
J you suck… Morgan site is so awsome and her love time and work is worth so much more than your 100.oo $ for that matter even wanting you to follow her blog …
Sad to say, but I’m with Coletta and J. I’ve been around ebay for more than 10 years and I know how much work and effort it takes to be a good AND profitable seller. However to make 10-20+ times more than you spent… hmmm.
If any of you has ever bought anything in a store, you have probably paid 10 times or more what the original buyer spent.
When you start getting haters it just means you’re doing something right! You go girl. That 70s table is pure awesomeness
I’m not a lover of brass but the lamp managed to make me drool into my morning cocktail this morning.
J and Coletta – Maybe I’m wrong but I thought the point of the “under a 100 bucks” thing was to show that it can be done…and here’s how you can do it too. I don’t think it’s a religion. If you want a 100 dollar danish dining table then, like Morgan (and myself), you have to SEEK it out and WAIT for it to show up and then BE LUCKY enough to be the first in line for it. I spend hours a day scouring c-list for under-appreciated gems and then have to figure out a way to get them before anybody else. And yes, I flip them. My effort and knowledge gets rewarded, as does Morgan’s.
If you’re lookin’ for something or someone to hate on, hate Ikea or Old Navy or Walmart.
P.S. The Value of any of this vintage stuff is exactly what someone else is willing to pay for it.
Mr. Modtomic
I don’t hate on Morgan. I just don’t agree with some of her pricing.
Have you seen the coffee table on her EBAY store that is priced at $599.00? If she followed her own rule and paid under $100 for it, then how is it now worth $599.00? I saw that coffee table on her original post and the only thing wrong with it was that it needed some teak oil rubbed into it. (If there was more wrong with it, she did not say.)
Call me crazy….but that one hell of a mark-up!
Haters gonna hate
Morgan you rock…Haters gonna hate…
Coletta, I don’t think anybody is actually “hating” Morgan, but more the idea of making a (hard earned IMHO) buck. I’ve run into the same opinion on my own blog and while I was able to successfully debate my own opinion there I just don’t know if it’s worth the energy and frustration to try to convince every Mutualist / Idealist (not Socialist though – they believe in distribution based on contribution) that the free market (with some regulation – I’m not a Republican) is a sound system. We are lucky enough to live in a country where you are welcome to bust your *ss to have more. Has anybody ever improved their station by buying low and selling low?
I hope I’m not being annoying by beating a dying horse here. I like the give and take when an actual conversation happens in the comments!
Coletta, I’m interested in knowing how much profit would you find acceptable and why? Clearly you find some profit acceptable but the line you draw is unclear and seems arbitrary.
It’s worth $599.00 because that’s what the market will bear.
FYI, most antique/vintage anything “pickers” will buy an item low and sell higher. That’s how retail works, and that is a reasonable profit given Morgan’s time and overhead.
If people in the retail business bought stock and sold it at the same price, they wouldn’t have a business for more than a few days. Basic economics!
Congrats on the biz, Morgan. Nice to see.
Bidding… Seriously
LOL
I’m probably gonna get accused of being a hater, but I’m thinking along the lines of Coletta and Mircella.
I can really appreciate the time spent on buying and reselling, and definitely understand a huge mark up on things that have had serious restoration- it takes T.I.M.E.
But buying something from someone who doesn’t know its true value, with the intention of selling it onwards for ten times the money, I think it’s taking advantage.
I KNOW it’s how retail goes, but I think there is a fine line, and on the other side is just plain ol’ selfish greed.
I also know why this irks me more in the vintage business than in other retail.
It’s because there often is just one middle step, where an older person, or their children, are selling on their own furnutire and things, to get some space and raise money. They don’t know that now their old “junk” is worth money. And some clever reseller pounces, and makes a very tidy profit.
It doesn’t make it worse than other retail, but it makes it more personal. Like a lot of us would probably eat factory meat, but would not like to kill a lamb ourselves.
The more steps away, the more detached you get, and the easier it is to forget what’s at the other end of the chain.
I’m in no way saying detachment is an excuse, it’s worse taking advantage of someone working for minimum wage in India, regardless of how many steps away from that you as a buyer are.
It just easier to forget…
I think another thing is also that in other retail, I’m guessing every link doesn’t add on 1000% profit? Or if they do, we don’t know it. Ignorance is bliss, and seeing the mark up first hand makes the greed visible.
I love your style Morgan, and when this still was just a blog about design and amazingly clever DIY, I could very much appreciate you financing your ever changing style by selling off the things you had tired of.
But now I think it has turned in to more of an advertising base for a reselling-vintage-business.
This ended up being a ramble, and yes, I know, if I don’t like it I can get the hell out. But for me, that would be throwning out the baby with the bathwater, since I do love Morgan’s wit and style.
And in the end, maybe better safe up money for the inevitable professional clear-out crew, when the hoarding goes overboard;-)
“Value” is hardly an objective thing, you know.
There’s the “value” of an object to people who are primarily interested in getting the thing out of their house as quickly as possible.
There’s the “value” of an object to someone who loves vintage and wants to turn a profit, but doesn’t have a physical store.
Then there’s the “value” of that same object to someone who has been in business for years, has a very tightly managed inventory, and a long list of vintage-loving clients.
Value will be low, medium, or high (in terms of dollars), respectively.
This is how the antique/vintage business has always worked. Maybe the people who find this objectionable should do a little research.
Let’s not forget the value of knowledge.
The person selling an valuable (to some) item cheaply obviously isn’t interested in doing the research to find out If the item has any additional value besides being a table or a chair. I (and Morgan…and probably lots of you) am interested in doing this research. I have the knowledge of the worth of the item. Should I just be giving this knowledge away? Does the guy who does your Taxes every year give His knowledge away? Does the mechanic who fixes your car? Do the lawyers, universities, hair dressers, so on and so forth? And they are marking up something that isn’t even a Thing at all! Are they taking advantage of all of us by not just giving us that knowledge?
So we have the inherent (ish) value of the item.
Plus the time and effort of getting, storing, cleaning, fixing, photographing and selling the item.
Plus the time and effort in finding out about the item.
Plus the gamble that you might just loose your shirt on the whole endeavor!
Now how much is too much of a mark up?
Just an FYI.. You contact email failed! Here’s what I tried to send:
I’m Heather’s friend who met you at the sale on Sunday. I bought the vintage Navajo-looking rug from ye.
Heather brought to my attention that you are the Brick House girl and I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve been following your internetings for a while now! I’m actually attempting to make some custom shelvings a la Ace Hotel Palm Springs and that’s how i found your blog… Even visited your ebay store a few times.
You have great taste!
I have a kitchen situation that was similar to your, albeit much worse… it is nice to see how yours came out as my goal was to paint it all white as well…we have those same color countertops.
Anyway take care and thanks! I’ll be keeping watch on your musings/developments/etceteras.
P.S. To the above bickerings… If you want great furniture for less then $100… go find it yourself.
Enough said.
Sheesh… I can’t believe anybody would stop reading your blog because you are trying to make a profit. I can’t help but wonder if they’re very young, naive, or both. That dining table is so much nicer than anything new that can be bought for $600.
Lisa says – “But now I think it has turned in to more of an advertising base for a reselling-vintage-business.”
That phrase is totally unfair – TOTALLY out of order.
So what should people do when they want to sell their stuff to make space or raise cash? Charge the buyer its ‘real’ worth ? How does one figure that out? If they are happy to sell it for 50 bucks then that is the price they ask, if they think it’s worth more they fix it up, go on ebay or c-list and sell it for more. More often than not they just want to get rid of the thing.
Lisa says – “And in the end, maybe better safe up money for the inevitable professional clear-out crew, when the hoarding goes overboard;-)”
Soooo, Morgan should pay money to the ‘professional clean out crew’ to do what ? Chuck it all in the dump? Hardly environmentally friendly. Or maybe the professional clear-out crew should do it for free since taking money to toss somebody’s old hoards is surely taking advantage of them. Oh but hang on, from what I know of ‘professional clear-out crews’ they usually put aside the stuff they think they can sell and dump the rest.
If Morgan asks $2000 for her coffee table and sells it at that price then it is ‘worth’ 2000; if she asks $500 and no-one buys it then the market is telling her that it isn’t ”worth’ that much and she’ll have to adjust the price. Let’s take it a little further. Morgan hypothetically sells her table on ebay at $500 to buyer X. X then goes on to sell it – on ebay – at $1000. Shouldn’t Morgan feel ripped off? Should X give her her the extra $500 profit he made. We could go on forever. I think it’s a tribute to the craftsman who made the table that it should be appreciated and sold/resold many times over in a FREE market.
I second Lunaluna. It’s a supply and demand thing and value is determined at the point of sale.
I sort of understand the criticism, however. When I looked at the eBay shop, I also thought to myself, sheesh, these are steep prices. On the other hand, compared to the professional shops I know from the german eBay, Morgan’s shop looks and feels as professional as it gets. And that is a lot of work. If she can afford to wait for the buyer willing to cough up the asking price, why shouldn’t she? Landscaping is expensive.
Getting to the third hand now, Morgan was once supremely annoyed at an estate sale with sky high prices. So I guess all the hate flying around here is just disappointment.
Do I have a conclusion to draw? Work is hard, really nice shit ain’t cheap, don’t buy it if you can’t afford it, be nice to each other and always eat your greens.
I think my words are getting twisted into all sorts, and I should have expected it.
If I say I’m into a bit of “Fair Trade” mentality in the vintage business too- is that clarifying things?
I hate when I see flea markets where some old person is selling their stuff, and don’t realise that is is now worth a lot more than what they ever paid for it. To me it’s hardly fair to say that it’s their own fault they didn’t check the market prices.
To put this in a very, very different perspective: Is there such a thing as taking advantage in business at all? Indigenous people selling land for beads- was that fair? Should they have known? They were happy at the time. Note that I’m not trying to make out that it compares in ANY way, it’s just taking the argument to its philosophical extreme.
I think in a lot of business, people are making numerous deals with the same suppliers. Therefore they have an incentive not to screw them over completely, because it will cause trouble, or reflect badly on them. But in the world of car boot sales, you’re never gonna see that seller again, so the only thing stopping you from giving that grandma 10 dollars for her Eames and then selling it for 1000 is your conscience. Again, it’s a lot worse buying cheap clothes from companies who use under age workers in poor countries etc, which probably most of us are guilty of.
I know the vintage business have worked like this forever, but for me that’s not an excuse. I don’t think I need to give examples of things that have worked “forever” but might be a bit questionable to some.
I think the subject about knowledge as an entity is very interesting, and I don’t for a second think it has to do with taking advantage. In some instances it surely can be- come on, haven’t most of us paid for some goods or service and afterwards felt completely ripped off, and sometimes tricked? Has you first thought then always been “Gee, good on them, I should have known, it’s my fault for not checking properly?”
It doesn’t even have to do with time or money put in, if I am a self taught singer, and can charge to sing, I think that’s fair, even though if has cost me no time or money to learn. BUT if an agent pays me 200 dollars for a gig, and themselves get 4000 profit, I wouldn’t be impressed.
A lot of people here must be creative folks who sell their art or craft? Do you never feel ripped off by a reseller?
And I know that the “grandma” of my mind is only present in a fraction of deals. Most often it’s just various dealers and shops and resellers, and there I think everybody knows the stakes.
I’m also the first one to admit that I’ve bought things at flea markets that I’ve felt guilty paying so little for. And no, I then haven’t usually offered to pay more than asking, but sometimes I actually have. And as long as I just buy for myself, I’m kind of excusing questionable deals. I’m not actually “earning” money. But it can be considered just as bad, cause I’m taking possible profit away from that seller. Hypocracy? You bet ya!
As I’ve pointed out numerous times, the vintage business isn’t worse than other retail, we just SEE the mechanisms of it, which makes it stir emotion in people, me included, more than multinationals working people to death in Asia, no matter how illogical that is.
Hi Morgan. I think you’re awesome.
Your friend, Matt
LISA on MAY 17, 2011:
It’s a bloginablog… I mean, who will read it? C’mon…
Curb your emotions, people.
It’s just vintage stuff hahahaha…
Come on. I run a small not for profit shop, I add 35% to the price I pay for the items. It is difficult to make profit with that mark-up. Because some things don’t get sold (or have a very long shelf-life) of sometimes things are returned (broken sometimes). And I don’t have to pay for rent and staff or anything. So doubling a price -to me is not unreasonable at all.
Also I think that the people who object to the mark up should consider there probably will have been days where Morgan will have worked a full day, traveled a great distance and not find anything worth her while (or money) or be of any interest her. This kind of thing is that way. And if you still find it “not right” don’t buy it or put in the work yourself. It is a free world.
I’ve been reading your blog for awhile, but have never commented. When I saw on the twitter that you were getting comments from haters, I had to weigh in. I think you’re awesome & I love your blog.
Keep on keeping on!
XOXO,
Kim
i worked in a ‘scandinavian’ furniture store during college in the mid to late 80′s and we had this exact table or something very similar. you’d be surprised how many of these i assembled and delivered…
this conversation makes me want to drink.
thanks for the motivation people.
you people want to complain about prices, talk to 1stdibs sellers. then we’ve got a story.
West Elm: $600 coffee table, made of non-sustainable toxic something-or-other, life-span of two to five years, totally disposable, made in China/Vietnam/India/Suriname by someone getting paid $.30 a day and getting sick off the fumes, cost to make about $20.
Morgan’s Ebay coffee table: $600, solid wood, already survived beautifully for 60+ years, will last several more lifetimes, gorgeous, made by well-paid Danish craftsmen and designers (living wage laws well-established), and probably cost hundreds to make originally considering materials and well-paid labor.
I know what I would choose…how ’bout you J and Velveeta?
I just wanted to add that this is my favorite blog and I read, like, 100 design blogs.
This controversy is super-stupid. Vintage furniture on eBay is a luxury item, not a commodity that warrants “fair trade.” Yeah, I tried scrounging for a walnut Danish modern credenza with just the right tapered legs for 3 years. I couldn’t find one that even came close that whole time. I finally paid a dealer $750 for the perfect credenza and I smile every time I look at it. It’s worth every penny. This dude had great taste and good connections and I was happy to pay his price, even though I am so lower-middle-class it hurts. So suck it, dealer-haters.
#1 This controversy is stupid, but I understand both sides of the argument.
#2 As an artist, I understand the frustration of being undervalued. Your personal cost (esp when starting out) can far outweigh the compensation, and that’s something that you just have to figure out for yourself. Mr. Modtomic stated it more clearly than I ever could. She can price at what the market will bear. These are amazing items that she acquired through MUCHO time and dedication. And, yes, the markup may be much higher than what she payed originally, but the original seller was happy with the price they set, and if Morgan can flip it, then more power to her.
#3 The Brick House has shown me that you can get great pieces with a little (or a lot of) time and dedication, but I would like to see more Thrifty! and DIY posts than there have been recently. Love the blog! It’s like candy in my Google reader.
Keep it up Morgan! Love your style and can’t wait to see more!
Hey Morgan,
Love your site! Don’t get down b/c of the Haters (or Disappointeders or whatever they think they are)! As someone who has a very small vintage etsy store, I KNOW how even a 600% markup of “seller’s cost” sometimes doesn’t even *touch* all the time/effort/online fees/empty-handed thriftstore trips/etc. that you put into it.
And the really annoying thing is that I (and, I assume, you) do this sort of thing because you *enjoy* it. Then, when your energy is drained and your house is a mess from working so hard on your shop…a teensy bit of that enjoyment might go away. But when people rant like this…that threatens to take ALL the enjoyment out of it. Don’t let that happen…99.9% of the world loves your blog and your “too expensive” shit!
i have a headache reading these comments. if you want to follow the under $100 rule, go thrifting. if you don’t want to dig through shit and clean it up yourself, buy it from morgan at a fair price. also, in case you didn’t know, ebay is an AUCTION site where YOU determine the value of a product (after the initial list price or unless it’s a buy it now but STILL.) this is asinine.
I’ve had this same discussion with a lot of people lately. Personally, I’ve got a bunch of Craigslist finds under $100 and I’ve got a bunch of stuff from local vintage stores. Tracking down through CL and estate sales is tough stuff…time consuming and a lot of dead ends. But, when I find something cool at a great price, it’s totally fun.
But, I love finding that perfect piece at one of my local shops. I know good and well that they got it substantially cheaper than they are selling it for. Which is just dandy. They have overhead, inventory holding costs, storage, cleaning, marketing, etc.
I happened to buy my Danish dining table from CL from a guy for $100. Great table, but the guy did a terrible job at refinishing it. I didn’t have the heart to tell him because the $100 was still a great price for me (seat 10). Anyway, he bought it for $3 at the local ARC and said it felt sorta bad for marking it up. He was laid off for a while and went shopping at ARC and Goodwill every morning. I told him that he shouldn’t feel bad at all. He found the table with his valuable time and still sold it for a price that I found fair. Oh, and he got to actually make a profit. No shame in that.
Lesley’s story about the $3 table just about made me cry.
I’m a first-time commenter too, and wanted to say THANK YOU Morgan for all the cool stuff that you do and share with all of us, in your hilarious style. Your blog is awesome, and I wouldn’t complain if every single post was about furniture… Good luck with your venture. Hugs!
omg. if you think $599 is so outrageous, then DON’T BUY IT. someone else will. because it’s a fabulous table and a piece-o-crap table is that price or more expensive in a retail store.
if you’re *so* offended about the “markup” then get off your computer, find some fabulous wares, restore them and then sell them for $10 bucks on ebay and spend the the rest of your life patting yourself on the back for how wonderful you are.
it’s real easy to point fingers when you’re not the one actually doing something
let it go crazy people. rock it morgan. this is your blog, your house, your finds and your business. i’m inspired everyday by your efforts and it certainly isn’t easy.
what the hell is wrong with all these people. seriously.
I have an eBay shop(pe) and it sucks. eBay is nicknamed FeeBay for a reason.
I know the fees that Morgan is being charged- believe me she is not pocketing $599 from a $599 sale.
And if she was? So fucking what? Hit the back button if you are so shocked and appalled at a seller making a profit.
What you are objecting to is Capitalism- not Morgan. Unfortunately for the haters, we live in a capitalistic country, which is why Morgan has to make a mortage payment instead of living on a kibbutz where housing is free.
*eye roll*
No worries, Morgan- you rock the party that is the par-tay. Love your blog, love your design esthetic.
Holy shazbot! I thought the rants on Apartment Therapy were childish and droning. Why are we all debating the price point of a table? Seriously? So what she doubled her price? Heck, why not triple the price and throw in a white tiger? As with every retail establishment, she has to cover costs, her initial investment and try to make a profit. Did you expect that because she is your “BBF” (best blogging friend) she would give you a discount? Were you expecting her to tack on $100 to her purchase price and call it a day?
In the end, she took the time, effort and resources to conduct the project. For every $599 table she sells, I am sure there are $50 chairs and $10 lamps that she takes a loss on. You balance your wins and your losses.
So if you dont want to pay the cost, wait it out…maybe she will drop the price. Or maybe, someone else will see the value and gladly drop down my dollars…I am pretty sure the latter will occur.
On a sidenote, I think this table deserves its own blog now
Fuck a bunch of this shit. I bought a chair for $75 on craigslist… and then sold it a year later for $750 on craigslist.
Haters are just jealous.
I, too, am a first time commenter who just had to chime in after reading all these comments. To my mind there is one major flaw in this “conversation” … the fact that there are actually two conversations going on here and they are getting all mixed up. One is about the “vintage” system as a whole and the second is about whether the table is over-priced. They should be kept separate.
The people leaving negative comments aren’t really upset with Morgan, they are upset with the whole “vintage” system. It is a shame that this lovely blog and a sweet old table somehow got mixed up in a debate which is about capitalism (like Kate said), in general, and the “vintage” system, in particular.
I’m not saying that the debate shouldn’t happen, I just don’t think it is fair to use Morgan in your argument against those systems (and this is probably not the best place to have that debate, anyway). If she were a major dealer with many disgruntled customers, well, that might be a different story. But we are talking about one individual who refurbishes and resells a very limited number of items and, apparently, is doing a fine job at it.
Also, isn’t it a bit ridiculous to criticize the pricing of this one table when we really don’t know anything about it? For all we know, some major flaw in need of correction became apparent only when Morgan was fixing it up and she is now taking a loss on it.
I’m impressed, I need to say. Actually not often do I encounter a blog that’s both educative and entertaining, and let me let you know, you may have hit the nail on the head. Your idea is excellent; the problem is something that not sufficient individuals are speaking intelligently about. I’m very completely happy that I stumbled throughout this in my search for something relating to this.
@The brick house – Hi, that dining table from Gangso (Gangsø) might have been my fathers work and design. He worked for Gangso as designer in the late 1970′ies and early 80′ies. His signature was P.Hermann, but unfortunately i can’t see any on the photos. Well, you’re welcome to contact me, if you wanna know more. Greetings from Denmark, Brian.
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