Saturday 21 January 2012

But What is it Worth?

I have been watching a stunning, mid-1930s evening dress pattern on eBay this week and while I had intended on bidding, the price very quickly became too high for my modest budget. 

McCall 8013, circa 1934

As the days went by, the price climbed higher and higher and when the auction finally ended on Friday the final sale price was a whopping US$423.30!! Wow!! All I can say is the winning bidder must have really wanted it. I don't think I've ever seen a pattern sell for anything close to this amount. It is an amazing dress but is it really worth $400+?

What say you dear readers? Would you be prepared to pay this sort of money for a vintage pattern? I don't like to pay more than $20 for a vintage so I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.


- Tamara

6 comments:

  1. I've had several discussions about crazy pattern prices and I'm convinced that when they go this high, the buyer must be a designer or with a fashion house that plans to make gowns for retail sale or to use for movie/tv costumes. It could also be some woman's dream wedding gown. I can't see any other reason for it to go so high.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have had several patterns sell for $200.00 (I don't do auctions) and each buyer was delighted to have found a treasure. So while it does seem like a lot, you wouldn't be surprised to see somebody pay that for a ceramic vase from that era. And paper and tissue are much more fragile. And they weren't designed to be kept forever, most were thrown away.
    So whatever a final price is, it was worth it to that buyer.

    ReplyDelete
  3. If it was a ready made dress I still wouldn't pay that much for it. $400 is just too much. I wouldn't go any higher than $40 for a vintage pattern.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Absolutely not! That's 95% of half of the rent!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi, I must agree with you, that price is way too high for me. The most I've paid for a pattern is $35, although I did sell one of mine on ebay for $88 and I couldn't believe someone would pay that!

    ReplyDelete
  6. WIF - Thanks for a sellers perspective. I agee, it's totally what it's worth to the buyer and in such good condition it could complete someone's collection.

    Andrea - A production house or costume company is an interesting possibility. Good thinking! And as a wedding dress, it could be the bargain of a lifetime!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...