The market has shifted. Formal brown furniture and everyday porcelain have fallen a long way. Pieces with a maker's mark, Arts and Crafts and Mission oak, Asian works of art, folk art, early lighting and good silver still find buyers. Sometimes a group sells better than its parts: in September three 1920s walnut bedroom pieces from one estate went together to a single buyer who wanted the set.
We title by evidence. A vase that came to us tagged as Qing dynasty is now listed as early twentieth century, because that is what its marks and construction support. Dovetails, saw marks, screws, hardware, wear and makers' labels date a piece more reliably than family memory, and the listing says only what the object can show.
Anything that might be worth real money is priced against what comparable pieces have sold for at auction, including North Carolina houses such as Brunk Auctions in Asheville and Leland Little in Hillsborough. Dealer asking prices are treated as a ceiling, never as evidence. When a piece would do better at a specialist auction house than with us, we say so.
Insurance appraisals help with identification and mislead on price. One collection we are selling came with a detailed appraisal from 1999; the pieces from it that had already sold realised a median of about a third of their insured figure. The descriptions in an appraisal are worth having. The numbers measure replacement at retail, not resale.
Pieces stay in your home while they are listed. We photograph and research each one, list it through our own shop and the marketplaces that suit it, handle every enquiry, and arrange collection once the buyer has paid. If you have a single piece and would rather have a cash offer, use our sell-your-antique form instead.
What the family receives.
- ✓A free walkthrough of the house
- ✓A written quote before any work starts
- ✓Each piece dated and described from its construction, marks and labels
- ✓Prices researched against auction sold results, not dealer asking prices
- ✓A plain recommendation when a piece belongs at a specialist auction instead
- ✓Listings you approve, with every enquiry and pickup handled for you
- ✓A written record of what sold and for how much
Why VaultXL.
Dated by evidence
Family stories matter, and we record them. The listing still says only what the object itself supports, which is what keeps a sale from coming back.
Auction results, North Carolina included
We check what comparable pieces realised at auction, including Brunk in Asheville and Leland Little in Hillsborough, before setting a price.
Sold from where it sits
Heavy and fragile pieces stay in your home until a buyer has paid. Nothing is moved twice.
We will send you elsewhere when it pays
Some pieces belong at a specialist auction. Telling you so is part of the job.
Where we serve.
Charlotte · Myers Park · Eastover · SouthPark · Foxcroft · Dilworth · Elizabeth · Cotswold · Ballantyne · Huntersville · Cornelius · Davidson · Matthews · Mint Hill · Waxhaw · Fort Mill · Rock Hill
Start with a walkthrough.
A free walkthrough in your home, then a written quote before any work starts.
Frequently asked.
An antique is generally at least a hundred years old. Hand-cut dovetails, uneven saw marks, hand-made screws and nails, original hardware and wear in the places hands and feet actually touch all point to age. Makers' marks and labels help most. Reproductions tend to be too even and worn in the wrong places.
A written appraisal is useful for insurance, estate valuation and donations. For selling, what matters is what comparable pieces have actually sold for, which is the research we do before pricing. If you already have an appraisal, keep it; its descriptions help.
Yes. For a single piece you can request a cash offer through our sell-your-antique page, or ask us to sell it for you on consignment. A short call and a few photos are usually enough to tell which suits it.
We sell through our own shop and online marketplaces. When a piece would clearly do better at a specialist auction house, we recommend that instead.
Every project is quoted in writing after a free walkthrough: a non-refundable setup fee set in your quote, and 15% of what sells after marketplace fees. You keep 85%.
