Elderly losing on antique sales

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33253, 16 June 1973, Page 16

Elderly losing on antique sales

Elderly people in Christchurch Aged Christchurch have been People’s Welfare Counpersuaded to sell an- Cl ’* tiques and furniture for e i der ]y people are much less than their generally women, and live true value, according to a ] one They are usually unlinformation given the aware of the true value of the

items, and later are confused about the details of the transaction and the identity of the buyer. Those approaching elderly people are not representatives of well-known or major firms. Some have said that they were frightened by the approach of the buyer, and others have said that they felt they could not refuse to sell. The incidents appear to have been widespread during the last few months, and the Aged People’s Welfare Council is concerned that for every case reported to it there must be many which are not.

Generally, the elderly people involved can give few details later. But one woman did tell the council that she had been “talked into” selling two antique clocks for 50c each. Elderly people who were approached to sell items were urged to seek advice from the Aged People’s Welfare Council, said the council’s secretary (Mr G. A. Mole). The type of approach described was completely against the principles of the Real Estate Institute, said the president of the institute’s Canterbury-Westland branch (Mr P. D. Battersby) last evening. He advised any person approached by a salesman to ask for the man’s card, and to have any item they wished to sell valued by a reputable antique dealer first. In the case of antiques or furniture, a real estate agent Would usually advise an auction, Mr Battersby said. There were many very reputable antique dealers in Christchurch, he said, “but there are also some people looking for a quick dollar.” Mr Battersby said that if elderly people were approached to sell their house, they should ask for the salesman’s card, and they should discuss the approach and any offer with a solicitor, who would usually seek an independent valuation of the; property by a registered! valuer. “We deplore this sort of thing, but we know it happens,” said the president of the New Zealand Antique Dealers’ Association (Mr R. Strachan), when told of the incidents. Any elderly person approached to sell an item should refer it to one of the association’s members, who

would willingly quote its approximate value, Mr Strachan said. Members of the association were bound by strict rules to pay a fair price—and they did not go about knocking on doors, he said. But there were “back-yard” dealers who were not licensed, and who bought where they could and sold to licensed dealers.

Mr Strachan spoke of newspaper advertisements he had seen calling for "any old clocks or watches for a schoolboy collector.” He had suspected the honesty of these advertisements, he said, and had tried to trace them, but without success.