Expert: Eileen Cronk - 4/20/2005

Question
How overpriced do you think these are?  I've been told by a couple of furniture stores in the area (Louis Shanks and Ethan Allen) that a mahogany piece would be over $1000 by itself.  Do you not think Drexel is very good furniture?  Thanks!

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Followup To
Question -
I'm interested in purchasing a Mahogany Dresser and Chest of Drawers.  They are each stamped "by Drexel".  I'm trying to determine the age of the 2 pieces and, if possible, a value.  They each have a plate on an inside drawer from the Mahogany Association.

The Chest is labeled Number 160 and says "all exposed structural parts and plywood faces guaranteed, etc."

Any idea on age or value?  The Chest is selling for $400 (54"Tx34"W) and the Dresser for $500 (36"Tx51"W).  Do these sound like good prices to you.  The drawers on the Chest; however, are a little bit difficult to pull out and make a rubbing noise. I spoke with a refinisher who said the drawers could have expanded and may need shaving or it could be the runners that may need repair.  She said plan on spending $200-$300. Do you think the price is worth to pay, along with the cost to repair?

Thanks for any advice you can give.
Answer -
Hi Susan
Nice to hear from you.
My advice is simply this..Stay away from these pieces.
Over priced and the repair price is absolute highway robbery.
Hope this helps
Regards
Eileen

Answer
Hi Again Susan
This is a quote from your question. "all exposed structural parts and plywood faces guaranteed, etc."
This is what I based my answer on, and I stand by it.
I have never seen a quality piece of furniture with plywood.
Also the fact of the drawers sticking and an estimate of 2 to 3 hundred for repairs which like I said is highway robbery to repair sticking drawers. On the other hand,if this is a reputable restorer, they may realise that warpage is involved in the sticking and priced the job high in case this is true. Personally I suspect the drawer fronts are warped which make the piece of no value.
Stay away from it :-)
Regards
Eileen