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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Jeff Drum, post: 3903576, member: 6444&quot;]The only Antiques Roadshow I&#039;ve attended is the very first one ever filmed in the US (ever). Back then there was no indication that it would turn out to be a big phenomenon for PBS. It was held in my local hometown and less than two blocks away from our house, so I picked up two chairs and carried them over. Because it was a brand new show and had never been shown on TV it was held in a relatively small space - an old brick VFW hall, and there were no lines to get in.</p><p><br /></p><p>As soon as I walked in they directed me to the furniture area, and I had the great pleasure to talk to Wendell Garrett. This was before the Keno brothers were brought on, Wendell was in a wheelchair and was a real pleasure to talk to. None of the appraisers had had any TV exposure yet so they were all unknown quantities to those of us bringing in antiques. Most of the filming with appraisers had been done in the morning, though there were still cameras around getting some footage. When I was leaving they told me to come back and bring more things, since they were there till the end of the day and the appraisers had free time. So I did bring some more, artwork this time.</p><p><br /></p><p>Of the two chairs I brought, one was a Chippendale side chair which was appraised at about the same as I had paid at auction, $500. Note this was when the Roadshow was doing only auction value, and not confusing the audience with &quot;retail&quot; or &quot;insurance&quot; prices. The other chair was an earlier more rustic chair in tiger maple that I had bought in Maine at an out of the way used furniture/antique stand. That one I paid $20 for, and he appraised it for $1000. The main lesson I took from that is that auctions are not the best place to buy antiques. You know what you are getting at an auction, since they have reasonably qualified appraisers evaluating the items they sell, and most times you will pay a fair price. But I did much much better by using my own knowledge and following my own instincts, which is what I&#039;ve done ever since.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ve tried to attend a couple more recent Roadshows when they have been in my area, but haven&#039;t been picked for the lotteries they now hold to get in. The most recent Roadshow that I tried to attend was to be held in May 2020 in Boston - but Covid caused that one to be cancelled so I&#039;m not sure whether I would have been able to attend of not.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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