Rick Orr's career took a grand turn in 1979, when he saw a $500 painting at an estate sale. Orr is a "picker" ... buying art and objects at thrift stores and estate sales, then marking them up to sell to dealers. This estate sale painting, which he calls Three Wise Men, was a $20 million Picasso oil. And he lost it to another shopper. That painting has haunted Orr ever since, and his quest to find a Picasso of his own is the subject of his new no-budget documentary Picking for Picasso. But Orr thinks the competitive "picker" lifestyle is fading. eBay, Craigslist, and Antiques Roadshow have all contributed to a drought in the secondhand market, and the money to be made by finding rare art, midcentury modern furniture, and other various antiques has been drying up because of the economic recession. But when it comes right down to it, Orr (much like me) would continue picking even if he never found another thing. And in the backs of our minds, we all know that elusive piece is still out there waiting to be found. Like my own Picasso lithograph, which I found on a thrift store wall back in 2005.
Steve B. commented: eBay and Craig's List have democratized collectibles dealing. By extension, now everyone is a dealer.
Scott commented: I agree, Steve. But on the flip side, eBay and Craigslist have also made everyone (especially folks uneducated in antiques) think all their belongings are valuable, even when most of it is just junk. It's a double-sided sword.
Deb commented: Steve and Scott I agree with both of you to an extent but....what you need to keep in mind is that ebay and craigs list have sped up the natural changes in the secondary market place. So much so that it is hard even for an experienced professional to keep up with the ebb and flow. No matter how much the thrift store or Joe Shmoe think they know, the less they really do. So the educated person is still always a step ahead.
Also people become frustrated very easily with sales that are below what they think they should get...so they stop trying to sell on ebay and craigs list. For my money, ebay and craigs list are the new flea markets. The dollar values are just not what they should be. So now flea markets dealers and consignment auction participants can make more money than selling on ebay.
Dawn commented: I found this article delightfully interesting. Having been a thrifter for over 30 years, it offered me a different perspective on why someone else may be standing in line at an estate sale at 7 AM in the pouring rain, lol. I'm extremely impressed with Orr's gift. And I can certainly appreciate that "picking" (an octave higher? lower? than thrifting for oneself?) is in his blood. I know that thrifting is in mine.
I do agree with him about the horribly slim pickings nowadays. In my little county in Florida, I began seeing the ebay/Craig's list phenomanon back in the late 90s, when the thrifts and garage sale sellers began jacking up their prices on--ahem--"collectibles"...the ebay phenomanon, I call it. And my visits to estate sales began to require bodyguards to run interference for me, lol, as I am a petite lady and those pickers can get pretty rough (even Orr admits to this---Michelle, a fellow picker, he recalls, would "trip you for a wall sconce". ) One "rich retiree" subdivision here will admit you to their sales only by invitation. The good old days are gone. But in the end, it is only stuff and someday (not too soon, I hope) there will be an estate sale at my home, too. So I try not to get tooooooooooo frustrated when I hit the thrifts/sales and find nothing but "baby clothes, flatware from IKEA" (to quote Orr) and tons of Made in China goods. Are these the "new collectibles"?
My hat is off to those of you (yes, I mean you, Scott) who still manage to find amazingly good stuff out in the mid-west. I comfort myself with the fact (however small) that 90% of Florida's population comes from other states and we have a very, very large Yankee retirement population who dumps their stuff of 40-50 years "up Nawth" and comes down here to buy plastic bamboo Walmart furniture (safer for the grandkids) to decorate their Chinese dry-walled McMansions. So when I do find something special, I A. really had to hustle for it; B. consider it a miracle, and C. figure a picker hadn't gotten to it first.
PS: The first time I heard the term "vultures" in relation to pickers was in 1998, from a antiques store (now defunct) owner who was constantly and consistently being out-picked here.
Scott, do let us know how you like the video!
robert devine commented: Hi Scott,
I have to agree with Deb in that eBay and Craigslist are the new flea markets and imho I would rather search a Flea its easier and safer even though I do eBay on both ends what I really look forward to are the Elkhorn Flea markets in the Spring
Rick Orr mentions in the Phoenix article that instead of putting that 5.00 piece in a rumage sale they are putting it up on eBay and getting 150.00? hummmmm am I missing something here thats not happening anymore and hasns't for a long long time yes occasionally you will find that scenario but in 99.9% of cases I think that the seller ends up disappointed and I know lots and lots of eBay sellers who feel that way
Scott i'am like you in that I would pick and search regardless of any possible monetary reward sure thats nice but its the hunt and time doing it that makes it fun and interesting not to mention the people and knowledge you aquire along the way now i'am going back to that thrift tomorrow morning and pick up that Georg Jenson Danish teak ice bucket I saw today tomorrow its 1/2 off and i'am crossing my fingers best, robert
Scott commented: I personally think one of the major factors is sellers overpricing on eBay. Even if they don't get a buyer for their overpriced item, it creates a perception if value, even if that value is overstated. Once that takes hold, prices do tend to unnaturally increase across the board.
Anyone who shops at thrift stores regularly knows about the "glass case" ... and the trend in the past few years for antique/vintage goods displayed in it to be extremely overpriced. Thrifts often will even print out an eBay listing for a similar item as "proof" of its value. This is the trend I'm talking about.
Robert - Good luck on the Jensen ice bucket! Let me know if it was still there. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.
Dusti commented: Great movie, I bought a copy off of pickingforpicasso.com and really enjoyed this man's story. I wish there were more films like this.
Scott commented: Thanks Dusti! I just ordered the movie this week, so am looking forward to watching it myself.
One other similar independent documentary I can suggest is Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock, which is about a woman named Teri Horton who finds a supposed Pollock in a thrift store. It follows her trials and tribulations trying to get the art world to accept it as "real" without provenance.
I'm always looking for more films along these lines, so if you've seen others you've liked please let me know.
Wayne Jordan commented: Ebay and craigslist have had a severe impact on my estate sale business. A decade ago, estates would be picked over by family members prior to them calling me for an inspection. The only items the family took were items they wanted for themselves; there was usually plenty left over to have a successful sale. These days, estates are pretty well picked clean, because the family members sell items online.
Scott commented: Thanks so much for your input, Wayne. I think it's extremely valuable to have insight from the auctioneer/estate sale host's viewpoint in addition to the pickers' feelings on the subject. I really appreciate your participation in the discussion.
Bryan commented: Great discussion Scott... let us know how the video is, I'm thinking of picking it up myself. I guess I have to agree about the Ebay acceleration, though we haven't been in the whole picker/thrifting game for long enough (we're in our late 30s, but only really started looking for stuff after 2003 or so). However, I've been a "picker" (coin collecting) since I was 8.
I also agree that the real thrill is in the hunt - this is what gets me out of bed and into the thrifts and estate sales in the early morning. Thrifts are really picked out in many of our areas (Southern California) - however, I always tell myself, there's no possible way every picker can be at the thrift EVERY minute.
So there's always a chance of finding something - just less of a chance. At the least, it's exercise and gets me out of the house. However, I can sympathize with the pro antique dealers and estate auctioneers. Whether it's Ebay, Antiques Roadshow or online collectible fan sites (yep, I'm guilty of the latter, but that's why we always say that we don't give out values for anything) they've got that "new" perception of value to deal with.
Scott commented: Special thanks to Dawn for recommending this story. It's something I very closely can relate to. I just ordered the DVD, so expect a review sometime in the future.