Maynards – Auctions, Liquidations & Appraisals

Our experience with Maynard’s on-​line auction left a bad taste in our mouths.
We made 3 purchases. One piece was fine, and we love it.
Another had some condition issues (neither described nor shown in photographs).
And the third was not at all as described, and had been carefully photographed to disguise the features that give away the fact it is a cheap knock-​off reproduction. They stated that the item was Navajo, and it most definitely is not.
Do not expect any degree of professionalism on their part. They could have refunded us on that third item from their commissions on our own purchases and still have made a small profit (and further profit from their seller’s commission) — but they chose to hide behind their fine print and do nothing.
If you can’t show up in person to verify the authenticity of your prospective purchase, you can’t rely on Maynard’s honesty or expertise. Their reputation seems not to matter to them.

I’ve always had a good experience at Maynards. You can’t really find better prices than for goods from stores that are unfortunately going under.
Maynards always has unique things available. Furniture is one of its specialties and I was happy to snag a large wooden chest with semi First Nations-​looking carving on it — a solid cedar thing that now holds all the guest linens next to my pull-​out sofa. It also doubles as my dinner table when I feel like eating on the couch, too. How much? Just $ 200 and it was in my apartment by the end of the day.
Then there was the time I went to find jeans, which they didn’t have, but what they did have was the bike liquidation. And yes, I bought again — but it’s June and I want to try and be more active this summer! Great hybrid bike for $ 180, which, even with a tuneup and all, would be $ 200, and much less than anything I have seen in a specialty bike store.
The people at Maynards are always quite helpful, pointing out both the positives and negatives of the goods they are selling. As a result, I have never walked away with a purchase I’ve been dissatisfied by.
Great institution for the city.

This is a review of the Maynard’s auction house, and not a review of the Liquidation shop where they sell cast-​offs.
The 2 filtered reviews give Maynard’s a needless drubbing, and having been a life-​long antique collector, and auction house habitué, I’d like to address some of the concerns raised in these reviews.
When one registers to bid at an auction in eager anticipation of bidding on some priceless wonder, the expectation is that you’ve entered the bidding arena with a sound understanding of the auctioneering process, and are well versed in its pitfalls.
Attributions, descriptions, and price estimates for the various lots are provided to bidders by the auction house only for the purposes of cataloguing items. The accuracy of the catalogue is left entirely to the discretion of the bidder, and it is understood-​indeed spelled-​out in fine print when one registers-​that the bidder has taken advantage of the preview to make a survey of the lots in the catalogue.
Is it genuine Meissen, or a Staffordshire copy? Is it a George I linen press, or an Edwardian copy? Having the ability to distinguish between the two is an art that takes many years to develop, and getting singed a time or two helps to sharpen your focus for the next round. It’s all part of the auction/​antiques learning process.
Bidders who insist on paying more than retail value for a lot at auction (particularly on items that are quite clearly tainted) is not an uncommon phenomena. Whenever I see it occur, I let out a gasp, and thank my lucky stars that I’ve long passed that stage. The bulk of the audience will also be letting out a collective gasp, and thinking similarly.
As difficult as this may be to accept, an auction house is the worst place to find yourself if you’re inexperienced, misinformed, or otherwise less than competent in the specialized field in which you’ve elected to bid.
The top players who enter this arena know what 200-​year-​old oxidized Cuban mahogany looks like; can distinguish between a bergere, and canapé, and a cheveret; know the different types of finishes used in the 18^th and 19^th centuries on furniture; the important cabinet makers from those periods; their marks; the difference between the marks left by handsawing and a cabinetmaker’s bandsaw… the list is endless.
This is where the antique dealer makes his first appearance. A bona fide dealer has spent many years at this science of antique detection, and plumbs the tastiest morsels from the auction house. When you visit a dealer, and spend what seems like countless thousands on an item in his shop, what you are paying for is his years of expert discernment and knowledge.
Maynard’s is Vancouver’s premier auction house. I’d further suggest that Maynard’s ranks in the top three most significant auction houses in BC. I’ve attended the Maynard’s Antique auctions as a collector for five years, and have always walked away from the auction floor richer for the experience-​in one form or another.
In summary, a low-​star review for Maynard’s on Unilocal is the tacit admission by the reviewer of their lack of antique/​auction experience, as has now been explained.

We hit the new location at lunch today. Maynards now has a second location on United Blvd in Coquitlam.
They had sofa beds from hotels for $ 150…desks in light maple for $ 99 and bikes that go for $ 800 for $ 149.
The attraction was the clearance of Ingledews shoes. Pointless since they had all of 4 pairs of dowdy shoes in my size. HOWEVER I made out like a bandit on interstesting furnitrue pieces, columbia boots for $ 19 and stationary ($ 150 worth for $ 31).
We will go back and get a bike for my son, because at that price it is worth keeping in a box until he grows into it next Summer.
Come with time to shop, and bring a trailer. I wish I had mine with me today. (Yes I have a trailer… I live on a farm… note the llama in the profile photo?)

I followed a friend down an alley and through a parking lot to an (almost) secret entrance to find this place. I’d wished I’d checked it out long before the summer wedding season when everyone I knew tied the knot! They had just done some bankruptcy buy-​out and had rock bottom prices on lead crystal glasses.
I am in-​the-​know when it comes to prices for a crystal champagne flute, as it is one of my go-​to wedding gifts. This summer I was excited to find a sale at the Bay and I paid around $ 120 for 4 champagne flutes — that was the sale price! They were regularly $ 50 each. Here I found equally-​beautiful flutes for $ 13.99 — plus 60% off! That’s around $ 5.60 per glass versus a «sale» glass at the Bay for $ 30.
It was incredible, so I bought the entire shelf … 21 glasses for less than the price of 4 at the Bay. I’m sure someone else will get married soon … if not, I’m well stocked for a classy New Years Eve bubbly party!
I am eager to go back to see what other treasures they might have coming in. There’s always something different on their shelves. This time there was lots of fancy plate sets and Chinaware, crystal and silver. The friendly lady on staff told us that there would be lots of tools coming in this week — heads up boys!