Pace Antiques and Auction

I bought a cherry armoire from Pace Auctions, and paid for it with a check before the auction ended. David Pace said he could arrange moving for me, and to call him the next day. I did, and he said the movers would bring the armoire the next day. They did not show up or call, so I called David Pace again, and he said he would have the movers call me. They never did, so I tried to call him again. He seems to have blocked my number, because when I try to call him, the phone number rings and then goes silent — you can’t even leave a message. There is no other way to communicate with David Pace, and now he has my armoire and my money. I am filing a police report. I am pretty sure there were no movers — he just said there were so he could have time to cash my check. What a crook!

I have been attending Pace auctions off and on for many years. David Pace is your traditional old school auctioneer and is very good at what he does. While Pace no longer has the weekly auctions that so many had come to love, he remains in the game and delivers quality auctions on a somewhat less frequent schedule.
Times have changed, and while I have enjoyed the Pace auctions of the past with quality lamps, clocks, furniture and other antiques, the market has shifted to more «collectibles». As a result of the market change, Pace has seemingly reluctantly accommodated by changing the mix of his auctions, but there are still good antiques to be had here, and because of the market change, there are good deals on those antiques as well.
I noticed some of the other reviews here on Unilocal that made comments regarding the buyers premium, taxes and need to inspect items closely and my only response to that is that is the nature of auctions. I never purchase things at an auction without inspecting them and expect them to be perfect. I take a risk here and there but it isn’t the auction houses responsibility if you don’t inspect, ask questions or do whatever you need to do to know what you are bidding on. Buyers premiums, paying taxes… those items seem to all be a bit different from auction house to auction house but I don’t find what Pace does to be unreasonable.
My only complaint is that I wish the weekly auctions were still taking place here. They were always entertaining, informative and a great source of quality items.
Keep up the good work David Pace, I will continue attending as long as you keep hosting and inviting us in!!!

I found Pace Auctions to be just okay as compared to other auctioneers and auction houses. While the items have brief descriptions on the websites, I would strongly recommend that you take a much closer look at the item condition in person.
The main reason for the 3 star grading is the fact that Pace Auctions charges sales tax, while many others do not. It is very very important to note that charging sales tax is in no way illegal. Many auctioneers, who get items form individuals, do not charge sales tax. Those auctioneers absorb the sales tax charge within the auction price. Dave Pace charges tax on his items, even if he obtains them from individuals. To make it even more expensive, the tax is charged on the buyers’ premium too. A $ 100 item will generate a $ 15 buyer premium and a tax on $ 115. Your $ 100 bid will, therefore, end up costing you close to $ 124.

Fun place to shop & browse, like a treasure hunt. Unique items, and merchandise changes frequently. Good variety, vintage, retro & some contemporary or traditional flare, like leather & glass furniture, among the awesome antiques. And, cool jewelry, silver, vintage, turquoise & more. Good for home furnishing & gifts. Plus, they do some buying & trading too. Overall, cool place.

Neat place. A lot of unique stuff. Owner is a nice enough guy, has a good eye.

We had the task of trying to sell an eclectic collection of treasures and not having any idea of where to start. David came by our place and talked to us about what we had. He made an offer, we made a deal and the next day came by to pick up the items. His crew was courteous, careful and quick! I want to add a pretty important side note. While looking through the stuff, David found a rather valuable item we didn’t know about. He told us to hang on to it. That, to me, is the most important part of this whole deal. Having someone you can trust (not to sound cliché) is priceless. His shop is totally cool… you will be there a while browsing!

unfortunately, i haven’t seen david and crew for a while, but when i had dealings with him, they were always great. nice guy to work with, and if something is, or isn’t what it is supposed to be, he will let you know.
used to have a lot of fun at the auctions — really miss them.