If you think this column should be called dj vu, then your memory is perfect. It was about a year ago that I wrote about the problem of dealers not pricing goods for sale. Its one of my biggest bugaboos in the antiques trade, and I continue to be baffled that people still do it. Well, two weeks ago I blitzed some antique malls in Maryland and New Jersey. What did I find? Lots of merchandise that had no price tags. Now maybe the dealers just ran out of tags and could not restock? Horse flaps! Having restocked many a booth, I always pre-tag my stuff and carry extra tags just in case. And nearly every mall that I have ever been in kept a careful cache of spare tags behind the counter in case a tag was lost or forgotten at home. So the missing tag excuse seems a bit hollow. I have also heard stories of dealers who leave things for friends in their booths without tags. Not sure I quite believe that as mall security should have an issue with people grabbing goods and walking out the door. I have also heard of dealers who make so many deals that they just drop their stuff in their booths with the intent to come back later and price. That seems a bit hollow as I have yet to meet a co-op dealer who is that busy flipping merchandise. How about something more psychological? Many a co-op booth is actually not a place to buy antiques, but rather it is a museum extension wing of a private collection. The narrative is like this. The wife or husband is tired of seeing so much crap at home, and so they demand their collector spouse sell all or part of it off. The collector does not want to sell, and so the items are put in a booth with no price tag (or such a crazy high price tag that no one will ever pay that price) in the hopes that it just sits forever. Does this sound crazy? Sure does, but I have seen such museum booths in malls, and they drive me nuts. Often, they have ropes across so that the public cannot really get inside. After all, its not for sale but just to show off the exquisite taste of the collector. Pricing goods is central to retail. Its the old adage in the trade that buying something is only half the battle. You have to clean it, polish it, research it, and then price it to sell. Each one of those steps takes time, resources and money. And if you miss on any one of the steps, the price suffers. Then we have the antique show dealers who do not price their items but prefer to guess what a potential buyer will pay! Sigh, that may be the worst of them all. What it boils down to in my book is that pricing the merchandise is the best, safest and most reputable way of selling antiques. Dont settle for anything less in your collecting! Born to collect should be the motto of Peter Seiberts family. Raised in Central Pennsylvania, Seibert has been collecting and writing about antiques for more than three decades. By day, he is a museum director and has worked in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Virginia and New Mexico. In addition, he advises and consults with auction houses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly about American furniture and decorative arts. Seiberts writings include books on photography, American fraternal societies and paintings. He and his family are restoring a 1905 arts and crafts house filled with years worth of antique treasures found in shops, co-ops and at auctions.