Ercol Side Tables Resale Value

Ercol side tables: price by condition

Seller-declared grades, sterling with an approximate US dollar equivalent at £1 ≈ $1.33 (July 2026). What each grade means.

What holds its value across Ercol

• The Windsor range in elm and beech, particularly the stacking chairs and the Studio Couch, which are the pieces collectors specifically want
• Original untouched finishes, including the honey-coloured lacquer, which is what buyers of mid-century furniture are looking for
• Pieces still carrying the blue paper label or the stamped model number, which date them and confirm what they are
• Solid elm tops with figured grain, since elm was phased out after Dutch elm disease and cannot be replaced

What pulls Ercol resale value down

• Painted and chalk-painted pieces, which were extremely fashionable for a decade and which collectors discount heavily — stripping rarely returns the original colour
• Loose joints on the stick-back chairs, where the spindles have worked free of the seat and the chair racks under load
• Woodworm in elm, which is common in stored pieces and needs treating and declaring rather than hiding
• Sun-bleached tops where one half has faded against the other, which cannot be evened out without refinishing the whole piece

Identifying and dating yours

1. The model number is stamped into the underside of a seat or the back of a frame, and it identifies the design precisely — photograph it
2. Older pieces carry a blue paper label underneath; a surviving label is worth showing because it confirms both the maker and the period
3. Elm and beech look different: elm shows a strong wandering grain on the seat while beech is finer and straighter, and elm is worth more

What lifts any side table, whatever the label

Side tables are small, easy to move and cheap new, so design and material are what lift one above nominal value.

• Solid wood and recognised design pieces
• Stable, tight joints
• Original finish in good condition
• Matching pairs sold together

And what pulls one down

• Water rings and heat marks
• Wobbling legs
• Veneer lifting at the edges
• Generic flat-pack tables

Working out what yours is worth

1. Press each corner to test for wobble
2. Photograph the top in daylight
3. Measure height, width and depth

What to state in the listing

• Height, and top length and width or diameter
• Material and finish
• Whether it has a shelf or drawer
• Top surface condition and any wobble or repair

Material, style and size: “Mid Century Teak Side Table, 45cm, Tapered Legs”. Height and top dimensions are the searches because buyers are matching a sofa arm. Era and maker carry the value on anything vintage.

Preparing and photographing it

1. Clean the top and check it across raking light for ring marks, heat damage and scratches.
2. Check for wobble on a flat floor and tighten the legs.
3. Look underneath for a maker’s label or stamp, which on mid-century pieces changes the price.

1. The whole table from a standing angle
2. The top surface across the light
3. The legs and their joints
4. The underside with any maker’s mark, plus every chip or scratch

When it sells best, and handing it over

Steady year round with lifts in January and late summer. Mid-century pieces sell within days when correctly identified.

Small enough for a car boot, which makes collection easy. Remove the legs if they unbolt and say so — it turns a van job into a hatchback one.

What buyers ask

Is it worth stripping a painted Ercol chair before selling?

Rarely. Stripping is laborious and the original lacquer colour does not come back, so most sellers do better describing it honestly as painted and pricing it as such.

How do I tell genuine Ercol from a similar chair?

Look underneath. Genuine pieces carry a stamped model number and often a blue label, and the Windsor seats are shaped from a single solid piece rather than glued boards.

How much is an Ercol side table worth?

Roughly £16 to £91 depending on condition, against £12 to £70 for side tables generally. The identification points above are what move a listing to the top of that range.

What the fees would take elsewhere

At the mid-range £53 for an Ercol side table, against what the commission marketplaces would deduct:

Seller-side rates verified 26 Jul 2026, percentages only — the per-order and processing charges those platforms add are excluded, so the real gap is wider.

Listing is free and there is no commission — read how to sell a side table for the title, handover and timing, or the general side table value guide if yours is not an Ercol.

See also: all Ercol value guides · value guides by brand · buying a side table · Furniture · condition grades.