Another Desk! No-Name. Seller Claims it's from the 1930s. What Do You Think?

They're asking for less than $500 + shipping, but it looks "funny" to me--almost as if it were new. Am I delusional?
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Attachment 2020Attachment 2021Here's a photo of the face of the desk:

P.S. I forgot to add: This is a company that refinishes the furniture they sell.

Its junk. All plywood...you can see it in the dovetails, back and the gallery. I dunno, for $ 500 its certainly cheap enough, but it looks like cookie-cutter crud.

I was trying to think of why the feet on that piece looked familiar.... I realize that I used to have a production piece of modest quality from the 1950's or 60's that had very similar feet. But I personally don't believe that the piece you're looking at is even that old. Refinishing doesn't erase every sign of wear - every edge on that piece is crisp and new-looking. There are no areas in which the veneer looks worn or damaged, or where the surfaces are scratched, stained or dented from use.

Also, what Duane was saying about the drawers.... Others may have a different experience but I've only seen dovetailing like that on recent pieces that are built to sell to people who hear that "dovetailing is great" but have no further knowledge of wood or furniture. You don't dovetail plywood, because you will create a weak joint. The dovetails you show are cut in a manner that each pull on the drawer will place stress upon the small wedges of plywood that comprise each dovetail, and if you look you'll see that if the plywood splits between plies you could end up holding the drawer front in your hand. In the close-ups below, each circled area becomes not a point of strength but a point of weakness.

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Also, the production piece I had (which was also a slant-lid secretary) had meatier hardware and not a single piece of plywood was used in its construction.

I suspect that your impression is correct - that this is a new piece being sold as an near-antique.

Thanks, guys. I knew it! I see what you mean about the dovetails, Aaron. This site is so helpful for learning about this stuff.