Featured Article: Small Antique Stores Dying Out In Vermont

Favorite, but really loud.

 

The largest antique mall in my area does this. They seem to have a few employees dedicated to the showcase area for this purpose. Usually only takes a few minutes from the button being pushed to the employee unlocking the case. If the showcase area is particularly busy the employee seems to have some difficulty in determining which customer pressed the button.

At some other antique malls it can take forever to try to track down an employee to open a showcase and I try to have a list of the items and cases I want to look at before I go to the effort of requesting help.

I agree that higher value smalls really need to be in the display case but it is a hassle especially if the tags are not easily visible or the case is overflowing with items.

 

We have no antique stores left here near me. The last one closed about 6 months ago. How they stayed in biz for all the years (30 or so) was a mystery. It was such a tiny store packed with stuff you could hardly move at all. And the prices were so high. I was in there 3x maybe. There was no place to park and the asking prices were nuts. It was so dusty from being on the shelves for way too long.

Probably there are antique stores that I don't investigate or am aware of here on LI.


I would never go back into working in a store again. I thought it would be ok as it was a family business... retail. It was hard work, trying to please people who were mean and threw tantrums in the store. It was long hours and at times boring. I thought it would be fun... boy I was wrong. LOL
Oh well.

 

It is a shame the shops are going away. My area used to be known for antique stores there are only a handful left in this county. I am in a pretty busy shop just west of Washington, DC in Virginia. I do agree that the shops that carry all of their smalls in locked up cases forfeit many opportunities for sales. I often wonder how those dealers can ever even break even on their rent. It also seems that "vintage" is what sells more often than "antiques". Of course, the very high end markets continue via auction.

 

I just closed down all my booths at my local multi-dealer antique shop in New York. Most older collectors are dying off and the millennials would rather spend their money on Starbucks, craft beers and iphones. My better stuff sat there and never sold. Actually my best seller was the $5-$10 geodes and crystals I added to the shop as an experiment. Most customers going into antique stores or malls are only actively seeking out things with thrift store prices. It is such a shame.

 

Oh @daveydempsey !

 

Squashed like the bug he was.

 

Davey, I think the Americans should hire you to stop Russian meddling in the 2020 election !!!
You'd be great !!!