Featured State Of The Antique & Collectables Market - 4th Quarter 2016

Hello Folks,

Wanted to get your thoughts on the health of general antiques and collectables market. With baby boomers continuing to downsizing in large numbers creating a literal tsunami of antiques and used goods coming to market and with younger generations (millennials) not collecting for various reasons is there any hope to think that we have reached a bottom?

Personally I'm not convinced that we have. Locally here in Ohio prices for items at auction have seen continued weakness in the past few months in my eyes and its getting to the levels where some items like older furniture and art pottery are very appealing at current prices. Junky box lots are cheap furniture are still selling fine but the middle levels of the antique and collectable market has just been gutted over the last decade or so with a lot of items selling at 33 to 50% of where they once were.

New thrift stores are opening and doing fine but antique and collectable stores are moving online and generally closing their brick and mortar locations.

Your Thoughts?

Thanks,
Joe2007

 

I wouldn't be surprised if only these two survived:

1: High-end galleries selling the most expensive antiques.

2: Thrift stores and charity shops where all the rest of the stuff is.

Maybe that says something about a disappearing middleground. Sadly I feel the knowledge and people's appreciation towards quality (and refinement) are dying.

 

A dealer can't expect to make a living on the average items found in the ordinary and extraordinary antique shop West of the Atlantic states any more. Supplementing income is harder but doable if the overhead isn't 50% of the sales price. The internet can take half of that overhead cost out of an item. Tastes have changed, also. Rotating items from storage can freshen up show inventory. But, collectors aren't out there as they once where. Imagine I'll always be doing something with antiques--curiousity, people, love of the antique. But, my expectations are much lower than they were 25 years ago. I don't rely on antiques for my living.

 

Cant talk about thing in the state's and think its hard to Acess things in Britain ,

But will add the old saying things are only worth what people will pay for them ,

I went to A antiques and collecters fair yesterday and the set up was something I'm not use to ,

In the first hall I say there was about 70-100 stalls set out all with back drops and display cases ,

This was the top end of the Antiques market with high end furniture and pottery plus very expensive jewellery,

It was busy and business seemed brisk, but I thought there nothing for me here its to expensive if I liked it or there was very little for me ,

Then I noticed there was another hall just beyond the cafe ,I went in there and that was more to my liking it was just tables set out and the seller's had there wears on them no backdrop or cabinets like the other hall ,

And there was about 200 dealers selling from the tacky to the expensive range and that room was also busy with people buying ,

This is what I bought , its a Lovell Toffee Rex sweets tin shaped has a bucket its nearly 2 ft high still has original lid and Handel ,

And I think it pre dates 1940s probably around 1920s

 

Yes its going down hill right now but it will go back up. I sell 1700 and 1800's antiques Nobody buying right now I have to go to antiques markets and outdoor fairs to sell anything since ebay started I've seen hundreds of people come and go they think their going to get rich but it never happens they are fading out now around me and things are picking up but prices have really changed on a lot of items

 

This is what I bought , its a Lovell Toffee Rex sweets tin shaped has a bucket its nearly 2 ft high still has original lid and Handel...

Charlie, toffee doesn't seem to be all that popular in the US, but I know it has long had quite a following in the UK & elsewhere. I hope that toffee "bucket" was a great buy for you!

I was looking around a bit for others, and here are a couple I found:

This bucket is being called a large one (although it certainly is not as big as your 2 foot tall tin!) offered for $350. (That’s offered, mind you, not sold.) It appears to be in very nice condition:

http://xxxxantiques.net/browse_anti...91-large-vintage-lovell`s-toffee-rex-bucket-#

Another, probably the same size as the one above, but in much worse condition, recently failed to sell on eBay at $295 AU (and is now re- listed at $265 AU):

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ANTIQUE-...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Have you been able to find another as large as the one you have?

 

Thank you for that mine is probably has big has them ones I'm hopeless at quessing sizes lol ,

Will have to measure mine got a tape measure somewhere

I find the same ones has you when searching net , l bought mine for £50.00 the dealer wanted £70.00 maybe what I paid all its money but when you like something sometimes you pay over the odds even if you bought it for resale,

Them ones you posted seem a lot better condition then mine but think mine got the the rustic charm has they would say ,

I like advertising stuff and only just started buying it ,I've nothing special but like all my pieces think I let my heart over rule my business brain in regards to advertising, items.

Advertising collectables seem a limited collectors area but growing in the UK,

 

Haven't really seen any changes of late here locally. The market is pretty much dead. No one cares about age or provenance any more. It is all about the look and that look these days is the shabby found and repurposed look. (They really don't want real aged shabby but, rather, the faux-painted pseudo-shabby look.) Some of the best selling furniture items in my group shop are newly made from old pallets . Brown furniture moves slowly if cheap enough. We don't even have much of an MCM market, contrary to many other places. Smalls are dead in the water unless exceptional and dirt cheap. If other smalls sell, it is for use or to decorate with and they better be pennies on the dollar. Another top seller in our store are slogan signs and framed chalkboard imported from china and mostly under $10.00.... under $20.00 for larger ones. We are not an antiques shop so anything goes. There are not any true antique shops here any more. The rents are too high.

Besides all this, business in general has been really bad of late. I blame this on the election. It can't get over soon enough for me. Having been doing this for over 35 years, I have always noted a downturn in business during presidential election years. We don't sell anything that people really need and the bit of uncertainty about the election results in people being more conservative with their money. Whether or not things will really change with the election doesn't really matter. It is just the perceived uncertainty and things generally go back to business as usual in short order once the election is over. This year may be different. The uncertainty is greater and people seem to be more invested. Business may not bounce back as quickly this year depending on the result.

 

Containing costs is imperative. By far my primary expense in the brick and mortar aspect of my business is rent (Group shop so that includes clerking, etc.). The only way I can make it work is to pay very little for anything. If I can't mark something at least 3X, I don't buy it and usually work on a larger mark up than that. I probably pull as much merchandise as I sell to keep the inventory fresh. I rotate some of it back in but still have a large stock of unsellable merchandise. I intend to do some flea markets and have sent stuff to auction in the past. I fortunately have plenty of storage space at home so don't have to pay for that.

Ebay sales have become unreliable. Despite having been a significant portion of my business in the past, I have to consider anything I sell there a bonus these days. It is kind of a vicious circle. If I work it harder, I do make more but the return has diminished in relation to the effort put in. Consequently, I have made a conscious choice to work it harder in the Winter months when I have more time and the chance of return is greater. Have to work smarter rather than harder if you can.

 

Wise words brad.
I'm lucky as my rent is cheap so I can keep my store open but for many the rent is the killer and without selling on-line they can't survive (small town West Coast Canada). I sell lots of smalls on the local 24 hour auction site on Facebook, items that wouldn't be worth it to list on ebay. Nothing sells for over $20.00, but selling 15-20 items a day adds up quickly and they are gone. If I had these items in my brick & mortar store they probably wouldn't have sold - people like the idea of sitting at home or work and buying stuff.
I do okay selling on different Facebook sites that have a worldwide audience - sales have been better there than ebay.
My friend has his furniture store which used to be antiques only but he now sells MCM furniture and does okay. He still has antique furniture and pieces sell but not for the high price or as quickly as in the past.
The local thrift stores struggle as donations are down - folks are trying to sell stuff themselves rather than donate. Value Village does okay as they bring items in from the main distribution centre but even there pickings have been slim lately.
Here we are becoming more of a retirement community and (most) seniors aren't buying things other than the basics. Most of them downsized before they moved here so they don't have stuff to sell. We have no industry here anymore, so many folks are working 2-3 jobs just to get by.
Hopefully with the Christmas season fast approaching people will be out spending money to keep all us crazy sellers going

 

These days you really can't specialize and survive. I sell primarily jewelry on line, because I have multiple medical issues and can't handle weightier items. Also, the higher the shipping the less the buyers are willing to shell out for the purchase price. I've passed by a lot of porcelain and glass crying out "I'm dirt cheap" because it's just not worth the effort. The US Snail trashed too much of it one year and that was that. Since I'm not paying rent I can work on a smaller margin than Brad, but higher end pieces aren't selling for much for me either. (and by high end I mean anything retailing over $100.) Unless it's an older piece, I generally melt precious metal items because it's easier and safer. The profits are lower but the risk is nil once you're cash in hand from the local pawn, and mass-produced Italian gold just isn't worth the bother if all you're getting is spot anyway. I can melt for about 70% with no work.

OTOH I do point other dealers at the bargain bits if I see them and the person does local flea markets. That includes furniture. Might as well make someone else happy, right?

 

I can melt for about 70% with no work.

Wow, that's low. I can get about 95-96% from a proper bullion dealer. For the amount of margin involved you might be well advised to find a better deal.

It is true I live near to the Birminham jewellery quarter, but even in Podunk there should be access to a better deal.

 

Actually, that is about all the dealers here in Chicago pay as well.

 

By the time I get to a bullion dealer I've spent enough in time and effort, especially effort, that it's actually a better deal to take the lower payout.

 

Is that due to the low purity level of the jewelry? A lot of the coin dealers/scrap buyers in my area send their jewelry to a refinery in Michigan and get fairly decent returns.

 

From my perspective eBay seems to be one of the worst places to sell common garden variety antiques & collectables since there is so many listings for almost identical items. It pushes prices down and it doesn't help that there are some sellers there that have inherited stuff and are just dumping it onto the market to be sold at any price.

 

The flip side of low selling prices is low buying prices. Buying at general auction should, if bought sensibly, still allow for good gross margins.

The other thing is that collecting tastes have changed but not necessarily diminished. So many traditional collecting fields have shrunk, e.g. toby jugs and pot lids, but there are many new collectors in new fields. By no means an antique but this tea towel is an example of what can be popular with buyers.

 

Too far for me to drive but I sent a parcel of silver to Birmingham for scrap to avoid low local prices. Worthwhile if one has a reasonable weight to scrap.

 

I think part of the low prices paid for scrap here is the supply exceeds demand. There have been times when I have had to wait for 3 or 4 people before me to finish selling their scrap. And every place I have tried in Chicago will not buy silver scrap and most pawns will not take sterling flatware or hollow ware, let alone jewellery, any longer.

 

I agree you got to look for the things selling at the moment i got a Staffordshire fireside dog on a site for £8.00 when others have there for £30+ it gets a lot of likes but not sold ,

I did have a older for it from someone in America but when quoted the postage they backed out,

But even things like that Beatles tea towel you can't pick up cheap ,

With so much on TV everyone a expert and think they got a fortune on there hands ,

Never mind you got to resell it or it could just be stuck with you and dead money ,

That's why I'm happy to buy something over the odds if I like it ,that way if I sell it I see it has a bonus ,