Generalist or Specialist?

Hi,
As some of you know I used to do large yards sales. I had problems with one mother and daughter couple. One time they came a day early and wanted to know what I was selling and if okay for them to "look over" my stuff. I thought that was strange but then they told me they were taking the father to a nursing home and would not be able to attend. I told them to be more worried about the dad than worry about a yard sale. They showed up for the sale. Flew through the sale piling hundreds of pieces in a shady spot. I was watching out of the corner of my eye. One of them then went to the car and carried back 20 to 25 books on antiques and collectables. They then sat down and started to look at the items and searching the books. I went over and said I would check them out since they had approximately 125 pieces. They said no thanks we just want to learn about this stuff. I lost my sanity and said they could come to several of my lectures on antiques and collectables. I then started yelling and chased them away. Another sale later that month, the same two showed up and wanted a 5 dollar 1930 soda bottle for 25 cents. Again I lost my top and said for 25 cents I would smash the bottle and did. Again they fled. I had many a nut jobs but those two stuck in my brain for years.
greg

 

That would make me crazy too. One woman who used to show up here begged her way into an estate sale ahead of the line. Sob story - same person also always asked for a discount because she was a veteran. (which has what to do with the price of silverware?) She never did THAT again to that estate sale runner. I was supposed to be #1, I'd gotten there early and waited by the door for my number, and the lady running it found out exactly how displeased I was. No stacks blew, but ... it wasn't pretty. On the upside, she was so intent on a sterling necklace that she missed the 14k cuff links, and so did the estate sale runners. (heh)

Another note to remember: don't get so intent on one item that you miss the gold sitting next to it.

 

I completely disagree, knowledge is “King” no matter how and when you get it. I always carry my phone with me and when I go to large antique shows I lug my Davenports art reference guide in a backpack. A lot of times it is not about what you buy, it is about what you don’t buy.

 

On the other hand you don't need to look everything up, right? You have some knowledge of what you're looking at well before pulling your phone out. I don't carry Simichrome in my pocket for instance; it's used to test bakelite. My hands and my eyeballs are the only tests I carry for that. It might be nice to have a working internet connection to look up values, but there often isn't time to pull out a phone and get a connection through. By the time I do that someone else already bought anything worth looking up.

I make mistakes, especially on modern "collectible" items, but those are the price of education. It's part of the deal.

 

No, I don’t look everything up. But I find that I have to keep widening my scope because so many of my areas of interest have dried up. For instance I can’t remember the last time I found a coin silver spoon in a thrift shop, I used to find a half dozen or so a year. I get the whole estate sale thing too, you have to be Johnny on the spot, or it’s gone.

 

Rummage sales are worse. He who hesitates might as well stay home. I know what you mean about old stand-bys drying up. I even occasionally buy vintage clothing. Weird but true.

 

I guess one has to begin exploring off the road smaller towns that have not been visited much in order to find items...these days even tourists and backpackers seem to be interested in flea markets and thrift stores...
TTA

 

It is not always possible to look things up on a phone, but sometimes it is, and I do it frequently. I don't usually try to research things I'm unfamiliar with on the fly, but will look up items I have some familiarity with but can't quite nail down.
Also great for perfumes which are usually quick to look up and see if worth buying for resale. And artwork with clear signatures, though this can be tricky/time consuming if you don't know much about art, which describes me.

 

Great Topic!!

I think it only pays to be a specialist over a generalist in certain high value niches and that some antiques and collectables segments get so detailed and complex that one can only be a specialist otherwise they will get picked clean by the "wolves" in the niche.

Niches like collectable coins are so vast and the trade is so specialized that you almost have to be a specialist to be able to adequately judge value, desirability, and be able to profit off of your knowledge.

 

Some middle ground approach might be beneficial and practical for the picker who may specialize say in two areas and be a generalist in other chosen fields. . Imagine a picker who says he specializes in fine/ costume jewelry only and actually travels extensively, in search of his treasures ,,,lets say he travels to Europe to attend an antique fair in Paris and also decides to check some flea markets and shops in France while he is there...he may pick some jewelry that he could sell at a profit, however given the expenses of his travels, it would be more justifiable if he also looks around in the fair ,shops and flea markets some other antiques of value like rare books, prints etc even though he may not specialize on them. That way his travels could be justified , his revenue sources are diversified and his potential profits are maximized.
For the antique dealer maybe it could be different...

TTA

 

I don't consider myself a picker as I buy strictly for me to resell or for my own personal collections/use & I rarely buy anything anymore unless it is extremely cheap or I have done at least some general research.

I detest using my phone for researching so I have a tablet that goes with me to auctions & shops. I can research an item in a couple of minutes on my tablet but depending on the item it would take me 10 to 15 minutes on my phone just because I don't really know how to quickly do it on my phone (especially if the eBay mobile app is involved) & I really don't care to learn.

My reasoning being is I really do not need to buy anything as there is more than enough here for me to sell & if I am going to buy something it had better be something that is worth my while or I will just leave it for someone else to find.

I probably know porcelain & glassware the best but because of this forum as well as the old eBay boards, I know just enough about other things such as jewelry, silver, ephemera, toys, etc. to get myself into trouble.