Featured How is the antiques market these days?

How is the antiques market these days?

Is it the same as it was 2 years ago?

I realize there are two levels, the basic level most interested people might be able to afford and those that only the very rich can afford.

 

nothing is the same as it was 2 years ago............ except Antiquers !!!

 

I rarely go into an antique store anymore. They havent gotten the memo about the changing market yet. They still want 1984 prices for Hull pottery,Depression glass,etc. Rare is the misidentified treasure,at least here in N. Fl.

 

I have much more luck buying things than selling things...

 

My husband and i had an antique and Gun store for 5 years 67 east of Kansas City, Missouri right off I-70. We closed before covid because we were tired of 16 hour days in "retirement" .He still sells guns out of the house and i have garage sales in an attempted to get rid of stock (and allow me to still do a little treasure hunting ) If I buy something I have to sell something. My clientele are mostly people I met through the store that have booths in Antique Malls. I set my prices so they can still make money. They stock up because i have things they just can't find with out running all over the country. Easy one stop shopping for them. I asked how the sales were in their booths and most say items $20 or less sell well. I have some people new to me that have made the comment "well finally a garage sale advertising antiques that really has antiques instead of Hobby Lobby crafty stuff." They give me their number for my next sale.

 

The fact that every human on the planet now has a computer in their pocket has reduced those accidental stratospheric good finds down to almost zero.
The only luck that occurs now is when a $200-$1000 item is priced at $20-$40,many hardcore pickers still live in the days when a good find went for 25 cents to 5 bucks-that sometimes gives me a few extra seconds of grace time ...sometimes !

 

I did find an oversized (Folio sized) full leather two volume Dore Bible for $10 at Half-priced Books. I guess they did not value the contents. It was pretty beat up but a perfect project for restorers.

 

Once in a while I blind-luck into something, but it's gotten rarer and rarer. The tag sales here are now mostly new-ish things you'd have to pay ME to haul off. Collectibles are generally of the "It's Vintage; it's from the 1980s" variety. See: pay me to haul it away. Real finds in thrifts are getting rarer and rarer, since the people running the stores Google anything that looks halfway interesting. Instead of donating or tag-saling items, people call in professional dealers to buy anything good or to take it to auction, and we pickers are only offered the dregs and leftovers. On a good day.

Once in a while we find a mistake, but they're a lot rarer than they used to be.

As for antique stores in my area, most have either closed down, are closing down, or have changed gears. The physical stores can't make out in my area for the most part. One guy has a $20 basement; he throws things he gets free or close to it down there and then sells anything you can find for $20. The $500 pieces don't sell well. He makes more cleaning and selling rugs than selling antiques.

Another store I go into knows my face too well. If I'm interested in something they look for marks or start testing for precious metal. There goes the deal. One time "this looks like silver"... it was clearly marked Sarah Coventry, a well-known costume jewelry company. They're literally the only game in town, and the guy who owns the store is one of those "buyers" people call in... You get the idea.

As for selling, I've quit essentially, for a long laundry list of reasons. The primary one: if you sell on line you need to be able to trust the platform not to screw you over.

 

Good picking's kind of going extinct locally.Folks bring great finds here to share-but we're seeing the cream from the whole planet !

 

I think most of the public is still just buying to decorate with or use. They buy on the secondary market because the items are unique and less expensive. Doesn't really matter if an item is antique or not. Maybe a bonus if it is but they are not going to pay much of a premium for it. Most collectors have gone by the wayside and their children don't necessarily want the stuff. I don't see this changing much anytime soon.

One bright spot for retailers is that inflation has made everything more expensive. Consequently, you might get an extra dime for your used item since the new is that much more expensive. I don't buy anything unless it is a bargain. Hopefully, when I go to liquidate, there will still be profit when things sell at wholesale prices.

I know this is a pretty gloomy view. On the flip-side, it is a buyers market and dealers are paying less for their goods than ever before. A savy dealer can find a way to make their way to profit by providing what customers want at reasonable prices. Who ever thought there would be good profit from slapping paint onto beat up furniture that nobody wants? Antique purist dealers are having a tough time. Those that sell vintage and just plain old used are making their way.

 

Well said Brad.We don't buy generally buy anything we can't recoup our outlay on.If we really love it & it's aesthetic works in our house we'll sometime pay mall prices.
The old idea of making a 500-1000% profit's in practical terms is gone.It's a fun way to make some 'pin' money-but a viable living ?
I'd rather be a buyer than a seller now.
Most Thrift buyers now are buying carts full of used clothing.
I'd rather be cleaning my gutters than buying/selling sports,Pokemon,Nike collectibles !

 

I'd rather paint furniture, if I still could, than sell sports cards. The market for real antiques tanked years ago and never really came back. I'm seriously thinking of hitting an estate sale that will require highway driving on too little sleep. Hoping there are some jewels in the junk piles. Years ago I'd have skipped it. Thought about going to a church sale, but it's the one I swore i'd never hit again in this lifetime. So..no. But that's how bad it is for sellers out there; we're hitting sources further and further out of market in the hopes of finding something.

 

We do occasionally find great buys out in the Styx-but it's rare.Too many Ebay zombies at the front door at the opening bell.
Can't do Sports or Tennis Shoes,& we live in Nike Town !

 

There are too many pickers here chasing too little stuff. Even the video game guys are complaining that it's getting thin. Meanwhile, the same sellers are chasing a smaller pool of buyers.

 

My primitives still sell well. I had a code on my price tags. xxx1025. Just random numbers a 10 and what ever after the 10 was my cost. So in the above it was 25 cents. At my garage sales i have left my old tags on and just re price. Then if some one says would you take $10 for this and I see i paid $1 , I reluctantly say yeah sure! I am careful to not put all my good stuff out at one time, Just enough to keep them coming back. I want to move the stuff but not give it away. There is an auction house near by that allows you to reserve tables for your stuff about the size of a twin bed . If you have hanging stuff they hang it on the wall near your table. I had some stuff for years in the store and I marked it way down to the point I was just gong to break even or give it away. Rather than do that I tried the auction . they take 27% but if I gave it away I would make nothing. I actually did much better than I thought and it was better than taking it to the ditch. Somethings went for more than I had them in my garage sale.

 

I suppose 'smalls',jewelry,beads can still be found by those w/ an experienced eye & knowledge-that aint' me !
I think a great 'Joolie' has,like a superb guitarist-been tuning their talent for years.
You need real speed when you hit the table or case-it's ferociously competitive in this market.In any given town/county-I'm sure most of theses ladies know each other well.

 

Regulars know each other by name as often as not, and regulars know to get there early if they want to buy anything worth buying. Any niche takes training, so it's true for all of them.

 

Garage sales are still the wild cards-- there can be a $10 woven rug and a $3 valuable basket. But here too you gotta be there early.

I had a yard sale a couple months ago, early summer, and posted it on Craigslist, which people around here!still use. I said I was an antique dealer getting rid of some surplus stuff. Sale started at 8:00. Someone rang my doorbell at 6:45 to ask if they could see the stuff!! Woke me up! When I went outside, there was another guy there too: That's serious.

 

Pottery-You're right,Garage sales are the 'Final Frontier'. Estate Sales and such are well-covered.
Last Garage sale we had was abt 15 years ago.I'd vetted everything thru Ebay and had lots of unsold-leftovers.The Dealers were done by about 11AM and we made close to a grand cash-it beat dumping it at Good Will.
I also posted the word 'Antiques' in the listing.

 

Went to an estate sale this weekend. Came home to needing to reboot the whole Internet/phone/TV system, but... The real die-hards were all lined up over an hour early and the rush was over by 10:30.