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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;verybrad, post: 136642, member: 37&quot;]The lines have blurred.&nbsp; I agree with fenton&#039;s traditional definition above. Pickers traditionally were out beating the bushes so that the dealers didn&#039;t have to as much.&nbsp; Relationships were cultivated and there was always some room left for the dealer to make a profit. For many, the picking is the fun part and you no longer need to have the dealer connections to sell things fairly quickly.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Many pickers have become dealers.&nbsp; My long time picker connection has delved into the retail market.&nbsp; This is something he said he would never do but the downward shift in the market has meant that there is less room for profit these days.&nbsp; He has needed to sell retail to maintain his margins. Also, dealers stopped coming to him as they needed to begin to source things cheaper to maintain their profit margins as well. </p><p><br /></p><p>I used to pay a lot of money for good quality antiques that I had ready buyers for at higher prices.&nbsp; I bought from pickers but also bought a lot from other dealers in retail settings.&nbsp; These days,&nbsp; I hardly pay much for anything and rarely buy quality antiques.&nbsp; The retail buyers/collectors just are not there any more to support this business model for me any longer.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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