Featured Random Wisdom Thread

Hey folks,

I thought that this could a fun topic. To participate just post some random bits of wisdom that you have picked up while antiquing.

I'll start with the importance of being very selective in what you purchase, for your personal collections and especially if you are looking to resell. In developed nations like the U.S. people have accumulated massive amounts of stuff over the past few generations and as baby boomers liquidate their holdings there is large surplus of items looking for new homes.

Over the past 15 years of attending estate auctions I've seen that surplus and the grim reality that there is a lot of stuff out there that nobody wants. Changing demographics and millennial tastes are only part of the problem, the other part is that there is so much accumulated stuff out there that the secondhand/antique market is seriously oversaturated. Many people have their garages and basements full of unneeded junk and just because it is cheap and available doesn't mean you should consider buying it.

Your thoughts?

 

Only words of wisdom I have to offer as a collector (That I really need to follow more myself)

Having a collection is great and it is always nice to add to it, build it up.

Instead of buying 5 nice pieces at $50.00 ea. Hold off for a better piece, and spend the $200.00 or $250.00 on it. You might not end up with a large collection, but you will have a nicer collection in the long run.

 

As a collector - be as selective as possible. Be patient. Know the market. Hold out and wait.

As a flipper/reseller/dealer (whatever) - Only buy stuff (cheaply) that you LIKE. If you don't like it, and you're stuck with it - you're stuffed! On the other hand, if you like it, chances are, someone else might like it too.

As a seller - always be prepared to give a halfway-decent discount. Those who don't move on prices also don't move on merchandise.

As a collector - Think for as long and as hard as you have to, before buying something. Being burned on a high-price item is a HUGE bloody nightmare. Especially if you decide to try and sell it later.

Some things are just impossible to make money on - Watches are one of these areas, in my experience.

 

The more you know the more you make, and the better your collection would be. It's no use having the internet available to look things up it you don't know what they are in the first place.

You'll spot things others have not recognised.

Buy the best you can afford, not the most you can afford.

And not really antiqueing, but insults bounce off you if you recognise that they are either true, in which case, fair comment, or untrue, in which case, immaterial.

 

My motto has been when shopping, "Don't buy anything you have to fix or feed!!".

 

Check for chips and cracks with your fingers. It's surprising how often they will detect something your eyes somehow missed.

 

If in doubt - Don't.

I can think of only two times in almost 40 years that I didn't buy something and should have. Still think about those 2 items occasionally.


Don't sell something hastily before researching it, just because it happens to be in the way, or you don't like it.
Can think of numerous items over the years that I didn't do the research on, just priced and sold, and later found out that I blew it.

One being a signed Leerdam vase, before I knew what art glass was.
When I first started, if it wasn't antique, I didn't want to deal with it. This was the mistake that opened my eyes to a broader spectrum of sales.

 

Im not a reseller in that sense of the word , only occasionally have I done so , so my advice is this ... have a set amount to spend , in my case $20 , and stick to it ! Unless of course its a Picasso or Storr silver , and how often have you really run across those ? I dont buy anything chipped or cracked , or like an above poster said , has to be fixed , cause the reality is it piles up and I never get it done ! I guess if I had to make a living at it Id be more motivated . Ive passed up some really nice stuff because it was over my limit , some Ive bitterly regretted , but for the most part Ive gotten some great things for nothing wich helps with the sting of not buying that $100 item that was probably worth a $1000 . As for my " collections " , I do a bi annual clear out and only keep the things I truly love , and my local thrifts are happy when I roll up with yet more stuff . I stay away from furniture for the most part , its too expensive to recover and often smells really badly of nicotine or pets . I cant tell you the number of times Ive drug in artwork or a table and my house starts reeking .

 

Hi Johnny,
The best thing I ever bought was an ozone machine. It takes all of the odors out of everything. The only thing you have to remember is the ventilation while it is working and when you stop it. I know KoT always screams about doing it outside but I have run stuff inside with external exhaust. It is wonderful for furniture and artwork as well as clothing or fabric. I bought a used car once which was fine until winter when the heat was turned on or the summer when the airconditioner was running. It postively REEKED. 24 hours of the ozone and the car was fine.
greg

 

I only buy things that need fixed if they are something I can easily handle. Restringing a necklace, for instance, is a piece of cake.

My main rules are:
Collectibles aren't. Anything made for collecting generally doesn't appreciate. A few things, like Danbury Mint highly accurate miniatures of trucks and fire engines, are OK but otherwise don't bother. I takes collector plates 30 years to appreciate back to their original retail, for instance.

If it jumps into your fingers or onto your wrist and won't leave, you should probably buy it. Hesitation means "don't bother".

Never pay more than you can afford to eat, unless it's going straight into your hoard/collection. Then just don't pay more than you can afford.

Jewelry makers to avoid for resale:
Monet - I them No Money-t because while they made some nice things no one buys them.
Napier - Nope-ier. See Monet. I buy some once in a while if I find the sterling.
Coro - No Go. Unless it has their Pegasus logo, Corocraft, Vogue or a sterling hallmark, it's not worth your time.

Claire's, Icing, Liz Claiborne, etc - i.e. mall crap. There's no point, unless you're going to wear it yourself.

 

Any china or porcelain ....tap it hard...if there's a crack there you don't see....you'll hear it !

 

Chop marks, makers marks, siggys....just cuz you don't see it at first doesn't mean it's not there.

I have a Val St Lambert vase...one of my favorite pieces of glass...actually it's one of a pair & Dad has the other.
I've looked over the years at it...them, and never saw the siggy until a week ago, when at just the right tilt in the sunlight....I thought I saw a scuff on the bottom.

It was no scuff....

 

Taste changes over time ...even yours....but Quality never goes out of fashion !

If you're going to overpay for something.....made darn sure you love it !!

Know your stuff...or the stuff you're interested in , as best you can.
There's only so many times you can say " I only paid $5 for it" , before those $5 finds end up cluttering your space , & costing you more to keep them around than they are worth !

 

A broken basket will always be just that......broken !

 

That reminds me of one time I went into a local thrift, now closed. Some dealer had been in and more or less cleaned out the jewelry case except for a blue glass ring. It was pretty and it fit, and I was hesitating when I felt what seemed like scratches on the side. Looked a little closer at the scratches ... Baccarat. When I bought it, their new jewelry pieces started at $250. Price for the ring? $3. It stayed on my finger except for when I needed to pay for it, and out the door it went. It went into the box with my college class ring. Oh yeah, it had a small 18k band on it too.

Always check out those scratches or little marks on a piece of glass or "silverplate".

 

I bought 2 bracelets online ...several months apart, from an eBay seller.

He completely misread the artists siggy....as most anyone would....but I knew better.
Bought them at around $200 each....sold em for close to a grand each.....and had I kept them ....like the smart little boy I think I should be ...they'd be worth 5 to 10 times that now !!

 

You have to love when that happens! Not the "what they'd be worth now" part, but you made yours on the deal.

 

I was thrilled .........but I sold them too fast......
" you gotta know when to hold em........lalala..
Know when to fold em....."

like Kenny says !!!

 

In general it does not matter a stuff who made an item, it's how well they made it tha counts.

 

For me now it's quality not quantity.

I don't mind buying some things that need restoring as I like restoration and can do things myself quite cheaply but I would advise always work out what it will cost to have something restored and is it worth the cost in the end. Especially if you want to sell it on.