Research to support antique lovers!

Hello everyone!

My name is Victoria and I am a student at the University of Southern California. I am researching how to improve the purchase experience of antique lovers online. Since I am a novice to antiques, I would really like to talk to some you (5-10 minutes max.)!

If you're willing to chat, please shoot me a message! I could really use your help, and I swear it's for a good cause!

Warmly,
Vic

 

the best way to improve the purchase experience of antique lovers online , is to find a seller , selling a nice stained glass lamp for $1250. , that turns out to be a Tiffany Lamp in perfect condition.

Cha-Ching !!!!!

 

I am a UX Designer. I'm interested in antiques even if I don't know much about them. I thought this could be a great opportunity to dive in

 

I hate to say it, but the best experiences are in person, not on line. Being able to clap bare eyes and bare hands on an item are a big deal.

That said, welcome aboard. This bunch isn't shy and a lot of us are/were dealers as well as collectors. We're old and know stuff.

 

as far as online antiques go.... to my mind...
the auction house web sites seem to do ok.
the dealer websites, employ designers to suit their needs
the estate sale sites, take just the pics they need , for folks to show up..

I'm not sure what new app or service product would be of interest to any of them, at any price , cuz any price is just more front end cost.

but hey....that's just me being me !

 

Welcome Victoria.
Maybe you could tell us something about your study? Is the end result to demonstrate that you followed the process?

I buy online only, so I have some experience with the subject, but I don't know if I can help you.
In essence it is quite simple, online buyers need the information they would normally be able to see for themselves when buying in person. That information should come from the seller.

The following is what would help me, other people could ask for other things:
Clear photos of all sides of an item, of marks, and of possible condition issues.
No clutter in the photos.
Good information about the size of an item.
Good information about the condition of an item.
Support claims with photos of a testing proces, or name the book(s) and page they base their claim on.
No nonsense like "this would look good with/in such and such". I go for the item, a cheap sales chat could be a reason for me to look elsewhere.
Good price.
Sturdy packaging, parcels get thrown about and can end up under heavy items (elephants?).
Tracking info.

 

Hi everyone,
thank you so much for your replies!! The intro message was a brief introduction to myself and what I'm doing – not a question to answer . It was more like "if anyone is willing to chat for five minutes, I'll reach out individually and ask a few questions". You'll see they are very straightforward.

 

if you post those questions here.......I'll bet you'll get more responses than you hoped for...
We can be very chatty about our passions !!

 

Seconded - it's usually harder to get this lot to shut up than it is to get them talking!

 

I got 60,000 posts to back that up !!!!!!

 

Welcome!