Thinking of Selling Antique as my way of living

Hello

This seems like a very informative group! Laying here thinking of my ultimate plan of the next 5 years. Buying land, building a huge storage shed, a quit little house and a garden all while selling Antique furniture both locally and online.

I am 43, with no retirement plan. I figure with good credit and some money saved I can just retire selling Antique furniture. I have sold vintage items and clothing on and off via Etsy, its definitely one of my true passions(I have several).

Currently I found this wonderful huge 40' X 40" Brass Mid-century wall art deco by Egidio Casa Grande. I told myself that if I sell that piece then I will take it as a sign to start selling big items!

But first I have a few questions....

1. How does one ship large antique items? What is the over head looking like?
2. How is the financial forecast in selling Antique Furniture via online(I have great photo and marketing skills) and locally(depending state).?
3. If one has SSI and a small business, can one live a "good, peaceful, laid back life" selling Antique furniture?

 

1. I DON'T ship large stuff. I use local sales with pickup only.
2. Furniture will make a comeback eventually, it's not there yet.
3. Yes of course.

 

In the US? Have found FedEX best for large lightweight items. Others have discussed some other options here.

Good luck in your endeavors. Have a large Casagrande brass charger myself. Never have been able to sell it for anything near what I thought it should be worth.

 

Establishing a business is tough, particularly during a pandemic, but that should not deter you. One thing worries me a little about your post... “good, peaceful, laid back life”. I never knew a successful self-employed person who was “laid-back” about starting unless they started out with enough money to render the need for profit essentially non-existant. So really... how much do you love antiques? Enough for a 70 hour week?

 

I ship large stuff and small. I have no problem shipping large items such as furniture and ship via freight. I use uship.com where shippers bid for your business. I sent a LARGE set (14 chairs) of custom gold leaf dining chairs that retailed for over $24,000. With uship, they were picked up at my client's house in Atlanta and delivered to a pent house in New York city for a grand total of $750. Don't let large items scare you.

 

Hello
When I say "laid back" I mean being able to afford a simply and humble way of living. I do not sell with pressure now regarding my vintage items, so I def. do not wanna have to be a shark for Antique items. Not trying to be millionaire, just enough to cover my simple way of living.

 

Well I sincerely wish you luck. I think antiques is probably a wonderfully interesting line of work

 

Q. How do you make a million dollars in the antique business?
Ans. Start with two million

 

Very True!

 

My brief flirtation with having a booth taught me 2 things... It takes far more work than one would think to eke out even a small profit and theres no quicker way to learn to hate something you love than trying to make a living at it ! Id also like to add the days of great $1 finds are pretty much non existent now . Thanks to those damn i-phones ! All that being said,if theres no real pressure to profit its a wonderful hobby .I still buy a lot,I just dont bother to try and sell any of it AKA hoarding !

 

LOL THEY SURE SCARE ME! THANKS LAURA!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! <3

 

Thanks, Johnny, I never made much renting booth space. Once I had my own buildings, I never opened them on a regular schedule because it was too expensive to hire the help I needed.

Ombre, I enjoyed selling online. It was an 80 hour a week job, but I did well with it for some years. I hope to get back into it as supplemental income too. Working towards that goal now! Best wishes to you! Members here can help you identify some of your finds, and many are experienced with multiple platforms. I have figured out how to stay safe selling in person on Craigslist, so if you need any advice about the CL venue, ask.

 

Just some thoughts .......

The dealers that I know in real life who manage to make a profit on their antique endeavors ALL sell smaller high value items that are easy to store, market, and ship. Selling antique furniture online definitely is a bit different business model and I believe there is a reason why many currently try to avoid it. Consumers nowadays seem to expect cheap, effortless, and instantaneous delivery from online vendors like Amazon and Walmart. I don't think that is possible with antique furniture.