posted on January 5, 2001 07:20:03 PM
In the Goodwill thread, Keziak asked if it was possible to find items to resell at antique stores and malls or was everything already priced to the max.
Well, my husband & I go to a lot of shops and malls (because we both collect a lot of stuff!) and I've had pretty good luck finding items to resell successfully.
Not every antique dealer can be an expert in every area. So my best buys have been when I've stumbled across an item that the dealer probably wasn't familiar with and just priced it at whatever they thought was fair without researching it. For instance, I found a 1950's toy catalog from a company in Akron, OH. I knew that some people collected this particular brand of toy, so I thought I would take a chance on the 8-page catalog. I paid $5.00 and it sold for $88.00. The dealer might have had that catalog in their booth for the next ten years and no one who collected those toys would have ever seen it. That's one of the best things about ebay - unlimited exposure.
Keziak, I know you deal a lot in books. My husband has found some of his best book buys at antique malls. He collects baseball non-fiction mostly. Let's say a dealer buys a box of 50 books at an auction for $25.00 and figures if he can sell each one for $5.00, he'll make 10 times what he spent. So that's how he prices them instead of researching each title. Then my husband comes along and just happens to find a rare baseball title in the bunch. Last year he found a book at an antique mall for $4.50 which he resold for $175.00!
It's very true that on some items you will almost never get a good buy (low enough to resell) at an antique store. I collect Fiesta, and since practically everybody knows Fiesta is collectable, I'm lucky if I can find a piece in nice condition priced within book value, let alone less than book value.
Does anyone else find some good buys at antique stores?
posted on January 5, 2001 07:42:19 PM
I found a mesh purse, very dirty, links loose. The dealer let me have it for $15.00 because of condition. It looked all rusty. When I got it home I rubbed some of the frame with a paper towel, the "rust" came right off. It was just dirt. Sold it for $70.00.
posted on January 5, 2001 10:18:36 PM
I'm in the malls fairly frequently as I restock my own booths, and try to walk the aisles if I have time.
It's true that sleepers aren't lurking everywhere; it's actually more common (too common!) that pieces are marked way beyond anything resembling reasonable levels.
Still, once in a while you can get lucky. Probably my best mall find was a Hall casserole in an uncommon pattern. I bought it for $15 on speculation figuring I'd at least get my investment back, but hoping it was as scarce as I thought it was. Turned out to be so scarce that it wasn't even listed in any of the references. It sold for close to $300.
Finding deals like that is almost as much fun as watching them sell!
posted on January 5, 2001 11:56:41 PM
Those "steals" are out there!!!! Just be ready for a sore back from bending over and filtering thru every over-priced piece of crap that the dealer DOES know something about!!!!
We have found some DANDY children's books (by a certain author who will remain unnamed) that were bought for around a buck or 2 and sold upwards of $100...this has happened REPEATED times....also have had luck with old radios, clocks, razors, lingerie (ooohhh...used panties from 1910!!!)kitchenwares, ad naseum....just look for the things you KNOW, or, if you have been at it for awhile..."Go with the gut"..sometimes "regional" items that don't get CRAP for prices locally, will sell big on-line.
(dang did I use "Crap" twice 9no, now it's [b]3[\] times in that post?...oh well!!)
JMHO
Keith
I assume full responsibility for my actions, except
the ones that are someone else's fault.
posted on January 6, 2001 12:24:24 AM
I went to this antique store once & made an offer to buy a bunch of old magazines for $10.
I saw one in the bunch with a familiar face although I wasn't sure who it was. When I took it home I did some research & since the magazine had no credits who this young model was, I researched the photographers name. Found out that my hunch was right & this young model was Marilyn Monroe! It turned out to be her 1st ever american magazine cover b-4 she was Marilyn! It sold on ebay for $350! SO you can really find deals at antique store.
posted on January 6, 2001 06:01:57 AM
There are certainly good deals to be found at antique malls. The key seems to be that not everyone can be an expert on every category, and as a result a fair number of items are "mispriced".
posted on January 6, 2001 06:57:51 AM
We had an antique shop for over 15 years. And, yes, you're right -- antique dealers, especially shop owners can't know about everything.
Shop dealers rarely specialize (can't afford to) ... and, you get a lot of WHOLE ESTATES to resell. Inevitably you end up with things you know nothing about. Many years ago we got an estate with a lot of primitives and folk art. At the time, we know very little about this area (have since REALLY gotten an education). We sold much of the things for NOTHING compared to value, including stuff that books for over $200 ... sold it for $5 and $10. Sold to dealers too. ALWAYS, ALWAYS look around an antique shop carefully ... look in the corners and on the floor-- you'll definitely find things that are underpriced due to lack of knowledge by the dealer. Also, you'll find things the dealer has had too long and will sell you for cost to get rid of it.
NEVER, NEVER assume because it is in a shop that it's priced at retail and that the dealer won't negotiate (sometimes a LOT). But don't insult the dealer by offering him HALF the ticket price. Ask what is "best" price and explain you are reselling. You might be amazed at the response!
posted on January 6, 2001 08:01:09 AM
thanks for all the interesting replies! I've wondered about the possibility that a given item might sell for X locally, but be worth more to someone elsewhere who collects in that area and can't find that item. I don't really have enough expertise in collectible books, though, to know when paying $10 would be a steal because someone would pay $100 on ebay for it. That's why I've stuck close to my business plan of buying things for no more than a buck.
OTOH, it's fun to poke around antique malls. I usually see stuff identical to what we had in my grandma's house when I was growing up, and it's fun to see what they charge for it now.
posted on January 6, 2001 08:43:12 AM
Antique malls are not a bad place at all. I have never found anything in thrift stores worth more than a few dollars more. At one particular antique mall I go to, I have found tons of great things at excellent prices. Yes there is much more at book value or higher, but on any given trip I come home with at least 5 or 10 excellent finds in the categories I sell in, that sell easily for a good profit. and because I frequently buy from the same dealers, I can negotiate up to 30% off on top. I can also return an item if I discover any damage or its not what it was claimed to be.
For books, I have found an excellent used book store that sells older first editions at excellent prices and they know their stuff. They have had my business for eight years and always will.
The goodwills and SA in our area are in a totally digusting state with dirty broken stuff all over the place, many un priced items to be determined at the cash, mouldy books for $2-8 ea, etc. They just seem to be a garbage dump for many donators who wont pay to dispose of their own trash. I wont even grace their doors anymore.
I much rather directly donate a few dollars to the SA for the priveleage of not going into their stores, here at least.
posted on January 6, 2001 11:08:53 AM
Bought a nice Kraka piece of orrefors glass at the biggest antique mall in town for $150. Resold for $715 2 weeks later.
