Archive for selling antiques
Your own antiques business, selling stock II
Posted by: | CommentsYour own antiques business, selling stock part 11- online sales
In the previous part of my guide to running your own antique or vintage business I talked about selling your stock through off line venues. Today its the turn of on-line venues 1. eBay, 2. setting up your own website 3. Other options.
1.eBay
I’m starting this section as it is probably the best place for a would be on-line antiques dealer to start selling their pieces. For general antiques and collectibles the main place to sell is on eBay. I sold antiques, collectibles and vintage jewellery through eBay for almost 10 years and although it was very hard work I did manage to make a living that way. This is not going to cover the mechanics of how to sell on eBay but more when eBay is suitable for selling them and what to look out for .
charms sell well on ebay
What is ebay good for:
- Selling just a few items ( selling a lot is time consuming but quite possible). At one time I was running up to 60 auctions a week this really was a 7 day a week effort,
- Selling very rare collectable item ( if you get it right the price can still go very high)
- Selling smaller items ( you can post worldwide)
- Named brand items eg Antique Wedgwood or Limited edition collectables
What eBay is not so good for:
- Every day run of the mill stuff such as grannies old plain china tea set ( car boot or local auction house for that)
- Lots of big items ( you will spend all day packing – I know I’ve done it)
- Technophobes – you need good photographs and you must be able to use e.mail, a website and still need a paypal account
- If you need the money immediately – auctions take a week and then you have to wait for the buyer to pay and for paypal to send you the money
- If you have no time to spend on the selling process
What to look out for:
- Practice selling and build up some feedback before you auction off your best moorcroft vases or anything valuable
- Good Photographs sell you item and write a good title for it
- Make sure the buyer pays you before you post your antique and check that paypal has cleared the payment for shipment
- Pack the parcel as if someone was going to play football with it – you dont know what is going to happen in the post
- Send the parcel by registered Post, Special Delivery or International Signed for service to make sure that you are covered against the parcel going missing and fraudulent buyers.
- Research which category you are going to advertise your item in – look through the Antiques, Collectibles and Pottery, Porcelain and glass sections to help you decide which gets the most adverts for similar items
2. Your Own Website
Given eBay a try for a while? Mastered all the on-line selling skills necessary? Feel you are ready to tackle the Internet on your own? Want to own a site like antiquesavenue.co.uk? This is a great opportunity for those who have a defined area to sell in such as Antique jewellery , art pottery, antique furniture, postcards or linens.
There are plenty of companies around who will sell you an off the peg web shop or build one for you. If you ask me the best way to start is to buy an off the peg site as you can expect to pay set up fees and your first months running costs for less than £100. Running costs for a basic shop are about £25 a month . Sounds easy and it is easy to set up a basic shop if you have mastered all the skills necessary for on-line selling. You will also need:
- Your own domain name . Choose something which reflects the items you sell. AntiquesAvenue was chosen many years ago when I was selling general antique pottery, glass and antique Jewellery. Now I have specialised it may not be so appropriate but at least it doe have the word antique in it and is a much better name than Anneshop.co.uk for example.
- A merchant account for accepting debit and credit cards. You can start without this but accepting credit cards will get you more orders and is really expected by customers today.
Setting up the shop is just a small part of running your own site. You now need to attract customers to your site. If you have a large customer database of existing customers you can mail them otherwise you need to advertise your site. The main way of advertising webistes on the interenet is to use the Internet search engines and in the main search engine is Google. There are two types of listings on Google : paid for and free listings. When you first start out you may consider buying adverts from Google as it takes a long time and a lot of skill and effort to get onto the first page of google’s free listings so that you can be found. The art of getting onto Google first page of free listings is known as “Search Engine Optimisation” or SEO for short . If you are thinking of opening your own website I suggest that you consider learning about SEO or consider paying an outside company to do this for you. SEO is complex and one of the reasons I write this blog is to help with the SEO of my web shop www.antiquesavenue.co.uk .
Other ways of finding on-line customers are through the social media such as facebook and twitter.
3. Other options.
There are other options for selling on-line. For example I could sell through this blog by adding paypal buttons or setting up a post about an item and asking interested people to contact. Alternative websites to eBay exist but I have never had much luck selling on them. Probably the best is Etsy for vintage clothing and jewellery and if your stock is attractive to American customers try Ruby Lane. I tried eBid but never had any success there myself. Before paying your money research to see if there are lots of items like yours on the site already and try and find out what is actually selling. Some of these sites will sell you a slot but they dont actually have many visitors who will buy.
Whichever on-line selling channel you try you will have to be comfortable spending many hours behind the keyboard and I know that is not for everyone. Me – I love it . AntiquesAvneue.co.uk is going to the next level before the end of August with my own customised shop rather than just a basic one which I have modified myself.
Your own antique business, Selling Stock
Posted by: | CommentsYour own antiques business part 5 – selling stock
Selling your antique or vintage items is such a vital part of your antiques business that I am splitting this part into 2. Today I am going to talk about selling in real life venues and next time I will talk about selling on-line including eBay and your own website.
There are several real life ways of selling your antiques including :
Car Boots sales,Flea Markets, Antique Fairs, Antiques Centers, Auction Houses.
I’m not covering setting up your own antiques shop as I dont have any experience with this.
Selling at Car Boot Sales and Flea Markets
Suitable for a car boot sale?
Suitable for when you have lots of low grade vintage / antique items which you want to move on quickly and cheaply. Car Boot sales are a good place to learn about selling but dont bother if you only have higher value stock. You can get rid of your household junk to help raise money for antique stock.
There is not much difference between selling at car boot sales and flea markets. Check out the local car boots and flea markets in your area. Its worth looking through your local paper to find these and ringing up to find out when they are on, what time you need to turn up, how much do they charge you to have a stall and if you need to book in advance.
Your do not need to stick price labels on your stock for these venues but you should have a rough idea about how much you wish to charge for each item. Take lots of small change and lots of supermarket carrier bags or other packaging suitable for your items. Potential purchasers will sometimes walk away if you cannot give them change or provide packaging.
You will normally have to provide your own table at a car boot sale but many flea markets will provide one for you.
Take care early on of dealers wanting to “Help You ” unpack or ask if they can rummage through your stock before you manage to get it out of the car. The pieces they are after will sell anyway so there is no panic to sell to the pushy ones in the first 10 minutes. I have been know to put my tables out and then lock up the car and walk away for 15 minutes until the initial panic is over. This avoids precious pots being broken or small items being stolen whilst you are looking elsewhere.
Antique Fairs
I spent many years selling at antiques fairs nearly every weekend and I loved it. There can be a great buzz at fairs, setting up your stall to make it look attractive and then the anticipation of selling your antiques. There are many different types of fairs from single day fairs which cost less than £50 to take a stall up to the largest multi day fairs which can cost Thousands to stand. Some of the larger fairs are date lines and or vetted. Date lined fairs require you to only have stock which is before a certain date. This date varies from fair to fair – check with the organiser they will advise. Vetted fairs have a team of people who will check your stock before the fair opens. They check that the stock for sale meets the dateline of the fair and perhpas that the stock is all labeled with a correct description.
Perhaps before you jump straight in you should visit a few fairs and look for a fair where they are selling stock with a similar price range to yours.
Things to check at the fair or ask the organiser:
When is the fair and how much is a stall. Stall prices will sometimes vary depending on where you have the stall within the fair. Its your choice but stalls with their backs to a wall are always popular with stall holders as are stalls on the ends of a row.
What dates are the fair and what time you should turn up. At most fairs the stall holders turn up two or three hours before the fair opens. If this is the case you should do too otherwise you will not get set up in time.
How much space do you get for your money? What tables are provided and can you hire more if necessary? How many of your own tables can you put out?
What electricity is provided? You need lots of light to make vintage jewellery or glass sparkle and to show up pottery. Take portable lights, a couple of adapters and an extension cable.
Sell at Antiques Fair
Things to take to the fair:
Stock ready labeled with prices. Wrap it up well and transport in strong boxes .
Tables and portable shelves. Clamps to hold the shelves onto the table if you intend to stand the shelves on the tables.
Glass display cases if you are selling antique jewellery or other small precious items
Table cloths, display stands for plates, cups and saucers, books
Packaging from your sold items. A personal note here – I hate stuff wrapped in Newspaper. If I am spending £10 or more I want it wrapped in bubble wrap not a grubby and torn piece of old newspaper.A supermarket carrier bag will do.
A note book and pen to write out receipts and record sales in. Business cards if you have them but you can start your business without these and just write down your name and phone number if asked for your contact details.
Spare price labels, some will come off and you may wish to re-price some items during the sale.
Change, notes and coins.
A hot flask, food and reading matter especially if you are standing the fair on your own as you will find it difficult to leave the stall
As you can see there is a lot of stuff to transport to the fair. I found a trolley invaluable to help with the transportation. You will find most other dealers use one too.
Antiques Centers
Selling through antiques centers can be profitable and it is something you can do along side standing at an antiques fair or selling on-line. Find out where the centers are in your area and pay them all a visit. In the past I have had stalls in 5 different centers. At one point I had stalls in three centers at once which was probably not a good idea ( see the final paragraph on mistakes to avoid).
Selling though centers you avoid a lot of the personal contact with your customers which you get at fairs. This can be both good and bad depending on how well you deal with people.
Things to find out before choosing you antiques center.
What stalls or cabinets are available and what is the cost options. You will normally find there is a fixed charge and the antiques center may take a % of every sale.
At some centers you just pay a flat monthly fee but are requires to spend some time working in the center each week for no wage. This is a great way to learn about antiques and other antiques dealers, if you have the time its well worth looking at this type of center.
How much space do you get? Are any stalls / cabinets provided or so you need to provide your own?
Ask how and when you get paid . This varies between centers .
Take a look round the centers at different times of the week. Are they busy? Also are they open on Sundays? If not I would consider going elsewhere as Sundays are popular days for trips to antiques center. If centers are very quiet at weekends you will probably not sell much.
Take a look around , are there other dealers selling stuff the similar to yours. This can be good as a lot of the same stock attracts customers BUT can your prices stand the competition.
The center owner or manager is unlikely to be completely open about your chances of selling much in their center. Their job is to rent out the stalls.
Selling through Auction Houses
These days I sell through auciton houses rather than taking my low grade stock to car boots. I dont have time for car boots nowadays and selling through auctions is a quick and easy way to off load stock even if it may not be the most profitable. I have written extensively in the past about real life auctions , look here for my guide to selling at auciton
A few mistakes to avoid
We all learn through experience and in these articles I am trying to pass some of mine on . I’ve made quite a few mistakes in the past, I hope this helps avoid them.
- Do not try and do too many fairs or take on too many stalls at antiques centers. Rents are costly and you can only sell each piece of stock once. If you price your stock relatively cheaply it will sell quickly and you do not need to have so many selling venues and are not paying out so much rent. At one stage I had stock in three centers and was standing an antiques fair most weeks. The rents I needed to cover were so high that I had to price my stock quite high and then it was not selling. It took me several moths to realise the problem and the solution. I dropped down to selling through one center and only taking a stall at the most profitable fairs. At the same time I dropped the prices of my stock a little. I managed to sell almost the same amount with vastly reduced overheads and made more profit for less effort.
- Watch you stock there are thieves about and they will try and distract you.
- Label your stock well, you do need to know how much to charge at a fair and you may not get paid for sold stock in a center if your name is not on the piece.
Next time I will look at selling on eBay and setting up your own website.
Want your own antiques shop on-line?
Posted by: | CommentsAre you in the antiques trade ? Sell vintage jewellery or deal in collectables? Fed up with paying eBay fees or having to constantly change the way you sell your antiques, vintage or collectable items? How about an antiques shop like mine at www.antiquesavenue.co.uk?
Recently I have been asked by several dealers how I run my shop . I use and highly recommend EKM Powershop . You do need a little web knowledge ( Little more than needed for eBay) but you can learn as you go along and there is excellent support included in the monthly fee and a friendly user community. Come and join us?
Selling Antiques Guide – Should I really sell or is it worth keeping ?
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Sell or keep these antiques?
Today’s installment on Selling your Antiques and Collectibles is the final part of my guide to selling your antiques. This examines if you should sell now or if it is worth keeping for the future. Reasons to hang on to or sell your antiques ( other than you love them) could include:
- - financial investment
- - Sentimental reasons
- - Space considerations
How much can I expect when selling my antiques?
Posted by: | CommentsHere is is the seventh part of my guide to selling your antiques and collectables : How much can I expect to get?
The value of a piece is not fixed but there are a few guidelines to help you find out what it is worth but as I often hear antiques dealers say : ” it is worth whatever you can sell it for”. As an individual you are far less likely to gain the full market value of a piece unless you have something really special or you get very lucky.
Here is a rough rule of thumb as to what an antique dealer will pay:
Lets say that your precious antique vase has an approximate value of £90 to £110 , that is the value an antique dealer is likely to be able to obtain for it on the open market. How much would you expect the dealer to pay you for this vase. £60,£70 or £80? Here’s how many will work out what they will pay. But do bear in mind not all antiques dealers work like this and the percentages for higher value items can be quite different.
I am going to try and buy that vase for £50 or £60 but may pay a bit more if I really like it and think it will look good in my antiques shop. Do you think thats too little?
I pay £60 with an aim of selling for £100. This gives £4o from which I am going to have to pay about £12 in various fees and costs: eBay fees, shop rent , antique fair fees, Credit card or paypal fees and more. I am now left with £28 this is of course subject to tax of perhaps £8 or £9 leaving a bit over £20.
So is £20 a fair profit considering all the work involved?
A note on “Book Value”.
Do you buy antique price guides that give a book value on items? Here is a word of warning, dealers like myself can often only get half what an item is valued at in a book. So if the item guide price is £60 to £80 the guide price is £70 and a dealer may well be only able to sell for half of that. So next time you are offered £20 for you item valued at £60 to £80 in a book you now know why.
How to prevent fraud when selling your antiques
Posted by: | CommentsFirstly let me say that actual fraud when selling your antiques is relatively rare, what you most need to protect yourself from is getting a too low a price.
I remember in the 1970s being horrified to hear how my elderly grandparents had sold a wonderful Victorian jardiniere on stand and a piano to someone who called at the door offering to by stuff ( called knockers). I think they were given about £10 for the pair, even back in the 1970s this must have been a rip off. So tip number one is:
- Know approximately what your item is worth before trying to sell it. A little research goes a long way ( try ebay, your local auction house , an antiques price guide or asking several dealers.)
So you decide to sell through a real life auction. You can still be in danger for letting your item go for below market value. If its worth more than a few pounds I would discuss a reserve ( or minimum selling price) with the auctioneer.
Tip number two:
- Sell to someone reputable . Decent auction houses and dealers depend quite a lot on reputation and word of mouth. Ask around locally
Tip Three: Protecting yourself when selling on eBay:
If selling through eBay you can protect yourself by ensuring that you post out your item by recorded delivery ( under £30) or special delivery for over that amount. This way the buyer cannot get away with claiming that they have not received your parcel when they really have. Another point on eBay, if you are allowing a large piece of furniture or similar to be collected either: accept cash on collection, get a cleared cheque in advance of collection or if they pay via paypal ensure they sign a receipt for your piece.
The next part of my little series on selling your antiques and collectables is quite interesting – what percentage of the items value should you expect to take when selling it?
Part Five – Other options for selling
Posted by: | CommentsHere is the fifth part of AntiquesAvenue’s guide to selling your antiques and collectables. I have already discussed the main routes open to someone just wanting to sell – to a dealer, via auction and on ebay. Perhaps here are a few more that you may not have though about:
- Your local paper:
- Suitable for furniture but only use this option if you are happy with purchasers visiting your home
- . This would be a less suitable option for collectors items where you would want to reach a wider audience
- Through a collectors club or website
- Check out the internet. Is there a collectors club dedicated to your antique or collectible? There are clubs for all sorts of things and even more collectors websites and forums.
- At an Antiques fair
- Do you have a local antiques fair and a lot of stuff to sell? Selling at a fair can be but if your prices are right you could sell a lot. Of course you need to know how much your items are worth first and you could well end up taking most back home. Stalls can be had a smaller fairs from about £30. Have a think about it – I may well write a complete “How to” guide on selling at antiques fairs soon.
-Through a television program
- This is one option I admit to not having tried myself. Just have a few things to sell and fancy your few minutes of fame . Look in your Tv guide, watch the programs and select one you fancy. The contact details should be at the end of the programme – most will have a web address at least.
- Car Boot Sale
- My least favourite venue for selling antiques although you can sell a lot of cheap pieces such as common china or glassware. If you take along real antiques they sell well but dont expect much for them . Car Boots can be nasty cold places to sell at – only go if the weather is fine as the buyers dont turn out in any great number in the cold and the rain. Please have someone check through your antiques first to ensure you do not have anything valuable which should be sold for more than a couple of pounds.
Selling you antiques and collectables to a dealer
Posted by: | CommentsThis part of my guide to selling your antiques and collectables discusses how to sell them to a dealer . There are several reasons why you would choose to sell to a dealer for example: You may be able to get the money quickly and a specialist dealer might offer more than you can easily get else where. My tips are: Read More→
