Aimee's Tips on Buying Antiques and Collectibles

Where Are The Best Places To Buy Antiques & Collectibles?

You'll get different answers from different dealers when you ask them where to buy them, but I have a suspicion it's more personal preference than anything else. I say that because almost all dealers do the same things:

You can get some great buys at any of these places and you can get tarred and feathered as well. The rule is be careful, buy with knowledge and don't believe anything you're told. Well maybe 3%, but no more!

We'll take these on one at a time.

Estate Auctions

I have to admit these are my favorite. They're fast paced, get-out-of-my-way action that people either love or hate. With the loud speakers blaring, the pushing and bumping, the bad food and the items coming at you fast and furious, you don't find many people there who haven't made their minds up whether they like it or not.

To the uninitiated the whole affair looks insane. And yet there are all those people oblivious to their weirdness shaking numbered cards in the air with one hand and looking at some strange item on a wagon with the other. I've taken friends to these affairs who try to avoid me now like an Amway salesman. I guess it scared them. Me, I'm in my element there.

Here are a few fundamentals to remember about auctions.

1. Get there early to give yourself time to check out the items. I can't tell you how many times I bid on something without previously looking it over closely and got burned.

2. Always have your price books and other related material in the car. This will come in very handy on questionable items you hadn't expected to find.

3. If you want to bid on an item make sure you get the auctioneers attention. Don’t lay back to see how high it will go for. He'll say "sold" before you know what happened. If you are interested in an item at any price, get in early and the auctioneer will always look back at you before he sells it. You can always say no, but at least you're in control of your bidding and you won't lose an item because you weren't "in."

4. Don't get caught up in "auction fever." Make your mind up beforehand on what you want to pay for any item and then stick to it. There is nothing like paying too much for something you wanted to take the shine off of it.

5. Know your auctioneer. They are all as different as snowflakes. No two are alike. Some are better, more honest and reputable than others. I recommend attending an auction of any new ones without buying a thing or very little. See how he or she works a crowd. Are they quick to pull the trigger or do they find it painful to say "sold", knowing there might be one more dollar to be made.

Here is a tip: Start the bidding out if you see the sweat breaking out on his forehead because no one is opening the bid on an item. It doesn't have to be much, just a dollar to get it rolling for him. He will thank you by closing a few items you really want your way with a quick "sold". Call it professional courtesy or whatever, it works most of the time. There's no better friend at an auction than the auctioneer.

Other than these fundamentals of auctions, plan to spend a long time there. This I admit is the single biggest drawback to attending auctions. But if you learn to like them as I do, they can be entertaining as well as profitable.

Yard Sales

Ever meet someone addicted to these? It's sad, isn't it? By all other accounts these are perfectly normal people and yet come Friday and Saturday they're up at dawn out the door and eagerly anticipating buying someone else's discarded junk. Strange behavior indeed.

I guess I have to fess up here. I've done a lot of these myself. Again the biggest drawback is that they are time killers. But if done right, they can provide some of the most profitable Saturdays you've ever had!

Some rules of engagement are:

1. Pick only neighborhoods in the oldest richest part of town. In St. Louis, which is close to where I live, my wife and I head for the old Italian south side or the old Jewish west county section of town. Places where strong traditions have kept family treasures in the family for generations. Then some ungrateful young married couple or some older couple cleans out their basement and unknowingly sell things of value. It happens literally every weekend.

2. Chart or plan your route for maximum efficiency. The best buys are had early in the morning before the other "pickers" have gotten to them. Pick up the paper Wednesday or Thursday and go through the yard sale adds with a city map and make your route up. Don't forget to include good restaurants on the way. Now you've got a reason to eat out. Finding bargains takes lots of energy.

3. Don't ever pay what they are asking. Remember, the reason they dragged it up from the basement was because they thought it was junk or they were just sick of looking at it. This is truly a motivated seller. I always offer half what they are asking and sometimes they take it!

Estate Tag Sales

These usually happen when someone is going to move and they more often than not hire a professional appraiser to "tag" all their items for sale and then take on the responsibility of running the sale. These sales last for 2 to 3 days and sometimes longer. Personally I find them boring with few bargains to be had but some dealers do quite well at them.

Some things to know are:

1. The best buys are almost always the last day of the sale. Few tag sales will discount their first day.

2. Go the first day early and leave offers on items of interest. Chances are, they'll laugh you to scorn but if it doesn't sell by the last day, they'll be digging your business card out of the trash to see if your offer still stands.

3. This last technique is my favorite. If you find something you really want, go make your lowball offer directly to the home owner. They are the ones walking nervously around watching all the Cretans handle what was only hours earlier their personal things. The person running the tag sale won't like it but "tough titty" said the kitty. If the home owner says yes, the professional tag appraiser can help you load it. Nothing like adding a little salt to the wound.


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