Antiques For Fun and Profit

Many people love to collect and enjoy antiques. Some of these turn this love for antiques into a business. Which ever group you belong, you share this love for things old. For those of us who own antique furniture, we know there is truth in the statement, “They don’t build them the way they used to.” It is getting more and more difficult to find furniture that is actually built with wood. We know that if we find an antique piece that is over a hundred years old, the true definition of an antique, and it is still in relative good shape, it has withstood the test of time.I have had our own refinishing shop in the past, and w can speak from experience that you can actually work on a piece of antique furniture and restore it to its former glory. The same can’t be said for much of the new furniture today. That is one of the reasons we have developed this love for antiques. We appreciate the workmanship and quality that went into these wonderful pieces.If you want to turn this love for antiques into a business, it changes the way you buy your antiques. No longer can you just buy something because you like it and want it in your home. Now you must consider whether you can pay the price and then be able to resell it. Unfortunately, I have friends in the business who don’t seem to worry about this. They have more money than I do, because it is difficult to stay in business if everything is over priced. You might be thinking, why would he be stating something so obvious. But just walk into many antique stores and antique malls and you will see how many things are over priced. Yes, sometimes this is due to the ignorance of the shopper who just doesn’t realize the cost of this kind of antique. But when you find identical pieces and one is priced at $795 and the other is $1495, one of the antique dealers is “missing the boat.” There are some people who like to brag about how much they spent on a certain item. This only encourages the dealers who price things too high to keep doing so. Most of the time it is because they just paid too much. You have to know how much something will sell for before you buy it and not after you buy it.If you are going to become an antique dealer you have to treat it as a business and no longer a hobby. If you are not willing to do this, you need to just stay a lover of antiques. I might also add that if you just love antiques and buy them because you enjoy them, don’t worry about being able to profit from them in the future. Just enjoy them and pass them on to your children so they can also enjoy them.