Starting a Business - Antiques and Collectibles Wholesaler

Description of Job

Take your sharp eye on the road in search of hidden and underpriced gems at garage sales, tag sales, and flea markets.

Research the market value of your finds and resell them to collectors or auction houses.

The Need

Any careful shopper at a tag sale stands a good chance of picking up bargains, like a never-used Crock-Pot for $5 or an extra set of plates that more or less match the ones in your kitchen cupboard.

The more observant eye shops in search of the treasure within the trash: real jewels among the faux, a valuable antique chair mixed in with cheap reproductions, a work of art or rare print hidden among the neon paintings on black velvet.

People have garage sales because they want to get rid of their extraneous stuff; some of it should go directly to the dump, but sometimes you can uncover great finds.

Don’t count on emulating the story of the Philadelphia tag sale shopper who bought a painting for $4 because he liked the frame and, when he removed the canvas, found an original of the Declaration of Independence that later sold at auction for $2.42 million. That sort of lucky accident is nearly impossible to replicate.

Much more likely are the stories you’ll see on television, like those on Antiques Roadshow. For example, a set of dusty old handwritten ledgers picked up at a tag sale were identified by a trained appraiser as former properties of Ben Franklin; the books were valued at $12,000 to $18,000.

The job of the antiques and collectibles wholesaler is that of the huntergatherer; your goal should be to turn around and resell the items to private clients or to a wholesaler.

Challenges

The biggest challenge facing people who shop tag sales and flea markets as a business is to avoid paying too much for items. You should develop and enhance your expertise in a reasonable number of areas: jewelry, wooden furniture, historical documents, Depression-era glassware, antique cameras, old radios, and the like.

Spend the time to learn how to separate real items from reproductions. Learn how to discover dates of manufacture, serial numbers, artists’ names, and other identifying information. Find out the secrets of counterfeiters—artisans who make modern versions of valuable Chippendale chairs or reprints of old documents on artificially aged paper.

Know the Territory

Contact antique dealers and collectors to determine the sorts of items they are most interested in buying and selling. Ask friends and acquaintances to put you in contact with collectors who may have wish lists of items they are looking to add to their shelves.

Learn the seasons and the locations for tag sales, garage sales, and flea markets. Check prices for items at online web sites, including eBay.

Look for courses on antiques and collectibles at local community schools or colleges.

How to Get Started

Make yourself known to owners of antiques stores and establish relationships; you may be able to call them from the road and negotiate a price for resale before you buy something you find. Look for clubs and organizations that attract collectors and let them know you are available to help them fill their collections.

Up-front Expenses

You should build up a collection of books and research materials and have access to the Internet. You’ll need to bear the expense of traveling in search of items.

You will have to lay out the money for your purchases and may have to pay for shipping and storing items until they are resold.

Other expenses include advertising and promotion.

How Much to Charge

You will make your profit by reselling items at a price higher than you paid for them, plus the cost of travel and shipping.