How to Buy And Sell Antiques: A Comprehensive Guide from Boot Sales to Full-time Dealing

321 Pages·2006·31.22 MB·English

by  Fiona Shoop

HOW TO
BUY AND™ SELL
ANTIQUES
Some other related titles from How To Books

Book-keeping & Accounting for the Small Business
How to keep the books and maintain financial control over your business

Starting Your Own Business
How to plan, build and manage a successful enterprise

The Kitchen Table Entrepreneur
An inspirational guide to turning your hobby into a profitable business

The Small Business Start-Up Workbook
A step-by-step guide to starting the business you've dreamed of

Send for a free copy of the latest catalogue to:
How To Books
Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road
Begbroke, Oxford, 0X5 1RX, United Kingdom
email: [email protected]
http://www.howtobooks.co.uk
HOW TO
BUY AND SELL
ANTIQUES
A comprehensive guide ...
from boot sales to full-time dealing
F I O NA S H O OP
howtobooks
Published by How To Content,
A division of How To Books Ltd,
Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road,
Begbroke, Oxford 0X5 1RX. United Kingdom.
Tel: [phone]. Fax: [phone].
email: [email protected]
http://www.howtobooks.co.uk

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or stored in an information retrieval system (other than
for purposes of review) without the express permission of the publisher in writing.

The right of Fiona Shoop to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Copyright © 2006 Fiona Shoop

First published in paperback 2002
Second edition 2004
Third edition 2006
First published in electronic form 2007

ISBN: 978 1 84803 039 8

Cover design by Baseline Arts Ltd, Oxford, UK
Produced for How To Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock, Devon, UK
Typeset by PDQ Typesetting, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs, UK

NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good faith for general guidance and no liability can be
accepted for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in particular circumstances on statements made in the
book. The laws and regulations are complex and liable to change, and readers should check the current position
with the relevant authorities before making personal arrangements.
Contents
Preface xiii
Bart One - Establishing the basics 1
Chapter 1 - Why do you want to become an antiques dealer? 3
What are the advantages of being a dealer? 4
Are there disadvantages as well? 5
Chapter 2 - What type of dealer do you want to be? 7
Full-time 7
Becoming a full-time dealer 8
Becoming a part-time dealer 8
Dealing as a hobby 9
Chapter 3 - To specialise or not 11
How do you find out about the different types of specialisation? 13
Do specialist goods sell at general fairs as well? 15
Chapter 4 - Can you afford to be a dealer? 18
I've put money aside for stock - what else do I need? 19
Rent 19
Petrol 20
Budgeting 21
Long-term needs 24
Chapter 5 - Communications 26
Love them or hate them, you'll need a mobile phone 26
Why you need a phone 26
Walkie-talkies 28
Business cards 29
The dos and don'ts of business cards 29
Part Two - Where to buy goods 33
Chapter 1 - Let's start at the beginning - how much should I pay for things? 35
Be careful about using price guides 35
How to discover the 'market' value of stock 37
How do I know what to charge other people? 39
Chapter 2 - Buying tips 40
Learn how to read labels 40
How to get the best out of dealers 41
How to get the best out of your customers 42
vi How to Buy and Sell Antiques
Chapter 3 - Antiques fairs 43
Fair entry 43
How to get the best out of fairs 44
Should I haggle? 47
How to pay 51
Getting your new stock home safely 54
Chapter 4 - Antiques centres 56
Buying at an antiques centre 58
How to pay 60
Arranging delivery 60
When a centre is not just a centre 61
The Internet 62
Disabled access 63
Chapter 5 - Antiques shops 64
Hidden treasures and useful information 65
Chapter 6 - Auctions 66
How to buy at auction 66
How to pay 70
General vs. specialist auctions 71
Estimates 73
Commission bids 74
Telephone bids 75
Egos at work 75
Buying unsold goods after the auction is over 76
Know your auctioneer 76
Tricks of the trade 77
Know your rights 78
Chapter 7 - Markets 80
Chapter 8 - Car boot sales 82
Better prices 83
Types of sellers 83
How to get the best out of car boot sales in summary 84
Chapter 9 - Damaged pieces 86
Summary of the argument 87
Restoration 88
How to spot restoration 89
Finding a restorer 89
Contents vii
Part Three - Where to sell 91
Chapter 1 - Can I sell anywhere I want? 93
How am I meant to know if I should register or not? 93
Chapter 2 - How to sell 95
Types of customers - and time-wasters 96
Sharing knowledge 99
Making selling easier 102
Chapter 3 - The importance of careful wrapping 104
The joys of newspaper 105
Paper bags and jewellery bags 105
Chapter 4 - Antiques fairs 107
How do I find out about fairs? 109
What to ask a stallholder 110
What to ask the organiser 111
Shopping list 113
The day of the fair 120
Recap 123
Fairs 124
Chapter 5 - Antiques centres 125
Finding a centre 125
What expenses should I expect to pay? 127
Discounts 128
Being paid 128
Display 129
What makes a centre good? 131
Details, details 131
Labelling 132
Your obligations 133
What sort of centre do I want? 135
Chapter 6 - Antiques shops 137
Rent or buy - the big debate 137
Location, location, location 138
Should I live on-site? 139
Budgeting - matching dreams to reality 140
Bank loan 144
Is there anything else I should think about when looking for a shop? 145
I'm going to rent, should I be concerned about anything in the lease? 146
Easy ways to extra profits 147
viii How to Buy and Sell Antiques
Chapter 7 - Auctions 149
When should I use an auction? 149
Do auction houses charge fees? 150
Commission charges 151
Lottage 152
Reserve prices 152
Paying out 153
How soon can I sell my goods through auction? 153
Valuations 153
Should I attend the sale? 154
Chapter 8 - Transport 156
Chapter 9 - Safe cleaning 159
Cleaning china 159
Pewter 160
Silver, silver plate and other metals 160
Pearls and other jewellery 160
Part Four - The Internet 163
Chapter 1 - Should I or shouldn't I? 165
What's bad about buying and selling over the Internet? 166
What's good about dealing over the Internet? 168
Chapter 2 - Let's start at the very beginning 170
Chapter 3 - Buying on the Internet 172
eBay 173
Register 173
I want it 174
How do I pay? 175
Chapter 4 - Selling over the Internet 178
Why should I sell anything over the Internet? 178
What should I sell? 179
How to sell on eBay 180
When the sale ends 185
Postage and package 186
Chapter 5 - Photographs on the Internet 188
I don't have a lot of money for a camera 188
Traditional cameras and scanners 190
What happens if I don't have a camera, scanner or even a computer? 190
Is it easy to take photos for the Internet? 191
I have the photos, what now? 191
Contents ix
Chapter 6 - Do I need my own website? 193
The 'first' page 193
What to include in your website 194
What should I call my website? 196
How do I get visitors? 197
Chapter 7 - Do I even need the Internet to be a dealer? 199
Part Five-What to sell 201
Chapter 1 - What is a collectable? 203
What's the difference between a limited edition and a piece which is limited
by year? 203
What does limited by year or people mean? 204
Are all limited editions worth buying? 205
What makes a good collectable? 206
What to avoid 207
Chapter 2 - What is an antique? 209
When is an antique not an antique? 210
Chapter 3 - Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts 212
What is Art Nouveau? 212
What is Arts and Crafts? 213
Dealing in the Movements 214
Chapter 4 - Art Deco 215
What is Art Deco? 216
When is Deco not Deco? 217
Chapter 5 - Furniture 219
What sells? 219
Chairs 220
Shaker furniture 223
Bureaux, davenports and desks 224
Tables 224
Larger items 225
Other easy-to-sell furniture includes ... 227
Chapter 6 - China 228
Royal Doulton 229
Beswick 231
Royal Worcester 231
Clarice Cliff 232
Charlotte Rhead 232
Susie Cooper 232
Burleigh 233