What makes some antiques so valuable? It’s the quality of the story attached to the object. Collectors love to tell stories about the items they have collected.
The better the story, the higher the items value to a collector. Stories create value (don’t confuse value with price; value is a personal issue; price is the intersection of supply and demand). Consistently and enthusiastically shared stories will help your business. Read More +
Did you know dealers can produce a video of an antiques business for next to nothing and increase the chance the business will show up in Web searches? The primary purpose of video promoting your antiques business is to drive traffic to your website or online collectibles store, not to sell your item from the video. Wayne Jordan shows us how easy it is to make a video to take advantage of the low-cost online promotion opportunities: If you can take a digital photo then you can make a video for your shop or store. Read More +
“I’ve never been lost,” said Daniel Boone; “But I was once perplexed for a few days.” It’s said that Boone was a master at staying found. Making his way through the wilderness with nothing more than an incomplete map, a compass, and his own sensibilities, he blazed a trail that thousands would follow from Virginia to Kentucky.
Personal property is the "800 pound gorilla" of an estate. Dealing with personal property issues consumes most of an executor’s time and causes most of the aggravation. These 10 tips on how to sort through an estate’s personal property can turn a stressful undertaking into a manageable process.
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What consumers want is to trust the person they will be buying from. How then, can an antiques dealer use social media to build relationships with new customers? A social media strategist offers vintage sellers five tips.
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Columnist Wayne Jordan says eBay’s Fraud Protection Program is a response to the atmosphere of distrust – distrust that has existed in the art and antiques market for decades. Without trust, a loyal user base cannot be established, and without loyal customers a company cannot grow. He gives credit to eBay for making an effort to sort all of this out and claims the company’s efforts to control fraud help all online sellers. Read More +
Wayne Jordan looks at the true cost of holding on to inventory too long and why it’s very common in the antiques trade: "Even when faced with compelling financial data (like inventory turns and profits) dealers still hold on to their beloved inventory. The essence of loss aversion is that simply owning something increases its value (to us). We don’t like losing something once we own it. Antiques dealers are also collectors, and they tend to get attached to the items the buy" Read More +
Antiques dealers who have found that their large furniture items aren’t selling would do well to remember that most rooms have more wall space than floor space. The good news for antiques dealers is that they can profit handsomely from the every-day, run-of-the-mill unsigned art they find at estate sales, garage sales, and auctions. Columnist Wayne Jordan offers a primer on the two most important rules dealers should remember when selling art and how to select quality pieces that sell.
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BOUCKVILLE, N.Y. – This year marks the 40th anniversary of Madison-Bouckville Antique Week, slated for Aug. 15-21 in Bouckville, a town located in central New York state, not far from Syracuse and Utica and right on State Route 20. The event will play host to over 2,000 dealers and vendors and is expected to attract 45,000 people or more to its many fields.
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Wayne Jordan has a "Home Alone" moment after reading a report claiming that artificially inflating prices for Kindle and iPad ebooks "creates value" for consumers. "I read that statement and screamed. Macaulay has nothing on me," he writes. Dealing in unique objects, antiques sellers may price inventory at the intersection of supply and demand. However, many use three pricing strategies: research, cost (amount paid) and "gut feeling" to move their merchandise. Jordan looks at the pros and cons and explains how all three can help sales.
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