Columnist Wayne Jordan argues haggling is bad for the antiques business and explains customers and dealers would be better served by negotiating: Haggling is all about price; negotiating is about an exchange of value. 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 +
The Uniform Commercial Code says you may retract a bid before a lot closes, but whether you’re legally clear to back out depends on the type of antiques auction: “reserve” or “absolute.” In this column Wayne Jordan reviews both and highlights how a savvy buyer can use sloppy auctioneering to their advantage. Read More +
Antiques businesses can follow these eight steps to protect themselves against check fraud, which can account for 2 to 3 percent of losses every year. 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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