Why do shows and shops tell dealers they are selling space when they are really selling traffic? Antique malls (and antique shows) that rent space based solely on booth size are cheating themselves and their dealers. Read More +
Tag Archives: Wayne Jordan
Three ways Google Insights for Search will improve your antiques business
Sure you can read what’s hot and what’s not, but what if you could learn exactly what the collectors who live near your store search for online? Indeed you can with Google Insights for Search, a powerful new tool you can use to create your own “hot list.” Read More +
Why the time is right to open an antiques shop
Despite all the gloomy predictions for the antiques trade, this is the place to be says columnist Wayne Jordan. He explains why now is the time to open a brick and mortar antiques shop: Shop owners benefit from low rents, high gas prices and more flexibility than “big box” retailers. Read More +
Why half your new customers can’t find your antiques retail website: It’s not showing up on their smartphones
With one half of local Internet searches done on a smartphone, it’s time for dealers to check if their shop’s website is mobile compatible. Columnist Wayne Jordan says that luckily, the cost to optimize your site is far less than you paid to create it in the first place. Read More +
Small business advice gathered over 90 years helps antiques dealers
Columnist Wayne Jordan recently had a nice chat with Chip Averwater, author of “Retail Truths, The Unconventional Wisdom of Retailing.” A retail “truth” is something that can only be discovered through experience. You can’t learn these truths in business school. Here are 10 of Jordan’s favorite retail “truths” and how they might help you improve your antiques business. Read More +
Buy lower, sell higher with proper online auction/live auction bidding strategy
You can always win an auction if you must. All you have to do is outbid the competition. But, winning doesn’t always mean paying a higher price. Outbidding the competition is as much about strategy as it is about price. Read More +
Don’t let sales get thrown under the bus for lack of savvy customer interaction
American popular culture loves a catchphrase. Always has. In the 1890s, businessmen were anxious to “get down to brass tacks,” and a well-heeled customer who was satisfied with his purchases was “as happy as a clam.” In the 1990s, if … Read More +
How crafting better tags on your antiques inventory will help you exceed customers’ expectations
When it comes to antiques, price doesn’t reflect value: proper identification relating a good story tells prospective buyers why an item is valuable. Read More +
Try negotiating instead of haggling when your customers shop for antiques
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 +
How online video helps antiques dealers tap a Super Bowl audience for pennies
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 +