Wednesday, March 11, 2009
CATCHING THE COLLECTIBLE BUG
Are prices falling for collectibles and antiques? That's the most frequently asked question we're getting this month. We read all the antiques newspapers and magazines, five major daily newspapers including one from England, dozens of collector and decorating magazines, and numerous sites and publications on the Internet. The good news is the majority of reports are good for sales and auctions that don't sell million-dollar paintings. Prices are holding at levels expected a few years ago. Shows are getting good crowds and lots of new buyers looking for substitutes for expensive new furnishings. The antiquing bug is contagious and we predict many new buyers will become collectors. Best of all, many more of you are subscribing to our newsletter and visiting our website.
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6 comments:
Thank you for that very important and intersting information. I, too, have wondered if the current economy has had a negative impact on the market.
I`ve noticed that on E-bay the bidding is slowing down a lot on many antique items and a lot of items that were bringing high agressive bidding before aren`t even getting hits now. Many things are being relisted over and over.
I sell antiques and collectibles on eBay and must report that many beautiful items of mine are going without bids, even though I've reduced the opening bid amounts. I believe the same is true for other sellers. So, while this is bad for those of us trying to earn a living, people interested in purchasing antiques and collectibles might want to check out the eBay auctions and perhaps get some beautiful bargains for the opening bid (often far below the value of the object).
The good news is: with the eBay sales slump, I'm taking more and more of the "good stuff" to my local antique mall sales booths and I think others are too because I've noticed an upgrade in the quality of items available locally (since they are not so profitable online at the moment!). This is a good thing for the folks who still like to go "antiquing" in the real, rather than the cyber, world.
I believe the market is fine, just redistributed. Since ebay, the abundance of those things once considered scarce has lowered the price due to supply and demand. But find a real rarity, and the sky's the limit.
I have a small space in a local antique mall (for 5 years). Our business is great and for the first time we are open seven days and will extend our summer hours. We have many antiques and collectibles but not big ticket items. We also have many new customers. Perhaps the shipping costs deter some from online auctions.
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