Comments on: Take Advantage of Slow Winter Months to Reconsider how to Run Your Antique Shop

By: vincej

vincej — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 13:38:27 +0000

I too think of the “slow” season.
But I’m always surprised by my clients.

Case in point.
I’m in Canada, near Toronto, it’s dead of winter here now in December, snow, ice, etc….

A year ago, I made a deal with a local salvager to buy a lot of park bench ends… cast iron, victorian, the kind that have wood slats seating. Minus the wood. just the ends.
Deal made in May.
She is an ornery gal, and decided she did not want to deliver them to my store…. and I didn’t have time to go get them.. so deal was dead.

In October she shows up with them.
Normally I’d consider these spring items to sell throughout the summer, (park benches, not for winter, right?)

So I place them in a bike rack in front of store, and chain lock them up. Off to a slow start I figure.

A year passes, I sell some during spring, a couple in summer. Now I figure the season’s over.

To my surprise in November and December of this year, 9 pairs flew off the chains. Totally unexpected.

next year, what am I to do? buy garden furniture in October for sale in january February? (maybe people are buying them as winter projects in preperation for spring? )

I’ve learnt from this, and many other occurances, to not assume much in this business, anymore.

By: Janet ~ JCR Antiques

Janet ~ JCR Antiques — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:18:16 +0000

I’ve thought about this too, as I visit my Mother as she spends the winters in Florida… But, when I shop at the local antique stores and malls (and estate sales), it seems to me that a good amount of what they have on the shelves in Florida would not sell well to my clients in the Pacific Northwest.
My best way to fight the winter blues is to make sure my space is CLEAN and well stocked with what sold during those months last year. I pull items that don’t usually sell during the winter as well as pieces that have been there far too long. As noted in the article, the “real estate” of my booth is expensive and I have to make the most of it by displaying items that will sell during the winter vs. using the space for storing tired, dusty, out-of-season inventory.

By: Michelle Cooper Staley

Michelle Cooper Staley — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:08:00 +0000

Francine, this is an excellent idea!! It would be great to cultivate business relationships with antique dealers in other parts of the country. Let me put on my thinking cap and see if I can create something where interested parties can sign-up for such an arrangement.

By: Francine DiFilippo

Francine DiFilippo — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:26:35 +0000

If your winter months are slow consider bringing or shipping items to us in Florida. our slower months are in the summer so there is the potential for a reciprocal venture. Been thinking about this lot lately.

By: Bill Castle

Bill Castle — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:37:43 +0000

Around here (Northeast Tennessee), there is a lot of variation in stores. Near Gatlinburg, about everyone charges a pretty high rent, and 10% or more commission. However, that is an expensive town to do business in.

In Kingsport, there are several malls, and the booths are $50-90 with no commission. They’ve been very stable over many years.

In Jonesborough, they charge high rent, and commission, and there’s only one store in town. It’s on a downhill trend. They have a lot of empty booths. They also have a lot of dealers with “crafts” and reproduction items.

This a trend I worry about in antique malls. A lot of them are going this way. I don’t know if it’s a lack of dealers or what the cause is. I can pretty much smell it when I walk in the door. If there’s too much spice in the air, I won’t find anything “real” to purchase.