If you run an antique shop or antique mall, the winter months are the perfect time to reassess your business plan, make changes to the shop’s look and layout and offer deep discounts to clear out merchandise for an influx of new items.

If you have read my previous articles on running your antique shop or antique mall as a business instead of treating it as a hobby (here and here), you are light years ahead of your competition. If you read those articles, I hope to goodness that you have implemented a few of the tactics I set before you. If you have put into practice some of those tactics, then I feel pretty certain that your 2011 holiday season was not too shabby.

January, February and early March are generally pretty slow months for the business, which makes it a perfect time to put pen to paper and come up with promotions and special events for the year ahead of you. It is also a good time to:

• Do some pre-spring cleaning and offer discounts on inventory that has been sitting around for awhile;
• Attend local auctions and get new inventory;
• Take a day trip to a town you have not visited before, check out the antique shops and become inspired;
• If you cannot take a short trip, purchase a few magazines such as “Country Living,” “Martha Stewart” or “Victoria” to get inspiration and see upcoming and new trends in decorating.

If you have any employees, you need to make sure that they know the inventory, dealers and consignors. They need to have some authority to make decisions on prices or, at the very least, know how to contact dealers. In my shop, we had an automatic 10-percent off if someone asked about a discount. It was written into the dealer and consignment contracts. Ten percent is not going to break the bank, but it does show that you care about your customers and value their business. If your employees don’t know prices or how to reach dealers, this makes you look bad. I recently took a shopping trip across Kansas and, while I was looking forward to this trip, I was left with bad first impressions of a number of antique shops and it is all because of the people working the counter.

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER: If you don’t have it in your budget to hire an employee or two, see if any of your dealers would consider working every now and then for a reduction in booth rental fees. You “pay” them as you would any hourly employee, except you deduct their “earnings” from their booth rental. How many hours they work is up to you; just make sure it is someone dependable.

Hold quarterly meetings with your dealers. It does not need to be a long meeting but you want to get feedback from the dealers. Ask for input and pay attention to what they have to say. Make sure that everyone is happy with the way the shop is running and, if you see areas where the dealers can make improvements to improve sales, be sure to offer up those suggestions. These meetings give your dealers a sense of ownership in your business and you never know what amazing ideas will come out of them. You have to remember that you would not have a business if it weren’t for your dealers and good, quality dealers are hard to find. We all adore our customers and cater to them, but you need to do the same with your dealers.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Make sure that all of your dealers have business cards. You can really make it interesting and tell everyone to put their dealer number on the cards as they hand them out, keep track of how many cards are brought in and which dealer handed them out. Offer a discount on the monthly rent or a small gift for the dealer who has the highest return on business cards. Also, be sure to give the card back to the customer!

The winter months are a perfect time to hold meetings with your dealers. It does not need to be a long meeting but you want to get feedback from the dealers. Ask for input and pay attention to what they have to say.

I have quite a few friends who rent space in antique shops and I have also visited with dealers on my shopping forays and travels, so I hear lot of antiques business talk. Some of that talk is about a trend that I find rather troubling. There is an inherent cost to doing business and I see more and more of these costs being passed on to the dealers who rent space. Your dealers might have a booth that is 8 by 10 feet, but more shops are cutting the size down to 5 by 7 and even 3 by 7. There is only so much stuff you can get into an area of this size. Yet shop owners are charging rent, a commission on sales, a fee for credit or debit card use and some shops even charge a fee for shopping bags and wrapping material. If your dealer makes a $20-sale, once all these fees are deducted, she’s not making a profit!

First off, I cannot imagine the accounting nightmare these extra charges create and second, if you are charging a commission and rent, the commission should cover all the extras. I hear shop owners complaining about the high dealer turnover and this little paragraph should explain that turnover. It does not matter that you can pull from your extensive waiting list to fill that spot, dealers talk to dealers and you will find that your waiting list has no more names on it and you have empty booths.

A few months ago I made the decision to rent a small booth to liquidate some inventory, but after checking around a few of the local shops and did the math, I found that I would be better off selling through online auctions and to other dealers. I was truly shocked and amazed at some of the fees being passed on to the dealer, and most of these shops had an abundance of empty booths. Everyone is struggling to make a buck right now and shop owners do not need to add to that problem. We all need to work together in this economy.

I have quite a few friends who rent space in antique shops and I have also visited with dealers on my shopping forays and travels, so I hear lot of antiques business talk. Some of that talk is about a trend that I find rather troubling.

To improve your sales, you need to frequently wander around your shop and make sure that the customers are finding what they need. One area where antique shops differ from traditional businesses is that while you are circulating, you need to also empty the customer’s hands of inventory and place it at the front counter. This serves two purposes; 1) the customer has both hands free to shop and 2) it reduces the theft risk. I recently read an article where the author was bemoaning this task but it is a necessary evil this also hinders customers putting items down in the booth of another dealer (something else this particular article was ranting about).

I recently visited a relatively large antique shop that had shopping carts available for customer use. My first reaction was “wow, this is what I have always said antique shops needed,” but upon further reflection—and in visiting with dealers in the mall—there is a high rate of breakage and theft. Think about it, a customer puts several glassware items in a shopping cart with no support or packing. They start rolling around and banging in to each other, which leads to chips, cracks and breakage. Even if the store has video cameras, when there is only one person working the counter, he is unable to keep a watchful eye on the monitors. When a customer gets to the back of the store, it offers ample opportunity to put things in her purse, coat or pants pockets. Even offering a small, hand-carried basket can have the same end result. It is easier to put the cash register key in your pocket and hit the aisles than deal with breakage and theft.

On previous articles you have left me some wonderful comments and questions especially on matters concerning your business. I hear that you want to do things in a different way but just don’t know what more to do. I hope to offer up a few more suggestions in this article and look forward to future comments, questions and helpful articles.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Repurposed glass dishware makes a nice vase of flowers. Whimsical items such as these, as well as tradition antiques and collectibles, can be found at Mike’s Unique Collectible & Antique Flea Market in Springfield, Mo.

I recently took a short trip to Springfield, Mo., to meet Mike Cook, the co-founder and co-owner of Mike’s Unique Collectible & Antique Flea Market. Mike has a very unique story about how he got into the antique and collectible business—one that is a prime example of doing what you have to do to survive these days.

The store was busy with shoppers strolling the aisles and dealers stocking their booths when I dropped in on Mike’s store the week between Christmas and New Year’s. I had the opportunity to look around while he assisted a few customers and I was very pleased at how clean everything looked, the width of the aisles and the overall spaciousness of the store. There is even a separate room for furniture and other large items, which makes the individual booths easier to see. Even though Mike and his business partner, Richard Green, have approximately 300 booths and showcases, the store did not look crowded and cramped.

When Mike and I finally had an opportunity to sit down and visit, my first question was how did this all come about? He took a slow look around the store and told his story:

After he did his time with Uncle Sam in the military, Mike spent the next 30 years of his life in the construction industry. As with many folks these days, his regional management position was eliminated and he was transferred to the corporate office in Colorado. A month in the Rockies was more than enough for Mike and he was ready to return home to Springfield, but the company had no open positions for him there. So what is a guy to do? Stay in a place and position he dislikes, go on welfare or find a way to create his own job?

Mike Cook (right), the co-founder and co-owner of Mike’s Unique Collectible & Antique Flea Market, with his business partner, Richard “Red” Green. Two years ago, these two out-of-work construction workers with no experience in retail and no experience in the antique, collectible or flea market business created their own now-profitable jobs.

When Mike was in the military, he had a friend who talked often about opening the largest flea market in the United States. Mike thought the idea sounded a little daft at the time, but he listened just the same. All these years later, he found himself recalling those conversations and thinking that opening a flea market might just be a viable solution to his predicament. So he set out on a mission to visit all the antique shops and flea markets he could find and began creating a list of the things he liked and disliked about each of them. He quit his corporate job, moved back to Springfield and was able to get a business loan to turn his vision in to reality. Along the way, he phoned a buddy of his, Richard Green, who he had just laid off from the job a year previous and filled him in on his idea. Richard thought Mike was nuts, but still kind of liked the sound of the project and got on board.

That is how two years ago, two construction workers with no experience in retail and no experience in the antique, collectible or flea market business created their own now-profitable jobs. I asked Mike if he had been in contact with his military buddy who had the original idea. He said that yes, and in fact, his friend has a very successful business putting on large flea markets around the Midwest.

Mike said it has certainly been a “learn on the job” experience, but added that he has been able to surround himself with people who are familiar with antiques, collectibles and memorabilia. Mike is also a subscriber to WorthPoint and says he utilizes the site’s Worthopedia Price Guide quite often when searching for information for himself and for his customers. When he buys out estates and storage units, her turns to WorthPoint iPhone app a great deal when he is in the field and needs answers quickly.

Depending on which booth you approach, your eyes will be hit with all kinds of unexpected treasures.

I asked how business has been for them since they opened the store and he said they are “keeping their heads above water.” They are looking to expand the business and open another location and Mike owns 10 percent of a similar store in my neck of the woods, Nellie & Nicos; An Antique Boutique, in Shawnee, Kansas. He calls this their sister store. It is located in what used to be a large grocery store and, while I have visited it, I have yet to make it all the way through the store. Mike’s Missouri is large, but this store is massive. I hope to do a story on them in the near future.

As far as inventory goes, Mike’s vendors have a little bit of everything, from flea-market finds to wonderful 1950s furniture, collectibles and a few antiques. I certainly spied a few things that I would like to have, but I am to the point that something has to go before I bring something else home.

I had the pleasure of visiting with one of the dealers, Bea Land, who has been a dealer for many years and stays busy with not only a booth in Mike’s store, but also a booth in a nearby town. Bea has a nice assortment of smalls (small decorative items), glassware, dolls, porcelain and other goodies and her prices are very reasonable. She said that she had not seen the market this depressed in all her years in the business. I assured her that it was hitting all of us hard but, hopefully, we would see things start to turn around soon.

Each proprietor at Mike’s Unique Collectible & Antique Flea Market sets up their booth to match their personality.

Mike thinks that if there were greater cooperation between the antique shops and flea market stores in the area, things might work out better for everyone. He might be right. The day I came into Springfield—the day before I visited with Mike—I noticed an abundance of antique stores and indoor flea markets in town, but many of the stores had signs out front looking for dealers to rent space. Mike, meanwhile, has a waiting list of 600 dealers. I think Mike is right. It would serve them all well to work as a more cohesive unit. But, as I can attest, there are often territorial issues among antique shops in many towns, as everyone wants to keep to themselves instead of working together as a group with similar interests and a common goal: drawing more customers and selling more antiques and collectibles.

It was a real pleasure to meet Mike. Good luck, and I’ll be back.

.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

This ring, made from a piece of silverware, may be rare, if you are considering it only as a piece of jewelry, made by a specific person. But the pattern was mass-produced and there may be hundreds or thousands of these rings out there. You just don’t know.

How can you tell a true antique dealer with years of experience from someone who is just trying to make a buck under the antique dealer label? One tip-off is how often they use the words “rare,” “one-of-a-kind” or stating that everything in the shop is an “antique.”

I remember reading an article by Harry Rinker in a 2007 that included some wisdom that struck me, so much so that I have incorporated it into my list of things to consider when buying; whether for my myself or for my store. He said that anything made from 1950 on is not rare, although I can’t remember the phrase, exactly, to directly quote him.

It is a real pet peeve of mine when people use “rare,” “one-of-a-kind” and “antique” to describe an item for no other reason than to use the terms. I guess it is possible that they really don’t know what they have, what decade or era it is from and are clueless in general, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt. I also see these terms used all the time in an online forum relating to antiques and collectibles I frequent. Many times, the customer has been fed these terms by an appraiser, sometimes it is a friend or their own online research.

The terms “rare” and “one-of-a-kind” are should be used very conservatively and only when one is beyond a shadow-of-a-doubt-positive that this is accurate information. This is generally not something that your 8-to-5 seller can say with all certainty. Even with my decades of experience and study, and attending as many auctions, shops and sales as I do, I can’t recall the last time I used these three phrases to describe and object, other than for a one-of-a-kind item I personally created (thus, I know it’s one of a kind).

Author’s Note: In the Tariff Act of 1930, the U.S. Customs defined an antique as an object that was made before 1830, when mass production became commonplace. In 1966, the standard of 100 years old was adopted as the defining characteristic to determine if an object was an antique and its import would be duty-free. Before this standard was implemented, importers often claimed all types of objects as “antiques” to avoid the tax. On Dec. 8, 1993, Title VI of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057), also known as the Customs Modernization or “Mod Act,” became effective. These provisions amended many sections of the Tariff Act of 1930 and related laws. One key change to the Act concerns restoration. “Provided they retain their original character, the heading includes antique articles that have been repaired or restored. For example, the heading includes antique furniture incorporating parts of modern manufacture. However, if the essential character is changed, or more than 50 percent of the item has been repaired or restored, the item is no longer considered an antique and is subject to duty.”

A vintage photograph date 1909 of a female dentist performing a tooth extraction in her office. The photo is described as “rare.” Is the photo rare, or is the female dentist in 1909 rare?

The word antique is batted around more than the birdie in a game of badminton. It is used and abused and in this age of mass-reproduced “antique” items that it misleads the novice collector and buyer. There are other words that can be used and are probably more appropriate in most circumstances; vintage and retro are two quite nice descriptive words. If an item is really a “collectible,” that too is a suitable word to describe an item.

OK Michelle, what set you off on this tangent of terminology? Why, thank you for asking; it has been building for awhile. What pushed me over the edge, though, was “A Rare, One of a Kind, Antique Elephant Figurine” that popped up on to my Facebook page from a supposedly reputable antique shop site.

Curious person that I am—and one always open to learning new things—I went to the page to see this magnificent specimen. For the love of Mike, it was a 1970s ceramic elephant figurine of unmarked origin. It was cute, but that is where it began and ended. Of course, I left a comment for the seller stating that her description was way off base and the war of the words began.

Part of what I love about my chosen profession as an antique dealer is educating people. I believe that it is part of my job to educate new collectors and the new generation of buyers. I admit to not knowing it all, but I do know quite a bit and I am always striving to learn more.

If we continue to sit on our laurels and let misinformation like this continue, we are not doing the industry any justice what so ever. We are perpetuating the lies and misinformation online but it’s being told and sold to people in antique shops.

I searched for “rare” in the antiques category on eBay and had 30,025 items show up in the search results. This included a “rare” Wallace Silver-plate Charger; photocopies of “rare” vintage and antique photographs (the quantity of five or more is a giveaway); and “rare” 1970 Gorham Snowflake ornaments (three others on eBay). Anyway, you can see where I am going with this (and I only looked at one page of the search results). Granted, there may be some very rare items up for sale, but overuse of this term can lead new collectors to not trust anyone. The same thing happened with Depression and carnival glass because of all the reproductions being sold as “antique.”

The listing says “This is a huge white enamelware pot with original lid. It has two great big handles on the kettle and a big handle on the lid. One of a kind!” If it was mass-produced, it’s not one of a kind.

Now, for a “one of a kind” search, I only hit on 420 results—most of which are works of art. But there was some furniture, too, all without provenance. If you have a one-of-a-kind piece, at the very least offer up some provenance. I did recently do an appraisal on a moondial crafted by the customer’s father. He had only created five of these award-winning pieces, and besides being functional, they were absolute works of art. She wanted to sell one, and she had lots of provenance on the piece (official a one-of-five-of-a-kind) but I could not give her an appraisal value because nothing like it had been sold on the open market. I anxiously await the auction results.

I do not mean to be catty or hateful with this article; I just want to draw attention to a matter that has become epidemic in the sale of antiques, collectibles, vintage, retro and memorabilia items. Know who you are buying from and get a written certification or rarity. Do your homework and please correct people if you see these terms being misused.

Happy shopping!

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

While some people believe themselves above shopping in a thrift store, I have found that you can find great antiques and collectibles for great prices.

Oh, how I love the thrill of the hunt in a thrift store. It is almost as good as a big church rummage sale. My multiple decades of thrift-store shipping have garnered such items as a Coach handbag for 50¢, a beautiful Lladró figurine $5, antique drop-front and roll-top desks for less than $100 each and a wide variety of items that sell quickly and bring a nice profit. Not everything I purchase ends up for sale, as I do hang on to quite a few thrift store purchases. Even hubby has been bitten by the thrift store bug, as he finds name-brand clothing for himself that is new with tags or barely worn.

Thrift stores have been given a pretty bad rap:

• Some people feel that thrift store shopping is “beneath” them;
• Thrift stores are dirty;
• They sell nothing but cheap, broken junk;
• Stores are disorganized and good items are impossible to find.

While some thrift stores do meet some or all of the above criteria, it is certainly not apply all of them; I cannot speak for those who feel they are too “good” to enter the doors of a thrift store. Many thrift stores are nice and clean with no funky aroma, clothing has been laundered, inventory is clean, electronic and mechanical items have been tested and any chipped or repaired items are noted as such. As you begin thrifting in your area, you will learn which thrift stores meet your specific criteria and which don’t. I personally have no criteria when it comes to thrift stores: I just put on my big girl panties and make my way through the doors; I have found wonderful items in stores that few people would have the gumption to enter.

Generally, there are two types of thrift store: non-profit (religious organizations, charities) and for profit (owned by individuals to turn a profit). My experience has been that the charity stores have a higher turn-over in inventory and, with a couple of exceptions, their inventory is of a higher quality and the prices are lower. For-profit thrift stores (once again, this is my personal observation), tend to have higher prices, lower quality goods and inventory so old that the price tags themselves are probably worth more on the collectible market than the item they are on.

Blackwell’s Thrift Shop in Kansas City, Mo., offers great finds in a nice, clean and appealing store, despite its location in a run-down part of town.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. One of my all-time favorite thrift stores is an amazing family owned shop in Kansas City, Mo., called “Blackwell’s.” While in one of the worst parts of town, it is as neat as a pin, very organized and the prices cannot be beat. Over the past 27 years, I have furnished more than one kitchen and dining room for my daughters as well as secured many wedding gifts with items purchased from Mrs. Blackwell. She has a big oak barrel in the back filled to overflowing with lids. You name it and she probably has a lid for it.

I especially like hitting thrift stores when I travel. If you are going out of state, you stand the chance of finding nice, inexpensive regional items. On a recent trip to Colorado I went to the Nazarene Thrift Store in Monte Vista. Besides the words “Thrift Store,” what caught my eye was an amazing window display of colorful ski boots and skis. Since I was not really in to breaking my neck on the trip, I was not in the market to purchase such items. But I was extremely interested to see what they priced in a thrift store. I know that ski items can be extremely expensive when purchased new, but the thrift store had them priced at significantly less than half of retail (I had my laptop in the car to look-up retail prices). They even had a pair of vintage Ski Pees for $29.99, these resale for around $125.

This particular part of Colorado supported several turquoise mines through the 1970s and I am always in the market for turquoise and silver jewelry, yet the retail store prices were beyond ridiculous. All of the thrift stores I visited had a nice inventory of turquoise and silver pieces, although, sadly, nothing really caught my eye. Still, the prices were amazingly low.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: When you travel, be sure to seek out a thrift store for great regional purchases, inexpensive souvenir items or items you need just for the trip. On a recent road trip I needed a humidifier and headed to the thrift store to make the purchase. The cost was $5. On my way out of town, I re-donated the humidifier and received a store credit for the purchase amount and used it to purchase some books. Two of them were Christmas gifts.

One of the things to keep in mind when you shop at a non-profit thrift store is that the money you spend is going to a good cause. I

One of the things to keep in mind when you shop at a non-profit thrift store is that the money you spend is going to a good cause. I visited with Deborah at the Nazarene Thrift Store and she told me that they opened the shop four years ago. The money the store brings in goes to services the church provides to the local community, local charities, food banks and worldwide missions. To date in 2011, they have given away $85,000 in goods and services. We were in the back storage area of the shop while we visited and straight away I noticed how neat and clean even the back of the store was. Deborah pointed to two large, overhead storage areas piled high with large trash bags brimming with an assortment of items. She indicated that the store worked with another local business who sent the items to impoverished and developing countries. It makes you feel pretty good about shopping when you know that your money is going to help others.

You do have to practice a certain amount of restraint when thrifting, as it is very easy to buy items you will never use or sell just because the price is low. It is also helpful if you know the retail prices on new items. There is a large chain of non-profit thrift stores intended to “save” you money and on a recent visit I noticed a very worn Old Navy T-shirt priced at $12. If purchased new, this very shirt is only $5. This particular store is no longer on my list of shops to visit due to their overall high prices. Be sure to check your purchases over really well for tears, chips, cracks and other defects as most stores have a no refund policy. You can try to haggle on prices but those days are pretty much gone. If the item you want to purchase has a defect of some sort it doesn’t hurt to ask if they can give you a discount.

Get on out and visit your local thrift stores you might be very surprised (good or bad) at what you will find.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Do you have a daughter or niece who is in college or just starting out? A dinner set of mismatched china is a fun way to help her get started on her own and might also get her started as an antiquer or collector.

I know it’s getting late, but if you still have some shopping to do, please rethink shopping the big box stores for your Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and other gift giving occasions. There are wonderful and unique gift items to be found in your local antique shops. Not only would you be giving a gift that is unique and personal but you would also be helping your community by spending money in a locally owned business and the tax money generated would stay in the community.

NOTE: From the 3/50 Project; 1) Pick three local independently owned businesses you would miss if they were gone. Drop in, say hi and purchase an item or two; 2) If half of the employed people in the U.S. spent $50 a month in locally owned, independent small businesses it would generate approximately $42.6 billion in revenue; 3) Pick 3, spend 50, save the local economy.

Most modern day antique shops/antique malls are not filled with musty, dusty, grandmother stuff. Let me rephrase that: you may see items that your grandmother had in her home, but hopefully the musty and dusty is gone. It is possible to find something for everyone on your shopping list and the recipient will know that you really gave their gift some thought and chances are pretty good that the gift will be something that will be proudly displayed, worn or otherwise utilized and not relegated to a closet or be regifted next year.

I gave my mamma a first-edition of “Racketty-Packetty House” that she loved as a child. When she opened it, it brought her to tears. If your gift can bring the recipient to tears, you know you have made the perfect gift.

If the recipient is a collector, this makes finding a meaningful gift so much easier. If they are not a collector, then hopefully they have a hobby and you can find a hobby-related item. If your gift recipient does not fall in to either one of those categories, then let the fun of antique shop browsing begin. My mamma was always the easiest person for me to buy for because she collected paperweights, elephants, dolls, antique baby feeding dishes and books. She spoke often about a book that she loved when she was a child titled “Racketty-Packetty House.” I thought it would be an easy book to find, but all I could find were recent reprints. It took a local book seller seven years to find an old copy for me. It happened to be a first edition and it brought mamma to tears when she opened it. If your gift can bring the recipient to tears, you know you have made the perfect gift.

If the giftee collects something that is easy to find such as elephants, turn finding the perfect elephant item in to a personal challenge. Don’t purchase just another figurine look for something unique with the animal on it.

• With minimal sewing skills, you can turn a vintage handkerchief in to a sweet pillow;
• Frame a vintage hanky for a wonderful wall hanging ;
• Find a unique piece of art, works of art do not have to be expensive, find a nice lithograph or print;
• Find a piece of jewelry that incorporates the collected item or hobby;
• You can rarely go wrong with books.

Here are a few alternative ideas:

Put together a nice gift basket with a variety of items for the table and kitchen with a vintage set of salt and pepper shakers, a couple of old kitchen utensils and a vintage apron or tea towels. What about a shadow box collage containing old ephemeral items, or vintage golf balls and tees for a golf enthusiast? This same concept works well for any sport or you can combine items from all sports for someone who is a general sports enthusiast. While it is not a good idea to purchase old toys for kids—even though most of us survived playing with them—the collage concept is a good great item for children just find a variety of items that show the interests of the child. I have made several baby shower gifts using an inexpensive shadow box, old feeding spoons, vintage baby shower cards and other small baby-related items. Let your imagination run wild with this it is a fun gift to create, unique and from the heart.

If you are close to the gift recipient and know that they are in need of small tables, lamps or even a matching set of dinnerware, these too make wonderful gift items and will not break the bank. We have gifted a couple of sets of vintage china and continue to get feedback when they find a new piece to add to their set of china. It is the gift that keeps on giving.

NOTE: If you purchase an electrical item from any type of secondhand store, please get it rewired. A friend of mine bought a great vintage TV lamp and one evening, while the lamp was turned off still but plugged in, she saw a flash and the little lamp caught on fire.

Instead of a unimaginative cardboard box, wouldn’t any gift be twice as nice if presented in a vintage candy tin, such as this?

Antique shops are also wonderful places to find non-traditional ways to wrap gifts. For small items, you can find a beautiful old tin or line a vintage canning jar with tissue paper and place the gift inside. Old baskets are terrific for gifting multiple items. I have even used beautiful old pillowcases and hankies to wrap gifts. This way you are essentially giving two gifts in one.

I am not trying to persuade you to never buy online again. Heck, I have an online antique shop and would never do that. Big box stores are here to stay, even though it is very easy to find what you are looking for without setting foot in one. I just believe that it is important during these economic times to spend money with local independent small businesses and the holiday season is the perfect time to put that in to practice.

NOTE: For every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 is returned to the community in taxes, payroll and other expenditures. If the same amount is spent at a national chain, only $43 stays local. (Source:The 3/50 Project)

Sure, it is easier to shop online. But getting to know a local antique dealer is always an excellent idea. You never know when you will have questions about an item you own or are looking for something special. If you are a good customer, it is highly probable that the local shop owner will be more than happy to help you in any way possible.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

One of my planned stops was at The Old Hardware Store—the oldest hardware store in Kansas—but it was closed . . . on a Tuesday morning! (photo courtesy of The Old Hardware Store)

I recently went on a two-week trip to south-central Colorado. The reason for the trip was two-fold; 1) to visit my youngest daughter; and 2) to visit as many antique shops as I could and try to gauge how the shops are faring and what the owners have in inventory. This was my first trip to this particular area of Colorado and I was venturing in to new antique territory in Kansas, as well. I was up for the adventure.

The rubber hit the highway early on a Tuesday morning. I figured I could get a few hours on the road before my first antique shop stop. I was taking two-lane county roads out of my home city of Kansas City, Kan., so that I would be traveling through small towns, thinking it should increase the probability of finding some antique shops.

My tried and true shops in Emporia, Kan., were all closed! I’m not sure what the deal is on that, as I got to Emporia around 11 a.m., and it was on a Tuesday. So on down the road I went. I really wanted to visit the The Old Hardware Store—the oldest hardware store in Kansas—in Halstead. The last few times I have been to Halstead, the hardware/antique shop has been closed and—of course—it would be no different on this trip. I was once again relegated to peering through the windows, admiring the few items I could see.

It was time to start heading west on Highway 150/50. I have previously traveled only a short distance down this stretch of road and it is absolutely beautiful, driving through the Flint Hills with sprawling ranches on either side of the road. One can’t help but think what went through the minds of pioneers as they crested some of these hills that seem to roll on forever.

Finally I enter a small town—the name of which escapes me now, as I passed through so many—but this one looked promising. Sitting almost side-by-side are the cutest old homes that had been converted to antique shops. I entered the smaller of the two buildings and began my browsing.

After you have been doing this for a few decades, it is easy to do a quick scan and have certain items just pop out at you. There wasn’t much popping going on in the first shop. I have a thing for chairs and small bookcases and the few I saw were pretty beat-up with big prices on them. There were also some nice crocks but no prices, and I could not find anyone to ask for prices. I did the polite, “excuse me, hello,” thing, and not receiving a response, went to the louder, “hey is there anyone here” loud voice.

If I had been able to get into the Hardware Store, this is what I would have seen. (photo courtesy of The Old Hardware Store)

So I be-bop on over to the second shop, still with great hope in my little shopping heart, and what did my eyes fall upon but sloppily painted furniture . . . antique furniture with white paint all over it, brush marks and drips plainly visible. I don’t mind tearing down a nice piece of antique furniture to refinish it but I am not going to pay $350 for a sweet bookcase that is semi-slathered in white latex paint!

I must have made some type of audible gasp as the young woman working the shop said, “It is called shabby chic.” I know the definition of shabby chic, and this is one of two things: 1) the bookcase was in poor condition and the seller has no clue how to refinish furniture; or 2) there is a huge misconception that slathering a piece of antique furniture in white paint makes it “shabby chic.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: “Shabby chic” is a form of interior design where furniture and furnishings are either chosen for their age and signs of wear and tear, or new items are distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique. At the same time, a soft, minimalistic and feminine feel is emphasized to differentiate it from regular vintage decor; hence the “chic” in the name. Items are often heavily painted through the years, with many layers showing through obviously time-worn areas. The style is imitated in faux painting using glaze or by painting and then rubbing and sanding away the top coat to show the wood or base coats. (Thank you, Wikipedia!)

The shabby was there but chic is not the word I used when I saw this wonderful bookcase and the price that went with it. I continued to browse, but I think I was shell-shocked at this point and despite seeing a few items I had some interest in; I could not get the vision of the beautiful Art Deco-style bookcase in white out of my mind.

I am sad to say that the majority of my shopping stops followed in the same vein. There was more than their share of white furniture, extremely high prices or no prices, and new items and reproductions. I did see vintage wares, retro items and a few antiques but nothing I could not live without. The stores I visited in Colorado did fare somewhat better, but I was really hoping to find items that I cannot find at home. I did see a substantial amount of new western-motif items, and I love vintage western, especially dinnerware and fabric with cowboys and Indians on it. Give me Red Wing Rancho or Wallace China Chuck Wagon any day.

With great hope in my little shopping heart, eyes fell upon a sloppily painted bookcase, doused in white paint with brush marks and drips plainly visible.

The really sad thing about my shopping experience in Western Kansas, after getting over the painted furniture, is that these little towns are dying due to people and businesses moving elsewhere. Here are these folks who have been able to keep the doors to their antique shops open, but due to the quality of their wares, the way they run their businesses and the prices, no one is buying. No money spent in small businesses equals no tax money for the town. The situation is so desperate that these towns will give you land on which to build a home so that you are shopping local, paying taxes and generating income for the towns. I drove through one ghost town that looked like when closing time came one day, everyone loaded up their cars and moved along.

By no means did I hit every single antique shop in every city and town. I did stop as often as possible—I passed a lot of stores with “Closed” signs visible. On my return trip, I drove on I-70 and got off the freeway several times to visit small town and shops after spotting their billboards on the side of the road. I returned home having purchased nothing in an antique shop during the entire trip . . . and in my world, that is virtually unheard of. It certainly shocked my hubby.

I already have plans to further explore Western Kansas, so please hide all the white-painted furniture, dust a little, price your inventory competitively and hire people who seem semi-interested in making a sale. I hope to make several purchases, but I’ll need some help from you.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

I have been a life-long collector and an antiques and collectibles dealer for 27 years. Actually longer than that, if you count my college years, when I would pick and sell my finds on the drag in Austin, Texas. I am a skeptic at heart and even though I love a good horror movie, I never expected, nor really wanted, to have a brush with the paranormal. I know that there are people who collect items that were supposedly “haunted” and there is even a TV show dedicated to such a collector, but my personal opinion about the way this person amasses the items for his collection have no bearing on this article so I won’t go there.

The sleeping baby doll. I never felt comfortable with this doll and eventually needed to put it in storage out in the barn.

Now, on with my story. In your day-to-day handling of antiques and collectibles, have you ever picked up an item and wondered about the person who originally owned the piece? Especially when dealing with items that tend to be very personal, such as a vanity, comb and brush, precious antique doll, jewelry and certain articles of clothing such as a wedding dress. Who was that person? What was their life like? How did I end up owning the item?

I took in a consignment from a lady who had recently married a man whose wife of 40-plus years had passed away from a long bout with cancer just six months previous. The consignor had been relegated with the job of getting rid of the deceased wife’s possessions, so she brought them to me. In the beginning, I did not know the full story, but within a month I asked for an account of the items.

The woman brought in a few contemporary dolls—I have been a lifelong doll collector so dolls generally do not freak me out—but one of these dolls looked like a sleeping infant and from the moment I first picked her up I felt very uncomfortable holding her. But I took her upstairs anyway and placed her in a beautiful wood cradle near the other dolls. The next morning, when I came into the shop and was going around getting ready to open for the day, I noticed that most of the dolls were out of place. I put everything back where they belonged and went on about my business. Throughout the day I heard noises coming from upstairs, even when I knew there was no one in the shop but me. This continued on pretty much every day, as did the disarray of the dolls and toys.

I also had a beautiful vanity upstairs and items were always being moved around on the vanity. A silver-plate brush and mirror that were on the vanity seemed to be the items that were moved the most. They would actually go missing and I would think someone stole them but then they would be found in very unusual places.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Attend a Titanic exhibit. See if you don’t feel a little different surrounded by display after display of personal items and objects from the ship. It is a very emotional and eerie experience.

Other strange things occurred throughout the shop and I finally felt compelled to call in some experts on paranormal activity. Yep, I called in some “Ghostbusters.” They spent several hours in the shop doing their thing and, sure enough, they caught evidence of things we could not explain. I took the evidence they found, the stories that customers told me, my personal experience and that of my employee and came to the conclusion that the shop was haunted. I still did not associate the activity with any of my inventory, so I did some research on the building and the land and we based our investigation on the structure itself.

The activity continued to increase, so another paranormal group was brought in. I was determined to get to the bottom of things and get some answers. As they were investigating, I was sitting on a beautiful chaise lounge, and behind me was a clock that my consignor had brought in that day and I just placed it on the chaise until I could get some batteries for it. I noticed that the clock started to tick. This was strange because 1) it did not have batteries in it, and 2) it was lying flat so the pendulum could not move. All of the sudden a spot on my back began to burn and sting like crazy. I said something about it and one of the investigators looked at my back and three scratches were forming. They reviewed their audio recorder and just before I said something about my back burning there was a female voice that said “Get off my bed.” It was as clear as if she was there in the room with us. Ha, I guess that she probably was.

The front room of my antique shop. Occasional crying and one particularly spirit jealous of her chaise lounge has been investigated by “Ghostbusters.”

One day I heard crying. I immediately went outside to see if someone was in need of help but there was no one around. When I went back into the shop I noticed that the crying was much louder, so I started to go from room to room. I got to the room where the antique vanity was and it was as if someone were standing right in front of me sobbing: the air was very cold around the vanity and when I looked into the mirror I could see the upper body and head of a woman. It was very faint and vanished quickly. I felt compelled to talk to her and I told her that everything was OK, I understood her distress, but please do not sit and cry when customers are in the shop. The weeping continued off and on until the vanity was sold a few weeks later.

Later, the gal who worked for me on occasion finally told me that she felt very uncomfortable when she was around the sleeping doll, as she also had heard the noises from upstairs when she was alone in the shop. She had recently been cleaning up in that area and felt like someone was watching her the entire time. I still had not overcome the eerie feelings I had when I was near the doll and no one showed any interest in purchasing her, so I put her back in her box and took it out in the barn for storage.

Many other things happened in the shop on a daily basis, but you finally get used to most of it and eventually ignored. The deceased spouse who owned these items had been ill for a very long time and she surrounded herself with dolls and other beautiful items, as these things made her feel better. She had a lot of money, time and emotional attachment to these items. I had enough experiences with certain items that I now believe a person can attach emotion to inanimate objects. That person can be living or dead, but they have so much emotion invested in an item that it is infused with that emotion and it stays with it as the item passes from person to person.

The next time you purchase an item or are handling your inventory, take just a moment to hold the item, think about the life history of the piece not just who made it but who owned it and cared for it when it was new.

If you are interested in reading more about one of the investigations at the shop and the few photos that were taken you can view these on my Haunted Antique Shop blog.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

If you don’t run your business like a business, you won’t be making many sales.

Last week I was asked to “check up on” a building owned by some friends of mine who are in South Africa. Interestingly, the building is occupied by an antique shop. I was not given any details, so I assumed that I was stopping in to check on the structure to ensure that there was no damage to the place and that the exterior was in decent condition. Nothing could have prepared for the hornets’ nest of total and absolute drama, business incompetence and utter chaos that I was walking in to.

First, the shop owner was nowhere to be found, one of the dealers was running the shop and she was ready to tell all she knew. It is not uncommon for dealers in a multi-seller antique shop or mall to trade time working in the store for rent due, but I had come to find out the owner “had a quick errand to run” and had been gone for several hours. I was also informed that no one had received a check for goods sold and there was some apparent concern over this matter, especially since it was already the 5th of the month.

It also came to light that no one had a written contract with the shop owner, there was no sales book (manual or computerized) in which to record sales and give customer receipts. There was not even a cash register; only a metal cash box. As I wandered around the shop, I noticed that a large number of items did not have price tags and when I asked about it I was told that the owner took in consignments and that those did not always get priced. FYI, if inventory does not have a price tag, there is also no way to tell which item belongs to whom also and people are less likely to purchase items that are not priced.

When another dealer came in and began moving her booth space, the drama was off and running. She carried on about not having enough time to do all of the work, she had her child with her and she was none too happy about the entire ordeal. She voiced her disdain loudly and bluntly with customers in the store.

Even if you recognize some of these business no-no’s, don’t panic; you can turn it around with a little common sense and some basic business skill.

When I returned home, I called the landlords and asked for specifics on what information they wanted. Come to find out, the tenant had not paid rent since the lease was signed back in April and had been told to vacate the premises by the 15th of this month. They wanted to know if I saw any effort underway as far as removing inventory. I had to tell them no, I did not see anything that looked like anyone was moving anywhere and that none of the dealers in the shop had a clue that they had to be out by the 15th. They were actually making plans for future sales and events.

The next day I took it upon myself to return to the building and inform the dealers of the turn of events and asked if anyone had an interest in taking over the business by signing a new lease in their name. The two dealers who were present for my little disclosure then proceeded to get in to a power struggle over who would sign the lease. My observation of this interaction was that one of the dealers was truly vested in the business and wants to see it thrive and survive, while the other dealer simply wants to be in charge without the burden of the day-to-day operation of the business. My opinion is that neither person has the business acumen to run an operation of any kind, but passion does override simply wanting to bark orders.

I gave the landlords my recommendation, with reservations, on who I thought should be the new official tenant and also expressed my concern about the sustainability of the business with the current power struggle and lack of business sense.

So why am I even writing about this? Shock Therapy. I hope that shop owners who read this will learn a lesson or two from the dysfunction of the situation and to offer some suggestions and the same advice that I give to small business owners who come to me for consultations. To wit:

Always have a written contract with anyone you rent dealer space to or consign items with, even friends and family. This way everyone knows what is expected of whom by when.

• Always have a written contract with anyone you rent dealer space to or consign items with, even friends and family;
• Keep an inventory list of consignment items and mark items sold as they sell;
• Have a sales receipt method in place, even if it is a simple carbon copy sales book;
• Pull the price tag with owner identification code off of the item when it sells and have a notebook in which to place the tags;
• Every single item that is for sale must have a price tag and some sort of code to identify who the item belongs to. If an item is for display and not for sale, please mark it as such. (NOTE: By having a receipt book or program and a separate system for storing and managing sales tags, you have a fairly failsafe method of keeping track of what sold, who it belonged to and when the item sold).
• If you notice that there is conflict among dealers in your shop, it is time for a meeting. You do not want drama in your shop in the presence of customers. If you allow that type of behavior you will lose customers. New dealers are a dime a dozen but good customers are hard to find.
• Communicate with your dealers and consignors; it may not always be easy and pleasant but if something is going on, such as if you have a tenant who hasn’t paid rent in six months, they need to know what will happen going forward so that they don’t show up only to find a padlock placed on the door and their entire inventory gone.

Running a business is not easy but, then again, it isn’t rocket science. A few simple techniques, a bit of professionalism and common courtesy go along way. If you need help, ask or hire a small business consultant to come in and help get things in order.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

The childhood home of Amelia Earhart in Atchison, Kansas.

Ever since I was a little girl I have marveled at the architecture and grandeur of Antebellum and Victorian era homes. Being from the South meant that I spent a great deal of time surrounded by some of the best examples of these marvelous structures. Whenever we would visit one of these buildings I remember feeling so small yet at the same time very important and grand. That sense of total awe has never left me. When I can combine the joy of shopping for antiques with the atmosphere of a beautiful old structure I am absolutely ecstatic.

My antique shop concept was designed around a Victorian-era building that began its life as the home to the first doctor in my town (where he also had his office), was later divided into apartments in the 1930s, only to again became a single-family dwelling and ultimately a commercial building. Yet, though all the changes, the integrity and splendor of the old house was still very present. I coveted this particular building from the moment I first walked through the door in the early 1990s. I knew that one day I would have a shop in the space and I planned accordingly.

Finally in August of 2008, I moved in. It was perfect from the start: the bead board, the built-in bookcases and large window seat, rosettes on the door frames and the hardwood floors, worn smooth from a century of footsteps. I felt at home.

Anytime I travel, especially to shop for inventory, I am on the lookout for old buildings and homes, and if the stars are truly in alignment, I will stumble across an antique shop that is located in a century-old building. As I mentioned in my first article for WorthPoint I am known for taking off down lonely, two-lane highways in search of treasures. This includes old buildings.Recently I went on a short, one-day trip to Atchison, Kansas. I had been through Atchison but had never stopped to shop or do the tourist thing. With the extensive history of the town as the head for the Atchison & Topeka Railway and also the birthplace of Amelia Earhart, I assumed that we would find corner-to-corner antique shops. I had my monthly issue of Discover Vintage America in hand to peruse while we ate lunch.

But wait! No antique shops listed. Panic and utter surprise had yet to set in but I was borderline. As we left the restaurant, I picked up a handful of flyers on local shops and much to my amazement only two antique shops were listed.

A room in the Earhart home, displaying her line of Samsonite luggage.

Amelia Earhart

Hubby and I decided to do some sightseeing before we hit the antique shops so we headed to the childhood home of Amelia Earhart. It is a wonderful Victorian home sitting on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River (which was way out of its banks due to rain). While everyone else was looking at the displays, personal items and antique furniture of the day, I was running my hands over the woodwork on the door frames, gawking at the tall ceilings, enchanted by the original lighting and wishing I had a little telephone nook like the one there. Finally, I just sat myself down in a window seat and gazed out the stained-glass window at the raging Missouri River.

• Some Trivia: Did you know that Amelia Earhart endorsed a line of luggage for Samsonite and also designed a series of women’s scarves?

Oh sure, I looked at the displays and actually learned something new along the way. Yet my eyes were constantly drawn to the architecture and interior structure of the home. What was it like growing up in this home? How many people have walked these floors? I also got a little teary thinking about what an amazing woman Amelia Earhart was, her tremendous accomplishments for her time, that she was married to a man she loved and it all ended way too soon.

This Queen Anne Victorian home now the Muchnic Art Museum in Atchison.

We then drove along the bluff road and I was bowled over by the beautiful homes, boasting of styles from Antebellum and Victorian to contemporary 1950s-era grand houses and Queen Anne-style mansions. Most of the old homes along the bluff have a Widow’s Walk or lookout of some sort at the highest point of the home. In times past, how many women stood at these high vantage points waiting for their loved ones to come around the river’s bend?

With Amerlia’s childhood home in the rearview mirror, we struck out for the first antique shop on the list. It was in the garage of a home, and looking through the window, I could see some promising goods. But the shop was closed and no one answered the door. Down to one antique shop, we crossed our fingers and toes as we parked the car and walked around the corner to a lovely pedestrian shopping “mall” lined with century-old buildings containing businesses of all types. There it was an antique shop with an open sign.

Kantiques, LLC. is a wonderful antique shop with a warm and welcoming owner, Elaine. She has a wide variety of antiques and collectibles, as well as some of the best-smelling candles I have come across in ages. Elaine’s shop is situated in a building that was built in the 1900s and still has the original tin ceilings and hardwood floors. When you walk in to a shop that is in a historic building, it just oozes ambiance. You can look at history, purchase history and feel the history embracing you.

Inside the Kantiques building in Atchison, Kansas, which was built in the 1900s and still has the original tin ceilings and hardwood floors.

Other than Kantiques, Atchison was pretty much a bust for antiquing, but we hit the jackpot in viewing some amazing architecture from times gone by. On the way back home, we stopped in downtown Leavenworth to visit one of my many favorite antique shops, the Leavenworth Antique Mall which offers three floors of antique and vintage goodness in this multi-dealer antique shop.

The antique mall building was built in the 1850s and from1906 through the 1960s, was a J.C. Penney’s store. Not only does this building still has the original tin ceiling and wood floors, but as you go up the stairs, there is a beautiful brass railing that is brightly polished from more than a century of hands gliding up the banister.

The first time I visited this shop I was floored by the front of the building next door; it’s just a sliver of a building, but sports a lot of vintage colored glass. The door is flanked by amazing Art Deco lights with blue glass set in to heavy metal frames.

As antique dealers and collectors, we handle history every day. We think about who might have owned the various items prior to them falling in to our hands. Why not also be taken by the history of the buildings that we pass on the way to our favorite shop or those we see when visiting a new town? Or, even better, while shopping for the things we love housed in a beautiful old building?

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

You’ve got your antique shop and it’s full of great stuff. Now you need to bring in the customers. You can’t hope to run a successful business today unless you have an Internet presence.

In Part 1 of Turn Your Antique Shop into a Profitable Business, I laid out some basic suggestions to jump-start your antiques business. If you read it, you have had the opportunity to implement or at least get the ball rolling on putting the suggestions in to play. If so, you are on the road to seeing an improvement in the number of customers or visitors that will find you and spend money on your goods.

Now I’m going to suggest some very important advertising tools for owners of live brick-and-mortar stores that can easily be put in place: You need a virtual presence on the Internet. Even if you have never considered getting a place on the World Wide Web, don’t worry. It’s very simple, and if you need help, just corral one of your children or grandchildren. They’ll know what I’m talking about, even if it seems like Greek to you.

Recent research by Performics shows that 84-percent of mobile phone users use their phone throughout the day to find retailers. They search at work, while watching TV, even while driving (in the passenger seat)! Even if you have only a three-page website, you need to have something online showcasing your shop. At the very minimum, you need a Home page, a Contact page and an About Us page. You can purchase a domain name for around $7.50 a year and for a small website you can get web hosting for $100 or less annually. Many hosting companies will give you a domain name for free if you use their service.

If you are you intimidated at the thought of “building” and maintaining your own website or have the money to put out for a website, a great alternative that I highly recommend is to create a blog or web log. Blogger, a free blogging site through Google, is very user-friendly and has several ready-made templates that you can choose from. You want to keep your blog content fresh and relevant. Write about new acquisitions for the shop or your own personal collection, shop sale events, post a coupon, promote special events or whatever relevant content you want. It is fun and can be addicting once you get the hang of it.

Other good blogging programs, especially if you have your own domain name, are WordPress and Typepad. You can add all kinds of bells and whistles to these blog programs, but for ease of use Blogger is the best way to go. If you are interested in earning a few extra dollars, be sure to sign-up for Google’s Ad Sense program. Once you sign up, you are given a code that you embed in the script on your blog and website. With this program, anytime someone clicks on the banner or links created by this code you earn a few pennies. The more people you get coming to your blog and website, the more clicks you get and the more you earn.

Social Media
While we are on the topic of the Internet, let’s talk about social networking or social media. Social networking is using applications such as Facebook and Twitter to get your message out to interested parties. If you are not already using social media, you need to hop to it. It is free, easy to do, and connects you directly with your target market in a way that e-mail and conventional marketing methods cannot. You can reach 400 million people worldwide, 24/7, anytime of the day or night. It is a great tool to get the word out about your business, post upcoming events, share photos, and much more.

Through social media you are able to get instant feedback on what interests your customers. If you already have a personal Facebook page, you must create a separate page for your business. You do not want personal stuff or wacky ex-boyfriend’s posts (or is that just my personal account?) showing up on your business page. As with your blog or website, you want to make regular posts to these forums. No one likes old, stale information. For a great example, look at the WorthPoint Facebook page, which has frequent posts where it puts up a photo of an item and all the WorthPoint “friends” guess what the item is and what it’s worth. I look forward to these posts and have learned a few things through my participation. You can hold contests, post “guess the item” questions and photos, ask what new finds people have run across and encourage them to share photos. Browse around and “borrow” ideas from other business pages. Through Facebook, you can get the code to post a “Like” box on your blog and website so that people can follow your posts through their own Facebook pages.

EXTRA HINT NO. 1: Make sure to create quality content in the social media forums. Community is Queen, but quality content will always be King. Studies show that plenty of people are reading online but few are contributing quality content.

Twitter is also pretty easy to stay on top of unless you are like me and have a hard time editing what you have to say to 140 characters. I have my Facebook linked to Twitter so that when I post on Facebook, it will automatically go to my Twitter followers. That does not completely let you off the hook, as it is still a good idea to put fresh “Tweets” out there.

Once you get your Facebook and Twitter business pages set up, let your friends know about them. They will “like” your page or follow you on Twitter and it spreads like wildfire from there. It is pretty exciting when you go in to your social media accounts and see the large number of people who are reading what you have to say. You want to engage the people who have elected to follow you, which means you need to set aside a few minutes every couple of days to post something of interest to your social media accounts. There are numerous other social media forums (Google+ is an up-and-coming one), but those I have mentioned are the two largest and most active.

One way to get regular and potential customers into your shop is to host a Happy Hour. You could serve refreshments even offer wine to your customers while they shop. If you know someone who can play the guitar or keyboard ask them if they would come in for a couple of hours on that evening. Customers love this.

Unconventional Promotions
Now it is time to think outside of the box. You have to set your business apart from all the rest. Whether you have a store front or a virtual shop, you want your space to be a destination, not just another store.

Have a Happy Hour and stay open an hour later on Tuesday or Thursday. You could serve refreshments even offer wine to your customers while they shop. If you know someone who can play the guitar or keyboard ask them if they would come in for a couple of hours on that evening. Customers love this.

If you have an online-only shop, you can set up a Chat Party. Once again, there are free chat applications that you can incorporate into your website. Have it set up so that it is only accessible when you have your party. Be prepared to get flooded with questions about the value of different items! You will be providing a one-on-one forum for people with similar interests to come together and visit and create a unique experience for your customers.

I am sure that you get your share of people come in to the shop asking for appraisals. I personally charge a nominal fee for written appraisals, but if the shop isn’t busy, you should be more than happy to help. Hopefully, you are knowledgeable about the antiques field. If not, you had better get to studying. You are the “expert,” the “antique dealer,” so you do need to know what you are doing and that includes knowing your subject matter. Keep price guides and information books at the shop for the public to use. Provide pen, paper and a chair so that the customer can study in comfort. I recommend that you keep the books/reference library where you can see it otherwise pages will get torn out of your books.

EXTRA HINT NO. 2: Offer a monthly free appraisal fair. One word of advice; have a couple of experts on hand, as it will get crazy busy and since the store will be open for business be sure to have a cashier ready. Publicize it!

Virtual shop owners, you can also provide a reference section. It will take some time to get set up but once you do it will help a great deal with search engine ranking and thereby draw more visitors to your site.

Move the Non-Moving Inventory
What to do with inventory that has been sitting around for too long? Have a garage sale, of course. It is very easy to do with an online shop; just move everything in to a new category. With a store front, if you do not have room in the parking lot, you can set aside an area in the shop with signage for the garage or rummage sale. Please price accordingly and advertise through all the outlets I have given you. Do not let it run all the time, otherwise there is no novelty in it.

I have many more suggestions on the extras that you can do to bring in new customers, retain your customer base and how to maintain your social networks. You can find these on my blog, My Granny’s Attic Antiques.

Remember, being a shop owner is supposed to be fun! With careful planning and the use of the tools available to you, it can be a lot of fun. Get out there, draw those customers in, and have a great time.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

If you run and antiques shop, you know you can’t just put up a sign and wait for the customers to come rushing in to spend their money. To get customers, you’re going to have to work for them.

Whether you sell antiques, collectibles and memorabilia online, rent space in a mall or are the owner of a brick-and-mortar antique shop, the sputtering economy has no doubt affected you. To be successful in the current economic climate you must use every tool available and think outside the box, which is sometimes difficult for people who spend much of their time living in the past—with antiques, that is. Having spent more than 30 years in the business, I have some suggestions that have worked very well for me when selling in all of the aforementioned venues.

Antique shop owners in all venues need to look at their venture as a business instead of just a fun hobby. This is generally not an industry in which you are going to get wealthy, but if you don’t work it as a true business, the best you can do is survive—barely. Antiques and collectibles is such a fun and interesting business, I think that business owners get a little lax in following common-sense techniques for promotion, staying in contact with customers, reaching new customers and, most importantly, retaining a loyal customer base.

First and foremost, you must have a mailing list. I am continually surprised at how many live storefront antique shops and antique malls do not have a mailing list. This is the most basic of advertising tools and the easiest to implement. At the very minimum, information that you want to get is the customer’s name and e-mail address. Always ask if there is something in particular that the customer is looking for. If there is, make a note of it and get a phone number. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, keep your mailing list sign-up book near the cash register where it is visible and offer a 10-percent-off off coupon on their next purchase if they join the mailing list. If you rent booth space, you can have a customer mailing list book too, just be sure to have a small sign indicating what the book is for. For online sellers, this is a no-brainer as there are numerous free mailing list software downloads that you can use and direct customers to sign up.

NOTE: Make sure to read the Dos and Don’ts on using mailing list software so that you don’t get “banned” by Internet Service Providers.

Now that you have your mailing list, use it. Don’t bombard your customers with too many e-mails but do stay in contact. A monthly newsletter containing a calendar of events, special sales, an educational piece and other entertaining news is a great way to stay in touch with your customer base and make them look forward to hearing from you. Around the middle of the month you can send a discount announcement or other small reminder just to let your customers know that you are thinking about them.

If you have a physical storefront, contact the local newspaper and ask them to send someone out and do a story. You need a “hook” to temp an editor; something that sets your business apart from the others, such as the inventory you carry or the building you are in.

Now that you have a customer base, you need to get the word out about your business to expand your sales opportunities. Advertising through traditional channels can be very costly but there are several ways to use traditional media without it costing a penny. If you have a physical storefront, contact the local newspaper and ask them to send someone out and do a story. You need a “hook” to temp an editor; something that sets your business apart from the others. You can emphasize that buying antiques is the ultimate in “going green,” something unique about your shop—such as the inventory you carry or the building you are in. Put on your thinking cap and make a list of reasons that make your shop special. You could even suggest a series on small businesses and how they are faring during the economic downturn.

There are also a number of websites that you can use to post both a physical shop and a virtual shop. If you rent booth space, see if the owner has listed her business on these site and if not, ask if you can do it. The sites I recommend and have had the best results from are the following; LinkedIn, Manta, Yelp, the free online yellow pages or super pages listings for your town and Merchant Circle. A couple of these sites will let you post a printable coupon; face it, a 10-percent price break on an item is not going to break the bank but will attract customers.

Business cards are another essential for any business but the antiques community tends to overlook them. If you rent booth space in a mall, be sure to put your booth number on your cards so that people know how to find your items. For my online shop I purchase 8 x10 magnet sheets that will run through my printer and print my online information on these, I can get 10 business cards to the sheet. I cut them down to size and include one in each order I ship. Hopefully my magnetic business card goes on to the refrigerator or near the computer.

There are some great free magazines and websites that you can subscribe to keep the fresh ideas flowing and the customers coming through the doors. The Small Business Administration has a wealth of information on all aspects of running a business.

I do realize that to many of you, I am stating the obvious with my above suggestions. By the same token, if more shops were doing some basic marketing and customer service we would not see the closure of so many antique shops and malls including the online shops.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this article, where I get in to the really fun and exciting events to draw customers like moths to a flame.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

John, however, is a member of Marks4Antiques.com, a unique Web-based reference service created by Worthologists Alex and Elizabeth Papalexis. Marks4Antiques.com enables subscribers to match identifying marks on antiques and to survey auction prices for comparable pieces. When the mark on the eBay figurine was checked, it turned out to be a recent reproduction. “It was a beautiful porcelain piece but probably not worth more than $150,” said Alex.

Googling doesn’t always get the answer

Some folks may try to Google for information on antiques or collectibles that have gotten their interest on eBay or RubyLane, but often that doesn’t give either sufficient or reliable information. Some collectors rely on books and catalogs—but getting them and staying current can be a chore.

“There is not as much information available out there as people think,” said Elizabeth. “There wasn’t an authoritative, easy-to-disseminate single source.”

Enter Marks4Antiques.com, which offers services for identifying ceramics, porcelain, pottery, china, silver, jewelry and decorative-arts items in general. An additional service offers a price search for antiques and collectibles sold at auction so that members can self-appraise their treasures.

Collectibles hobby becomes a business

All this began with the couple’s penchant for collecting. “It started as a hobby, became a passion and turned into a business,” Alex said. Trained as a physicist and engineer, he had a fascination for scientific instruments—old microscopes, barometers, sextants, quack medical devices and even old HP calculators.

Elizabeth began her collecting with Royal Winton Chintz cups and saucers, service sets and teapots, sterling-silver napkin rings and bonbon dishes. Often, the hunt involved getting up at the crack of dawn to buy pieces out of the back of collectors’ vehicles at what the British call a “car boot sale.” The hunt extended from English flea markets to shops and auctions across Europe and the United States. (For more about various types of porcelain, read Alex and Elizabeth’s blog.)

The couple moved from London to San Francisco’s Silicon Valley when Alex took a post as an executive with a high-tech company. At the same time, the Internet was just about beginning to enter our everyday lives, especially eBay. So, they stepped up their collecting and online sales of fine and antique tableware and decorative items. And that’s when they realized the need and opportunity for better and on-demand reference data. “With the Web, everything moves so fast,” Elizabeth said. “You often need information right away.”

Pictorial galleries

Marks4Antiques.com is an easy-to-use site with visual guides. All marks are presented in photos and are divided in pictorial galleries of shapes or letters. Each library of marks offers more than 12,000 images of identifying marks for pottery, china, ceramics, porcelain, jewelry, silver or silver plate, pewter etc, as well as extra background help. The Values4Antiques site allows subscribers to search a database for all types of antiques and collectibles sold at auction. Type in “Wedgwood plate,” and up pops pictures of recent Wedgwood chinaware sold at auction with dates and prices.

Members of the sites also have the option of sending marks for identification. “When we receive a question, it is like a jigsaw puzzle, and we won’t stop until we find the answer,” Alex said. Once they identify a mark, it is added to the online database. “Our goal is to make the sites as comprehensive and all-inclusive as possible. And, in a way, the contents are a live document that continually grows with updated information” said Elizabeth.

The couple is encouraged that they are moving in the right direction as more and more subscribers from around the world—the U.S. to the U.K. to South Africa and Australia—join Marks4Antiques.com.

“Our members tell us that they feel a special connection with us, especially because we are there for them and reply to their questions when they are about to buy or sell an item. It’s like having an antiques expert on retainer,” said Elizabeth. “You can’t do that with a book!”

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Join WorthPoint on Twitter and Facebook.

I’ve been an eBay seller going on 11 years, I love what the company has helped me do with my business and it’s largely responsible for the success of my Internet presence. One could argue that I owe eBay a lot.

I’ve paid back a lot over the years, and not just in fees. I wrote pro-eBay articles and talked up the company in my podcasts. In short I was as much of an evangelist for the site as anyone. And I do hope the company can get back on track, but I have to ask:

eBay, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?

I just got an an automated call this morning from eBay, “seller Auctionwally, eBay would like to make you aware that it is making more new changes to make listing more affordable and instill buying confidence in eBay.” Uh-oh.

eBay, for the past two years you’ve rolled out a multitude of controversial changes that have made people who sell unique items, such as antiques dealers, furious. You’ve confused those that sell new stock, and sent a stampede of booksellers over to Amazon.com out of frustration at their items not showing up in well in your search engine.

Nothing stays the same, I realize that. But those of us who sell online are bombarded with changes we can barely keep up with.

To roll out an enormous amount of changes is risky practice at best, to roll out so many CRITICAL changes, is risky and confusing to all who would use your site. To roll out so many changes and announce that more changes are coming after your base is begging you to stop, is risky, confusing, and smacks of desperation.

Let’s look at other changes and what I see as the problems with them.

• You’ve stripped one of the core features that eBay was founded on, the duel feedback system. When you did this, your response was, “Well everyone else has only buyer feedback.” Exactly.  The results, sellers are disgruntled and look for other platforms to sell on. There are none as good as eBay. Not a big loss yet.
• Last year you announced a fee decrease for sellers,..Yippee! The results, it was a PR nightmare for your company when sellers found out that you were only decreasing listing fees, and taking more on the back end, in effect, rewarding those who list junk that doesn’t sell and whacking successful dealers with higher commission fees. I personally didn’t mind the higher commission fees, but it looks like the move is clogging up eBay’s search engine with junk. And don’t try to sell a fee increase as decrease, we’re not stupid.
• You put in place a very complicated DSR (detailed seller rating) system that no one, even eBay by it’s own admission, can figure out. This tool has had major crashes and has not been able to accomplish it’s goal. The results: Everybody says, “Huh?”
• After much user angst and public outcry, the leaders in your company, John Donahoe and Lorrie Norrington, announce that we should get used to changes, more are coming and we won’t recognize eBay in a year from now. The results:. More eBay sellers leave the site, and still don’t find a better platform to sell on. BUT, sellers start  building their own sites! They are taking what they’ve learned from eBay and using it to brand themselves. They’re using sites like Worthpoint.com, EveryplaceIsell.com , The Vintagelist.com and  The Auctionwally Network to get advice on how to become independent sellers.
• eBay announces that in the near future, it will only accept electronic payments. OUCH!  The results: eBay gets a two-fer on this one, they manage to tick off sellers AND buyers! Not only is there blowback about having to cowtow to PayPal, but there is potential for a disaster as sellers with a huge ammount of listings have to scrape other payment options that may be referenced in each description. While it’s true that a seller can change payment options with a flick of the switch, they will have to delete manually any reference to those options if they are in anyway referred to in the item description. For example, I have in my desrciptions the following statement, “A check or money order will need to clear before shipment.” This statement is a violation of this new policy and will have to be scraped from every listing, or I lose the listing.  What about the poor sap that has 100-500 store listings they have to edit?!
• eBay announces yet another price change is in the works, I’m not kidding. They say the new fee structure will encourage sellers to list more items with the fixed price format. The results: The   blogosphere lites up with rumors and speculation that eBay is doing away with it’s eBay stores. Is there any truth to this? Who knows, but it could very well be as the company has gained a reputation for being a loose cannon with it’s willy-nilly site change attitude.

Don’t get me wrong, I still sell on eBay, I will always maintain an eBay presence and wish the best things for it. But I’m an old school Yankee Auctioneer, you can’t hardly shut me up once I get going, (ask my poor wife about that).

The way I see it, I have a responsibilty to call ‘em as I see ‘em. I’m a passionate evangelist for brands and services that go above and beyond, but I’ll never stand by and cheerlead for any one that so obviously seems to work against its users’ best interest.

I often get asked, “Who do you think will beat eBay?” I reply, “eBay is the only one that can beat eBay, and these days it looks like they’re doing a pretty good job of it.”

Thanks for reading,

AW

In the Stone Age days before the Internet Revolution, you had to travel to auctions. Otherwise, you had to buy and sell locally. Long-distance communication within the art world depended on phones, letters and faxes, and information about upcoming auctions or one-of-a-kind items could be gleaned only through dealers, other collectors, trade publications and trade shows.

Ahh, the age of snail-mailing when you often missed superior art and collectibles because you found out too late they were available.

Now, thanks to the Internet, you can get the latest updates from a whole swath of auction houses, stumble across treasures you would never have encountered in your area and do business with anyone anywhere in the world. It is quick, cost effective and with search-engine researches, just a click away, satisfying.

Be cautious

As in the nonvirtual world, collectors should take precautions when making a purchase online. Use due diligence. Check the seller’s online reputation and record of previous and ongoing sales. Does he/she have plenty of positive feedback?

Research, research, then research some more

Research artwork and collectibles thoroughly. This can’t be said enough. Find out everything you can about the item—when and how it was made, what its past online or regular-sales history was, the background of the artist and his/her career. Consult art experts, art historians and art dealers before you buy.

Examine the photographs of the item and ask for closeups of details if necessary. Check signatures and labels.

Description once-over—better twice-over

Read the item’s description carefully. Is it an original work or a reproduction? Is there a clear mention of condition and of any repair or restoration work? If it is described as “original,” “antique” or “rare,” is this claim backed up by valid documentation—receipts, sales records, art catalogs, published news articles, etc—and by the opinion of reputed experts?

Always check where this documentation originated, and contact the experts personally to verify the claim. Ask the seller for names and addresses of previous owners, if any, and contact them to check on provenance.

Back up dealings with the seller

Get answers to any questions you have before you bid, and save all e-mail correspondence with the seller. Also keep a record of chats, phone calls, faxes, etc.

Make sure there is a written, money-back guarantee. If after you buy and get an expert appraisal, the work doesn’t measure up to the seller’s claims, you should be able to return it and get your money back.

And don’t forget shipping charges and policies.

Pay with a credit card. Then you can dispute the charge if you are not satisfied with the purchase.

Other things a buyer should know

Bidding at online auctions is fast. Many people engage in auction sniping, and the only way you can win against such bidders is setting up sniper software of your own.

If “exceptional” collectibles are bunched with ordinary ones that have similar descriptions or are offered at exceptionally low prices, either the seller is clueless or making inflated claims. Be cautious. Watch out, too, for low-priced “exceptional” items with few or no bids. Given the abundance of well-informed buyers, such works are usually inundated with bids.

Following this advice, you should be able to successfully buy and sell art and collectibles online.

WorthPoint—the premier Web site for art, antiques and collectibles

This first-of-its-kind centralized online media network will help companies, agencies and media buyers market to leading online art, antiques and collectibles Web sites through a single point of contact. Founding members WorthPoint, GoAntiques and TIAS.com believe that the AACMN will provide a unique way to target an upscale, hard-to-reach population with disposable income, as well as a wider middle-income demographic.

The AACMN currently reaches 1.5 million unique visitors per month and is expected to grow rapidly as other businesses join the network.

“The goal of WorthPoint is to help our customers make money,” said WorthPoint CEO Will Seippel. “The same is true for the AACMN. Our online network will help advertisers use existing resources to reach fans of art, antiques and collectibles. As our network expands, we anticipate the AACMN will deliver even more value through even greater economies of scale.”

“The average GoAntiques user is successful, well educated and has an appreciation for the arts,” said Jim Kamnikar, president of GoAntiques. “The AACMN will help advertisers target a highly valued audience.”

“Our new partnership with WorthPoint and GoAntiques creates an unprecedented opportunity for advertisers seeking to connect with high-end consumers,” said Phillip Davies, president of TIAS.com. “The AACMN does not only benefit merchants, auctioneers and show promoters. Advertisers such as automotive, insurance and pharmaceutical companies can cost effectively target this sought-after audience.”

For more information about the AACMN, send inquires to sales [at] worthpoint [dot] com

About WorthPoint

Atlanta-based WorthPoint Corp. (http://www.worthpoint.com) is an Internet-based data-and-media company that offers a vast database of sales records on art, antiques and collectibles. Founded in 2007, WorthPoint has quickly become the world’s largest social network for researching the worth of antiques and collectibles. WorthPoint helps collectors understand the worth of their items and provides expert advice from its team of Worthologists on how to preserve or sell antiques and collectibles.

About TIAS.com

TIAS serves approximately 160,000 unique customers a day. About 510 merchants sell through the TIAS system, listing well more than 600,000 items for sale online. The company has been building e-commerce systems for merchants who sell antiques and collectibles since 1995. Sites affiliated with TIAS.com include CollectorOnline.com, Curioscape.com, Earthling.com and AntiqueArts.com.

About GoAntiques

Founded in 1994, by Kathy Kamnikar as Antique Networking, GoAntiques is the oldest antiques and collectibles site on the Internet. It offers more than 600,000 items from more than 1,300 dealers in 31 countries and the world’s largest antiques-and-collectibles price guide, PriceMiner(R). GoAntiques logs nearly a million visits and thousands of transactions each month and has more than 350,000 registered members. WorthPoint recently announced plans to acquire GoAntiques.

News Contact:

WorthPoint Corporation
Steve Johnson
(877) 734-7735 x9019 (O)
(703) 798-5236 (C)
steve [dot] johnson [at] worthpoint [dot] com