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Getting to Know You: Wayne Jordan

1. Who are you and what do you do?

Retired antique furniture and piano restorer, musician, shop owner, auctioneer, and appraiser. Currently I’m a columnist for Antique Trader Magazine, a content contributor to WorthPoint and World Class Antiques (Canada), plus I guest-post to antique industry blogs, websites, newsletters and e-zines. I am the author of four books.

2. What are your areas of expertise?

Pianos, musical instruments, furniture, estate property, and small business operation.

3. How did you get involved in the antiques and collectibles industry?

From the mid-1960s through about 1980, I made my living as a musician in the Washington, D.C. area. I collected (“accumulated” might be a better word) a lot of vintage instruments and musical odds-and-ends. In 1980 I went to work for a local music store as a piano tuner-technician, and in 1986 I purchased a music store in Annapolis, MD. The business had been in operation since 1936; I was the third owner. Our retail store carried new Baldwin pianos, a variety of used and rebuilt pianos, and school band and orchestra instruments. We also had a large repair shop in which we refinished and/or restored antique pianos and furniture.

For the most part, musical instrument sales and rentals follow the school year (September-May), so retail sales drop off considerably from June through August. Annapolis is an historic Colonial town with many antique shops and a brisk tourist trade. I determined to capitalize on the antiques trade during the music store’s slow months. I began selling antiques that would complement pianos: lamps, clocks, sheet music cabinets, occasional tables, artwork, mirrors, benches, and such.

When the City initiated an urban renewal project in the late 1990s, my building was torn down and replaced with a parking garage. I closed my retail stores in Annapolis and Salisbury, MD and focused on the restoration and antiques business. As an adjunct, I became a licensed auctioneer and certified personal property appraiser.

4. How did you come to know WorthPoint?

wayne jordan
Wayne Jordan, an antiques and collectibles expert, is also a retired antique furniture and piano restorer, musician, shop owner, auctioneer, and appraiser. Wayne has been a key member of our WorthPoint family for years, currently serving as a regular contributor to The Insider.

In 2011, I interviewed Will Seippel, the WorthPoint CEO, regarding WorthPoint’s 2011 Antiques and Collectibles Survey. The article was published in Antique Trader . WorthPoint recruited me to be their “Worthologist” for musical instruments, eventually adding antique furniture to my purview. In 2012, I became a WorthPoint content contributor. I’ve written two to four articles per month for WorthPoint since 2012.

5. What is the one piece of advice you would give your younger self, just starting out in the a/c world?

Keep your inventory lean and turnover high.

6. What trends do you see looming in the a/c world?

Stores and auctioneers will become more specialized. Antiques are being replaced by collectibles, and dealers will have to follow suit to stay profitable.

Wayne is active in his community and often volunteers to help with local music fests.

7. On a personal note, what are some other things you enjoy that don’t involve our industry?

I’m active in my community (Galax, VA). I’m a member of the Galax Mountain Dulcimer Club; the Board of the Galax Downtown Association and the Word Weavers writers group at the Galax Library. I attend and teach classes at the Chestnut Creek School of the Arts in Galax. I volunteer at local music festivals.  

8. What else would you like for our readers to know about you?

In 2009, I contracted with Plymouth Auctioneering to auction art aboard cruise ships. My assignments included both sides of the Caribbean on-board the Carnival Freedom; Baltic seaports and the Arctic Circle on-board the Celebrity Century, and Alaska’s Inside Passage aboard the Holland America Zuiderdam. Altogether, my auctioneering travels have taken me across the U.S. from Florida to Alaska, and internationally to sixteen countries from Russia to Panama. I’ve sold a variety of goods at auction: cars, real estate, jewelry, fine art, antiques, business assets, and estate property. I have held the professional designations of Certified Estate Specialist; Accredited Auctioneer of Real Estate; Certified Auction Specialist, Residential Real Estate and Accredited Business Broker.

Just for fun: the only available video of me auctioning art, on the Holland America Zuiderdam in Alaska. This was early in the morning, and champagne was abundant. I had to coax the audience along…


Wayne Jordan is a Virginia-licensed auctioneer, Certified Personal Property Appraiser and Accredited Business Broker. He has held the professional designations of Certified Estate Specialist; Accredited Auctioneer of Real Estate; Certified Auction Specialist, Residential Real Estate and Accredited Business Broker. He also has held state licenses in Real Estate and Insurance. Wayne is a regular columnist for Antique Trader Magazine, a WorthPoint Worthologist (appraiser) and the author of two books. He blogs at SellMoreAntiques.net.

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