THE ENJOYMENT OF ANTIQUES FOR THE DEALER? SEEING THEM GOING HOME WITH SOMEONE ELSE!
THE ANTIQUE COMMUNITY NEEDS TO LEARN MORE FROM RETAIL SECTOR ABOUT SURVIVAL TACTICS!
I AM A HARSH CRITIC OF MY PROFESSION. I MISS THE OLD MOM AND POP ANTIQUE SHOPS I USED TO VISIT WHEN I BEGAN BUYING AND SELLING. I WOULD LIKE THE YOUNGER GENERATION TO COME BACK TO THE MAIN STREETS OF OUR CHARMING AND HISTORIC COMMUNITIES, TO SET UP SHOP. THE YOUTHFUL VIBRANCY IS LACKING IN THE ANTIQUE TRADE, AND IT'S ABOUT TIME WE CHANGED SOME ATTITUDES. FIRST, CONVINCING THE VETERANS OF THE PROFESSION TO RELENT A TAD, AND ENCOURAGE APPRENTICESHIPS, FOSTER TUTORING, MENTORING AND COACHING…..SO THAT WE CAN LOOK OUT AND SEE A PARADE OF YOUNG, ENTHUSIASTIC NEW DEALERS, TAKING THEIR POSITION AMONGST US. THAT WOULD BE NICE. IT WOULD BE THE HARBINGER OF A NEW ATTITUDE AND ATTRACTIVENESS TO AN OLD PROFESSION.
WHENEVER I ATTEND A LOCAL ANTIQUE SHOW, JUST BEFORE WE LEAVE AFTER OUR FOUR OR FIVE LAPS, SUZANNE AND I DO OUR OWN AGE SURVEY. IT'S NOT SCIENTIFIC, AND IT'S NOT LIKE WE SHOVE SURVEY SHEETS AT VENDORS. WE JUST JUDGE THE AVERAGE AGE OF THE COMBINED DEALERS. THEY UNDOUBTEDLY WOULD BE APPALLED TO LEARN OF OUR INTRUSION ON THEIR SANCTUARY. WE'VE COME UP WITH BALL PARK FIGURES, OF AVERAGES AS HIGH AS 60 YEARS OF AGE PER VENDOR, TO AS LOW AS FIFTY-FIVE…..BUT HONESTLY, THIS IS STILL THE PROBLEM. THE ELDER STATESMEN AND WOMEN IN THE ANTIQUE INDUSTRY ARE, IN MY OPINION, DOING NEXT TO NOTHING TO OPEN UP THE TRADE TO OUR REPLACEMENTS. MY BOYS HAVE BEEN APPRENTICING WITH US SINCE BIRTH, AND THEY HAVE THEIR OWN COLLECTABLE ENTERPRISE TODAY, AND STORE-FRONT, AT TWENTY-FOUR AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF AGE RESPECTIVELY. THEY LOVE BEING IN VINTAGE RETAIL, AND THEY LANDED IN FULL TIME BUSINESS ONLY SEVERAL YEARS OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL. SON ROBERT WENT RIGHT FROM HIGH SCHOOL TO THE STORE COUNTER, AND TODAY, ACCORDING TO HIS ACCOUNTANT, HE'S A VERY PROSPEROUS BUSINESS PERSON BECAUSE OF THIS EARLY IMMERSION. BUT THEY WERE TRAINED IN RETAIL. WE MADE SURE OF THIS, BEFORE ANY MONEY WAS INVESTED. THEY LEARNED, AS YOUNG VENDORS AT FLEA MARKETS IN OUR DISTRICT, HOW TO SELL. NOT JUST ANTIQUES. THEY LEARNED THE "ART OF SELLING" FIRST. THE FACT THAT THEY LIKED TO SELL ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES, IS A SECONDARY SITUATION. A LOT OF ANTIQUE DEALERS TODAY AREN'T GOOD OR ROBUST RETAILERS…..AND THEY RELY ON THE FACT THEIR SELECTION OF ANTIQUES WILL SELL THEMSELVES. NO KIDDING. I IMAGINE A LOT OF FRONT-LINE RETAILERS DON'T HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT ANTIQUE DEALERS. THEY MIGHT HUSTLE TO FIND THEIR INVENTORY, BUT THEN RELAX ON THE MOST IMPORTANT DETAIL OF ALL. WILL THE FINDS SELL FOR A PROFIT? AND WHEN?
IT MIGHT APPEAR FROM THE BLOGS I COMPOSE DAILY, THAT OUR FAMILY IS EXCEPTIONAL NO MATTER WHAT WE SET OUT TO ACCOMPLISH. IT'S HARD TO WRITE A PERSONAL, BIOGRAPHICAL PIECE LIKE THIS, DRAWING FROM THE PAST 35 YEARS BEING INVOLVED IN ANTIQUES, AND REGIONAL HISTORY, WITHOUT APPEARING "HOLIER THAN THOU!" IF YOU ONLY KNEW, HOW HARD WE ARE ON OURSELVES, AND AS FAR AS CRITIQUING OUR PERFORMANCE, I GUARANTEE YOU, WE CAN NOT AFFORD TO MAKE MISTAKES, OR ALLOW ARROGANCE TO RULE THE ROOST. IF WE HAVE ANY DEFICIENCIES, THAT HURT US DAY TO DAY, IT'S THE STARK REALITY, WE ARE ALWAYS SECOND GUESSING EVERYTHING WE DO…..EVERY ITEM WE PURCHASE, AND JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE, ATTACHED WITH RUNNING A MAIN STREET RETAIL ENTERPRISE. WE ARE SO CAUTIOUS, THAT WE PUNISH OURSELVES WITH OVER-TIME, BECAUSE WE WANT TO GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. WE ARE OBSESSED WITH DUE DILIGENCE. WHEN IT APPEARS BY THE COPY YOU READ, WITH MY NAME ATTACHED, THAT I HAVE THE SMARTEST, MOST PROSPEROUS FAMILY ON EARTH, YOU'VE UNFORTUNATELY DEVELOPED THE WRONG IMPRESSION OVER NUMEROUS BLOGS (COLUMNS). WE ARE A FAMILY OF ANTIQUE LOVERS. BUT WE ARE NOT EXPERTS. WE DO NOT OPERATE THE BEST ANTIQUE SHOP, OR HAVE STAGGERING SALES FIGURES, TO SHOW FOR OUR EFFORTS. WE'RE JUST PLAIN OLD, EVERYDAY HUNTER / GATHERERS, WHO GET A BUZZ BUYING AND SELLING OLD STUFF……FROM THE PRIMITIVE TO THE NOSTALGIC.
WHEN I SAY I MISS THE OLD TIME SHOPS, THAT MANY HOMETOWN ACROSS ONTARIO USED TO HAVE, BACK IN THE 1970'S, WHEN I WAS TRYING TO VISIT THEM ALL, IT WAS IN THE FACT, THEY WERE SO MUCH MORE INTIMATE AND CHARACTER-FILLED. MY TUTORIALS CAME FROM THOSE ANTIQUE DEALERS, WHO WERE KIND ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN THE INDUSTRY TO A KEEN UNDERLING. I WAS FASCINATED BY THEIR STORIES, AND THE MORE I GOT TO KNOW THEM, AND THEY BEGAN TRUSTING THIS OUTSIDER, WELL, THE MORE MY EDUCATION BENEFITTED. I THINK NOW, EVEN BACK THEN, THESE VETERANS OF THE TRADE UNDERSTOOD THE NEED FOR THE YOUNGER GENERATION TO EMERGE AS FUTURE DEALERS. MAYBE THEY DID SEE THEMSELVES AS DINOSAURS, AND HAD SOME CONCERN WHETHER THE INDUSTRY WOULD SURVIVE THE NEW AGE, AND THE FUTURE TRENDS THAT SEEMED TO BE A LONG WAY FROM THE OLD WAYS…..PRIMITIVE PINE, SPINNING WHEELS, HARVEST TABLES, DOUGH BOXES, FLAT-TO-THE-WALLS AND FOLK ART. STRANGELY, IT DIDN'T WORK OUT LIKE THIS, AND IN REALITY, INTERESTS IN COLLECTING, AND DECORATING WITH VINTAGE ACCESSORIES, ARE QUITE HEALTHY TO THE POINT OF SIGNIFICANT FISCAL VIGOR THESE DAYS. THERE'S A LOT OF ROOM FOR MAIN STREET ANTIQUE SHOPS AGAIN. THERE'S LOT OF MONEY TO BE MADE IN THIS INDUSTRY, REGARDLESS OF WHAT SOME OF THE OLD GUARD ARE CRITIQUING OF THE MODERN CONSUMER. IN MY ESTIMATION, THE MODERN ANTIQUE HUNTER IS FRUGAL AND ASTUTE, LOOKING FOR SENSIBLE PRICING AND GOOD VALUE FOR HIGH QUALITY. AREN'T WE ALL.
THE FACT THERE ARE FEWER MAIN STREET AND BUSINESS CORRIDOR ANTIQUE SHOPS, I BELIEVE, HAS CAUSED A DEVALUATION OF SORTS, IN HOW YOUNG AND MIDDLE AGE FOLKS LOOK AT OUR PROFESSION AS A FUTURE INCOME PRODUCER. WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I HAD A CHANCE TO SEE ANTIQUE SHOPS IN TRADITIONAL RETAIL AREAS, WHEREVER WE TRAVELLED AS A FAMILY, AND IN MY OWN HOMETOWN. I DIDN'T GO TO ANTIQUE MALLS, ALTHOUGH AT THAT TIME, THERE WEREN'T MANY IN NORTH AMERICA GENERALLY. IF THOSE WHO TAKE MALL BOOTHS, OPENED THEIR OWN SMALL RETAIL SHOPS, OR SMALLER MAIN STREET CO-OPS INSTEAD, IT WOULD HEIGHTEN VISIBILITY TO ALL THOSE WHO ARE CURIOUS ABOUT PURSUING RETAIL OPPORTUNITIES. IF A PERSON IS INTERESTED IN RETAIL, BUT UNSURE WHAT THEY MIGHT WISH TO SELL, ACTUALLY WATCHING THE COMINGS AND GOINGS FROM THE LOCAL ANTIQUE DEALER, HAS AND CAN INSPIRE FOLLOWERS….WHO MIGHT WELL BE THE NEW WAVE OF ANTIQUE DEALERS TO CARRY ON THE TRADITION, WE HAVE BEEN PRESERVING FOR CENTURIES…… OF ALL THOSE ANTIQUE PROFESSIONALS BEFORE US. ANTIQUE MALLS ATTRACT ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE ENTHUSIASTS. WHAT THE MALL TREND DOES, HOWEVER, IN THE BID FOR CONVENIENT, UNDER-ONE-ROOF SHOPPING, IS TO LIMIT THE ACCESS TO THOSE WHO ARE JUST LOOKING FOR IDEAS. IF THOSE INTERESTED IN RETAIL FUTURES, ARE DENIED BY CIRCUMSTANCE, THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT THESE VENUES, WHAT ELSE IS GOING TO INFLUENCE THEM TO PICK UP THE TORCH…..AND APPRENTICE WITH VETERAN DEALERS?
WE TAKE FOR GRANTED THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A NEXT GENERATION OF ANTIQUE DEALER
I like antique malls. I like antique shops. I adore being able to chat with a shop owner. I have lots of questions to ask. In an antique mall, well, this is a lot harder to do….and much less personal over all. There may be mall owners and vendors who disagree with this assessment, but it doesn't matter. It's fact. It's a fundamental flaw with doing business in a warehouse fashion, where the dealers who found the neat stuff, are absent from the retail equation. I have turned down thousands upon thousands of dollars in purchases, because I couldn't talk with the vendor in a booth, where I found something I liked…..under lock and key. The best case scenario, was to get a clerk from the front desk, who would remark when asked, "I don't know anything about this piece…..but I might be able to phone the dealer of the booth." (They're never home when you need them) I hate this protocol, and yes I am old fashioned, especially in this trade, where intimacy was integral to the whole clock-work of the buy and sell, of antiques and collectables. This doesn't mean I don't like antique malls, or that I boycott them. I am just as visible at these large venues as I am in any smaller antique shop, second hand store, flea market, or garage sale. Our family spends lots of folding money at malls, and at antique shows, but we also know the shortfalls, and have strong opinions about best case scenarios. When I spend a lot of money in pursuit of antiques, I want a personal audience with the fine individual who discovered the piece out on the hustings. I want the provenance. Even if the only details I get from them, are the matter-of-facts, about the place they found it, and the family that owned it prior to sale. It's better than nothing, and it's the "nothing" part, I find hard to live without, as an antique professional. It denies me the opportunity to pass on provenance to my customers. It's why I prefer hunting and gathering at yard sales and at auctions (also estate sales, and private visitations) because I hold provenance as a huge contributor to the ongoing success of our small antique business. The matter of provenance gathering, was taught to me, by those wonderful old-timers, back in my rookie years. They advised that I should put my skills as an historian to work in the antique profession, because provenance stabilizes and increases valuations. There's more likelihood of getting these important stories attached to antique pieces, from traditional retail shops, than (most often) from antique malls…..which, you have to admit, are a tad impersonal.
The problem of main street antique shops isn't as difficult to solve as some dealers believe, when confronted by the situation……mall, or storefront? As many of the vendors in malls, are in the fifty years and up age bracket, and are either retired professionals, or on the verge of leaving the day to day work-force, to pursue their hobby…..antique buying and selling, the "booth" set-up, with a central governing sales desk, is ideal for those who want freedom to pick through the countryside. Without the necessity of sitting in a shop all day. At times I feel this way as well. Suzanne, on the other hand, has a huge amount of retail experience, and enjoys the ambience of a nicely decorated shop, reflective of the seasons of our district….Muskoka. As a soon to be retired teacher, she enjoys meeting people. Her family was in the tourist trade for most of their lives, and Suzanne is familiar with the demands of a seasonal economy on one hand, and meeting local needs, to make her business year round. Since joining our boys vintage music business, here in Gravenhurst, last July, we have already found several dozen customers, we can call "regulars," and even some who used to visit our former shop when it was on the main street of Bracebridge. They heard we were re-opening and they showed up within the first two weeks of business. What a great feeling it was, to look up from the counter, and see the outstretched hands of friendship, from customers we had known eighteen years ago….still hunting and gathering in this new and exciting, opportunity-filled century.
One of the reasons there aren't more main street antique shops, as I knew in my day, is that a majority of antique dealers I know, refuse to embrace the retail common-place…..of pricing to suit the prevailing. Realistic, sensible pricing, of quality items, with a vigorous spirit of competition. Frankly, the most competition I see in antiques and collectables these days, is "how high can I price this stuff?" What is the upper limit? How high before nobody buys a blessed thing? There are a lot of antique dealers, with the kind of smarts and competitive ambitions, to get right back into main street enterprise….even a co-op arrangement of two to six participating dealers. What is required to make rent, and a profit, is to price affordably, and according to the prevailing demand…..which of course hinges on supply. I am convinced by what I have seen out on the hustings, that antique dealers diminish their earning potential, because they price too high, and scare off buyers. In malls, as I've stated many times in the past, proprietors fail their responsibility of due diligence, because they don't check, booth to booth, to make sure that prices for identical items are responsibly adjusted……because I'm routinely shocked to find fifty, one hundred percent and greater price spreads on the same bowl, for example, in the same condition. In a retail shop, where you have to make inroads fast, and carry on a brisk trade, you find out fast just how the market place dictates whether you will survive or fail. The malls in many ways are convenient safe havens for those who insist…."My price or the highway!" If you were running one of the mom and pop shops I used to know, selling inventory was the name of the game. Just like any successful retail. Learning how to survive, by listening to customers. Serving customers. Not simply stuffing inventory into a small place, asking prices that, if sold, would make you happy. It's not about being happy….it's about being successful in retail, and that demands a responsiveness to the prevailing market. Adjust accordingly. But price sensibly. Don't base it on best case scenarios. Base it on good business practice. And yes, you can afford to locate in the traditional business areas of our cities, towns, villages and hamlets. By the way, it's a hell of a lot of fun too…..especially when you see what you can accomplish, by following the sensible proportion that every retailer has to adhere….in order to survive and turn a profit.
The problem. Convincing antique and collectable dealers, that they are retailers first…….and that is the primary consideration if you want to profit from your area of expertise. When I hear antique dealers whining about slow sales, and lack of business, I'd like to offer them a little useful advice…….but I know they won't take it well at all. I'd love to see more young people taking an interest in our profession. We need new blood. We need exciting new vision, and lots more enthusiasm and competition. We should be able to go to an antique show, one of these years, and find the average age of vendor, to be in the forties……and that will improve the dynamic and growth for the future. There's no shortage of antiques and collectables. There is a shortage of youth in our profession. If you have always thought about becoming an antique dealer…..I hope you will consider this a nudge in the right direction. I will have a few tips in coming blogs, if you want to take a shot at it….or take the plunge into a retail position in your hometown. Our family has experienced a lot of joy in this heritage enterprise, and we strongly recommend it as a positive, inspiring, adventure-filled lifestyle…….and a culture of learning that never ends. Who said learning isn't fun?
Thanks for visiting today. As for being passionate about the antique profession? I am a die-hard, stalwart advocate. I am a traditionalist, but I'm fully aware, that tradition can also be a philosophical palisade for the protection of those who fear competition and the future. Change is coming whether we like it or not…..and I'd rather embrace it, than try to thwart it from arriving. See you again very soon, I'm sure.
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