I Blindly Dive Into Buying and Selling Antiques

[RDCanecutter 26856]

Saw a Facebook marketplace ad from friends down in the Alabama Black Belt, where everything is old, selling table and chairs. Look kinda nice to me. Seem like they'd be 500. They only want 250. I jump in.

I live next to Mountain Brook, where I bet I could list them for 750, and let folks slap me around down to 500.

I generally make my $ at art shows, and am due to get a van this January. Don't need an art van on weekdays. But maybe a furniture van. Something something depreciation.

All I know about local antique dudes is they know weird facts, some local history, were raised by vicious but funny grammamas, and are not quite accepted at polite dinner parties. I have naturally acquired many of those traits.

There should be a specific question in here, but I am too ignorant to ask it. Do you have any good advice?

Anyway, on Thursday I am rolling down there to grab some furniture

Edited Monday at 09:45 PM by RDCanecutter

[jimmyjazz 46984]

I used to buy and sell stuff, mostly high end audio equipment and fine china.  (Yeah, a weird mix.)  The thing about both was that there are multiple resources to assess value, so it was pretty easy to hop on stuff priced at (say) 25% of resell value and then move it for 50%-70% without much effort.  Furniture seems like less of a commodity.

[RDCanecutter 26856]

1 minute ago, jimmyjazz said:

I used to buy and sell stuff, mostly high end audio equipment and fine china.  (Yeah, a weird mix.)  The thing about both was that there are multiple resources to assess value, so it was pretty easy to hop on stuff priced at (say) 25% of resell value and then move it for 50%-70% without much effort.  Furniture seems like less of a commodity.

Similar here a few years back with collectible gamer stuff on consignment. The info is vital-- once sold a home-made flimsy "Battle of the Five Armies" pre-D&D fantasy game for 200 bucks. Did NOT see that coming.

Thing is, the difference between a collectibles shop and a junk shop is about 8 months in my experience. Good stuff sells, crap stays.

Anyway, never got out of the habit of carrying "Jump On It" money in case of seeing diamonds in the rough.

We finally got our basement cleared out and properly drained, so suddenly I have the equivalent of a small Hanseatic merchant cob worth of space to play with. As an artist it is impossible for me to do anything like overspending so my mistakes may stay small.

Any advice appreciated.

[Tonesky 1042]

My Highland Park mother-in-law was a very knowledgeable collector, who acquired some valuable pieces that appreciated nicely during her lifetime.  Unfortunately, they also depreciated not nicely during her closer to death lifetime.  The appraiser hired by her executor son during probate bluntly said "nobody under 50 wants brown furniture."  We are very happy with the pieces that worked in our respective houses, but the estate pretty much gave away the rest....

[Kennythetiger 9585]

1 hour ago, RDCanecutter said:

All I know about local antique dudes is they know weird facts, some local history, were raised by vicious but funny grammamas, and are not quite accepted at polite dinner parties. I have naturally acquired many of those traits.

I appreciate your self-awareness. As I hit this paragraph I thought “Which one of these ISN’T you…?  

[Celery Man 21076]

My understanding is that you just drive around until you see a barn with metal signs. Whoever lives there will give you a tour of their antique cars and Coca Cola stuff.

[RDCanecutter 26856]

The person I'm buying the table from is young, extroverted, tied into happenings down in Montgomery and Selma, and says she has good insurance but could use more money.

It'd be a crime not to let her recon furniture deals for me in exchange for cash bonuses. I truck it from the economic glories of 1896 up to the current reality of tech, medical, and aerospace paychecks in the northern half of the state.

Now to practice shouting "Fools! FOOLS!" at my other underlings.

[thunderlounge 8325]

Off topic, but since you mentioned the northern part and aerospace, figured I’d ask. Does I-65 still have that gigantic fireworks store in the median at the state line?

Damn those were good 4ths. Me and the old man would come back with a refrigerator box full of the good shit.

 

[RDCanecutter 26856]

1 hour ago, thunderlounge said:

Off topic, but since you mentioned the northern part and aerospace, figured I’d ask. Does I-65 still have that gigantic fireworks store in the median at the state line?

Damn those were good 4ths. Me and the old man would come back with a refrigerator box full of the good shit.

 

I only get up to Tennessee about once every two years, but my impression is that the Alabama side has monuments to science (we like to head-fake people) while the Tennessee side has liquor stores covered in metal bars and underage people lurking about. 

Go farther north in Tennessee, it gets better. Go farther east or west in Alabama, it gets worse.

Fireworks stores seem to be everywhere when the time is right.

Kinda off to the NW in Tennessee you can buy Ural Motorcycles with sidecars. My pal who got one says if you replace about half the parts, they run great. Knockoff WW2 BMW clones?

Sadly, the Alabama Rest Stop Saturn 1B appears to have succumbed to decades of weather. Maybe Huntsville will build another one.

[Jerry Callo 8954]

Sound like a way to spend too much time, too much money, and end up with too much crap.  

[tigol 2467]

Sound like a way to spend too much time, too much money, and end up with too much crap.  

The Mrs. Cumsteen special.

[UTPhil2006 3910]

Want either of these? The slot machine is full of half dollars that have been in there 20+ years. Sewing machine was my grandmothers. Don't know much about it besides to post it here/CLo

[DallasHorn26 587]

I've got several tubs of antique porcelein dolls. Some were hand poured and painted by my stepdad's grandmother, but then there are others that were manufactured. Some are by a German Manufacturer called K&R. I've found a little info on the web that says they were made up until sometime in the 1940's. Would be interested to see what some of those are worth. 

[F250 29178]

On 12/16/2024 at 3:41 PM, RDCanecutter said:

All I know about local antique dudes is they know weird facts, some local history, were raised by vicious but funny grammamas, and are not quite accepted at polite dinner parties. I have naturally acquired many of those traits.

I know a guy that has been doing this for a long time. He drives all over the place in a white cargo van buying stuff from people that recently lost their grandmother and want to clear out the house.

This guy fits your description too. The amount of weird facts he knows about art, furniture, and other odd shit is pretty amazing. From what I understand he learned a lot of these collecting skills from his grandmother.

Years ago, the truck he hauled stuff in broke down and he asked if I could drive his things over to another antique store. When we arrived, I tagged along for the negotiations. lulz I've never experienced anything like that before. It was like negotiating in an Istanbul bizarre but with Texas hill country rednecks instead of Turks. There was also a lot of insults and threats of man on man rape.

[RDCanecutter 26856]

11 hours ago, UTPhil2006 said:

Want either of these? The slot machine is full of half dollars that have been in there 20+ years. Sewing machine was my grandmothers. Don't know much about it besides to post it here/CLo

You know what, I kinda do. Dm me (or just post here) where you are and what you're lookin to get?

[RDCanecutter 26856]

3 hours ago, F250 said:

There was also a lot of insults and threats of man on man rape.

Just threats? Half-steppers.

[F250 29178]

44 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

Just threats? Half-steppers.

I'm not sure if they were threats or if they were talking dirty to each other as an act of foreplay. Three people were haggling over price and other items and promises of sodomy.

The guy I helped handed over an antique desk, chair and old cowboy boots and received cash and albums. There was also a small bronze statue of a Texas Ranger on a horse that looked like it was illegally removed from a townsquare somewhere involved in the deal. Honestly, for about 2 minutes I was looking at that statue thinking "I want that."

Afterwards, we dropped by some other place and he sold some ugly ceramic mug from the 70's. He claimed he bought it for $5, I saw him sell it for hundreds.

 

 

[RDCanecutter 26856]

1 minute ago, F250 said:

There was also a small bronze statue of a Texas Ranger on a horse that looked like it was illegally removed from a townsquare somewhere involved in the deal.

You just reminded me of something a town in Georgia gave my dad back in the 60s. I think I know where that thing is. What's the Statute of Limitations on antique weather vanes? His last few years he thought it would be cool if I took it back to them. Hmm.

[ITHorn 917]

Following and rooting for you. I used to buy and sell sports memorabilia from estate sales/Craigslist up until about 2015. It was pretty decent money for a while but just became a beating dealing with all the scams/ return fraud and the money isn’t what it once was. I’m sure the opportunity to hit a random jackpot is bigger in antiques. 

[RDCanecutter 26856]

6 hours ago, ITHorn said:

Following and rooting for you. I used to buy and sell sports memorabilia from estate sales/Craigslist up until about 2015. It was pretty decent money for a while but just became a beating dealing with all the scams/ return fraud and the money isn’t what it once was. I’m sure the opportunity to hit a random jackpot is bigger in antiques. 

Thank you Sah!

The online sales money comment is the damn truth. I once paid the bills with eBay selling stuff like collectible toy soldiers 12+ years ago, emptying out the garages of fellow gamer-geek friends. You could occasionally shift a collection for $800 plus profit after sweating blood watching it creep across the country. Most deals were way more nickel and dime. Then eBay had discounts and no taxes where you could turn around and get a gold coin for 5% under melt value if that was your bag, Baby.

Supposedly eBay has more sales now than it did then, but it's also got way more sellers. Bigger pie sliced way thinner.

I still have a box full of stray widgets from those days. Oughta mix em all together in a bucket, and not skimp on the paté.

[Kennythetiger 9585]

10 hours ago, RDCanecutter said:

You know what, I kinda do. Dm me (or just post here) where you are and what you're lookin to get?

How about a bank safe?  My local guy died before we could do anything with mine. 

[horn4life 3830]

On 12/16/2024 at 3:56 PM, jimmyjazz said:

I used to buy and sell stuff, mostly high end audio equipment and fine china.  (Yeah, a weird mix.)  The thing about both was that there are multiple resources to assess value, so it was pretty easy to hop on stuff priced at (say) 25% of resell value and then move it for 50%-70% without much effort.  Furniture seems like less of a commodity.

Since I am liquidating a shit ton of odd china, this is of interest to me.

 

On 12/16/2024 at 3:41 PM, RDCanecutter said:

There should be a specific question in here, but I am too ignorant to ask it. Do you have any good advice?

Anyway, on Thursday I am rolling down there to grab some furniture

I predict that eventually you will shift to... lighter shit to sell!   But good luck!  If you enjoy it, keep doing it! 

 

I went to my first Austin Record convention a few months ago, and ran into a guy whose daughter I coached for years.  He had basically become a Willie Nelson poster specialist.  He even put a book together that he sells.  He introduced me to the guy in the booth next to him, used to own Inner Sanctum Records for you olds.  He sold mostly posters, but he also had a guy from Cali buying like $1000 of records a week from him, for resale out there.  

KNOWLEDGE and expertise in narrow areas seem to be the most important factors in any of these sorts of ventures.  This is fucking crazy, but apparently some ugly ass corning ware we tossed from my MIL's estate, was worth like $2000 per piece!  But we had not knowledge nor expertise.

I have a shit ton of stuff that may or may not be valuable that I am going through.  But I don't know WTF I actually have in most cases.  I guess I will post some pics here.  

[jimmyjazz 46984]

6 minutes ago, horn4life said:

Since I am liquidating a shit ton of odd china, this is of interest to me.

replacements.com will show you the high end of resale pricing.  They stock pretty much everything.  eBay is better for more reasonable pricing.

[UTPhil2006 3910]

12 hours ago, RDCanecutter said:

You know what, I kinda do. Dm me (or just post here) where you are and what you're lookin to get?

It's at my moms (Lake Conroe) but I'm I. Downtown Houston if that helps. I'll ask them on a price in mind. 

[RDCanecutter 26856]

2 hours ago, Kennythetiger said:

How about a bank safe?  My local guy died before we could do anything with mine. 

 

6 minutes ago, UTPhil2006 said:

It's at my moms (Lake Conroe) but I'm I. Downtown Houston if that helps. I'll ask them on a price in mind. 

 Cool, y'all. Thanks for the chance to take a peek. After I had some breakfast I figured out I better keep this slow-growing and close to home until I get a handle on how to flip things here. Not saying never, just gotta be careful.

I have driven from Alabama to Central Texas to make a sale in the past, and may do it again, but I'm not even a Baby Antique trader yet. More like a fetus.

[tigol 2467]

Google lens can be helpful in figuring out what you have and to get an idea of what it is selling for.