Added: 12/02/2005 |
Is it easy to be the antiques dealers - work, business, experience?Everyone in his or her life has heard about antiques, its prices and the difficulties of getting this or that antique item, but who knows exactly what an antique is and who are the antiques dealers? People have a kind of misconception concerning this job. Antique business is thought to be a kind of a hobby. Partially it is, but in most cases it's a way of earning money. So what do the antiques dealers sell?
As you know, antiques are objects which have reached an age which makes them a witness of a previous era in human society - the definition comes from wikipedia (the free encyclopedia). Besides being a witness of past centuries these items must be valuable in terms of money.
When people dream about owning their own businesses, owning an antique shop doesn't take the last place. However, being an antique shop owner is not as simple as it might seem.
According to the British Antiques dealers association there are around 20,000 antiques dealers around the country and now it is especially difficult to hold antique shops. Antiques are becoming harder and harder to find, and prices are getting higher so it is becoming an expensive and time consuming business.
Owning an antique shop is not a short-term profit-making job. Antique items can sometimes sell well, if the price is moderate, but sometimes it takes months or even several years to sell an item. That's why some antiques dealers make their antique shops only a minor activity, while having some usual and more reliable occupation.
According to Fiona Ford special projects director at LAPADA (The Association of Art and Antique dealers) now is "one of the hardest times of all to set up an antique shop." Except for the antique trade market situation it's quite expensive earning money - at first you have to invest at least £35.000-40.000.
But the antique shops and antiques dealers still exist and the range of the goods they sell is very various. There are different specialty shops that sell specific goods, i.e. paintings, furniture, cars, crockery, books, jewelry, vintage antiques, etc.
Although the prices for antique items such as paintings, books, jewelry are getting higher and higher, there are vintage antiques that are easier to buy and to sell. What is it? They are old-fashioned goods such as clothes, machines, household goods, etc.
Vintage fashion is a favorite with Hollywood glitterati and an essential item in the wardrobes of the fashion conscious. An advantage of collecting vintage clothes is that it can be surprisingly cheap. Prices depend on age, beauty, conditions and of course the maker. One of the most famous and popular antique markets is Portobello Market in London, where you will almost constantly run into designers, models and journalists from Vogue and other fashion magazines, all seeking a bit of vintage inspiration. Such business can bring you a nice fortune.
There are a great number of antique auctions and markets where one can find something interesting for himself/herself. As a rule, the market antiques dealers are interested in selling their goods so the prices are not so high. Not the case with the antique auctions. The object of an auction is to sell very expensive, rare and ancient things; hence the high prices are appropriate. Not everyone can afford buying antiques in an auction.
So you can be certain the antiques dealers are not junk men. They not only sell you an item of antiquity but also retell about its origin and history of purchasing.
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