Classified Web Blog » Antiques and Collectibles

Why Should You Sell Your Antiques Online

David Miller — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:13:05 +0000

The Internet has played a big role in the burgeoning industry too. Take eBay for an example – its Antiques section is HUGE and draws an insanely large amount of traffic from around the world. In fact, put something up for sale on eBay and you are just as likely to sell it to a wealthy New York banker as you would a 23-year-old Japanese kid!

The online demand for antiques is as high as it has ever been, and if you are an antique dealer without your own domain and website, you are seriously missing out on a great money-making opportunity. Here are just a few reasons why.

1.People Are Shopping Online
We can’t run away from it. The world is moving away from cash and turning to plastic, and very soon, the entire world will be able to experience the joy and convenience of online shopping.

And with so many people able and willing to spend money online, there is a great demand for all sorts of products – antiques being high up on the list. After all, browsing the web is a great way for people to peruse unique and valuable antiques, with all their details and rich history available at just a click.

2.You Hardly Do Any Extra Work
If you are an antique dealer planning to diversify your business online, you’ll find that it’s really quite a simple task. You’ll already have the product’s history and description down in words for your ‘physical’ customers to read, so it’ll just take a few minutes of your time to copy that to your website.

Following that, you’ll just need a couple of digital pictures of your antique products to post together with the descriptions. Interested visitors to your website can contact you via e-mail to arrange for purchase or to get more information, an you can easily set up a credit card merchant account to accept your customers payments online via their credit cards.

You can also use a blog to market your antique dealing services, with a single post devoted to one product or a set of products. It would be like writing an online journal entry for each product, except this journal entry can make you money!

3.Make A Name For Yourself As An Antique Dealer
A great benefit of providing a specialist service (such as antique dealing) online is that you can slowly build yourself and your website a good reputation online. The longer and more active you stay, the better your chances of building a large base of customers, readers and visitors who come to your website on a regular basis looking for new items. If you use your actual name as your domain, you will stand to benefit from greater prominence in the industry as word of mouth spreads around, not just in your city, but all over the world.

4.Cheap And Easy To Set Up And Maintain
Websites and blogs are incredibly easy to set up these days. If you can use basic writing software like Microsoft Word, then you are just a step away from publishing your own blog. They’re also cheap to run with domains going for less than $10/year and hosting charges costing less per month than what you would pay for dinner!

5.Find Other Ways To Make Money
Once online, you’ll find that there are plenty of other ways you can make money. For example, you can write an e-book on how to spot genuine antiques from various eras throughout history. As an expert, you would find that rather easy to write, and you can easily mass-sell such valuable information on the Internet, through your website or blog!

As you can see, the benefits of ‘going online’ as an antiques dealer or specialist are enormous. And if you appreciate the poetry of life, you’ll find it quite remarkable how something so distinctly old as antiques can go so well hand-in-hand with the modern technology of the Internet.

Antique motorcycle collectibles

Bessie — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 13:38:03 +0000

One of the greatest hobbies a person can have is restoring or collecting antique motorcycles. Whether you choose to buy these bikes in poor condition and fix them up just like new, or purchase restored bikes for your collection, you are participating in history. One great way to enhance your antique bikes is with antique motorcycle collectibles. Read on for tips on finding the best ones.

Some of the antique motorcycle collectibles you might be interested in is parts. When you are restoring an antique bike, you probably know it’s best to use original parts. This will increase the value of the bike and help it to run the way it was meant to. But where do you find these parts? The best place to look is online.

One of the best places online to find antique motorcycle collectibles and parts is eBay.com. The wide selection and low price offered on eBay makes it easy to find the parts you want. If you choose to shop on eBay for antique motorcycle parts, make sure you know your stuff. Some sellers might be inexperienced and not sure what they are selling. If you are familiar with the parts you need, however, this shouldn’t be a problem.

If you are looking for antique motorcycle collectibles to enhance an antique bike you have purchased, then you should keep an eye on local pawn shops and thrift stores. These are great places for antique motorcycle collectibles to turn up. Items such as mirrors, helmets, and decals will make your antique bike look just like it did 50 years ago

Antique Art

Joel — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:24:23 +0000

When people hear the term antique art, people usually think of paintings. However, as the term art encompasses more than just paintings, the term antique art works the same way. This is because antique art does not only mean antique paintings, as there are also other items that fall under this category, including sculptures and other handcrafted items. Many of these are considered valuable not only because of their age but also the craftsmanship that was put into these items. Another good example of such items is antique jewelry, usually made of valuable materials and exquisitely crafted. As a result, antique jewelry is now considered as one of the better investments in antique art.

Apart from being considered as good investments in antique art, collecting antique jewelry is also considered as one of the most expensive ways to collect antiques. Collectors need to make sure they buy truly authentic antique jewelry. Some of the best ways to do this include only buying from reputable dealers and attending antique shows, which can give collectors access to authentic and beautiful pieces of antique jewelry. However, doing these does not ensure that collectors would only get to buy authentic antique jewelry. Collectors also need to arm themselves with information on antique jewelry so they would know what to look for and how to assess the authenticity of antique jewelry.

One of the ways that collectors can ensure that the antique jewelry they are looking at is authentic is to look at both the front and the back of the piece of jewelry. Collectors can look for the hallmarks or signatures of the craftsmen that made the jewelry. Another good way to determine the value of a piece of antique jewelry is to look at the metal content of the jewelry, as it can help determine the age and the value of the item. However, this would involve doing a little research on the metal content specifications that were followed during certain periods in history.

Collecting antique jewelry is expensive, and this makes it very important for collectors to ensure that they only get their antique jewelry from reputable dealers. In addition, collectors also need to arm themselves with information on antique jewelry so that they can really ensure that they get truly authentic antique jewelry.

A New Way of Looking at Antiques – Think Marketing

Jade — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 07:44:54 +0000

Subject-matter matters. A few years ago, when I imparted my theory on how to evaluate antiques (and hopefully help a few people make some good buys) I discussed insider tips concerning artistry, age, workmanship and condition. Now, due to the internet, a multitude of successful new antique and auction businesses and a tremendous influx of hungry customers world-wide, there’s a significant new aspect to talk about: target market purchasing. Delightfully, you are going to discover that ferreting out antique treasures in your back yard is easier than ever. Because, instead of concerning yourself only on the difficult intricacies of the antique, you are going to focus on its historical interest and the likely buyers such an object might attract: Who are they? Do they constitute a large and competitive market? What do they do for a living? Do they have money? This is knowledge you already have!
Let’s pretend you and I have just walked past a Realtor’s SOLD sign and up a long gravel driveway. People and price-tagged antiques are strewn-about everywhere, even in the yard. The sign on the Victorian mansion reads: MOVING-EVERTHING MUST GO. Let’s dig up a treasure.
Using passé-purchasing criteria, you are already intimidated. There’s a drove of well-known dealers here including Mrs. Belinda Ficklebury who knows everything about everything. “We can’t make any good buys here!” you say. Sure we can. By employing our new way of looking at antiques, according to subject matter.
There’s a basketball on a table. It looks like one of the ones your grandfather played with. Laces are sewn into the leather. It’s ugly, deflated and not even old by antique standards. Instead of checking the $20 price tag, Mrs. Ficklebury darts past the brown thing faster than if it was a skunk. Do you buy it? “No,” you say, “not by traditional standards.” But, let’s consider what it really is-a basketball. Historically, it dates early in the game’s history and is hard to find today. That is subject matter undoubtedly important to some people. Who plays the sport? “Rich basketball players who collect what they like. SOLD!” you say.
Let us suppose the price is $100. Risk is greater. You need to know more so you inspect the ball for a faded signature. Something vaguely reads “George Mikan.” He’s a famous center from earlier days. In fact, you find out from the family that one of their ancestors once worked as a trainer for his team, the Minneapolis Lakers. This is really important subject matter. Who would buy such a thing? “Rich basketball team owners who have even more money and less sense their players. I’ll take it!” you say.
This year, try looking at antiques and the business in general, differently. Question objects that look antique but not old and regard that which looks old but not antique. Ask yourself, what is different and interesting about items you come across. If it is a photo, say, “A photo of what?” If the subject is universal, consider passing it. If it is specific, consider purchase. Houdini, hot dogs, fishing, flying, Civil War, General Store-each of these scenes attract specific buyers. Corkscrews, cotton things, buttons and bulldozer toys: these, and thousands of similar antique categories are now attracting not just collectors but collecting clubs worldwide. Interesting specific subject matter and target marketing-put those two elements at the top of your inspection list this year and you might well end up there yourself.