A growing antique desert?

[Stinky The Clown]

We had occasion to drive from just west of Baltimore to Dover, Delaware yesterday. Every single antiques shop and antiques mall/coop we know of was closed. Not for the day. Closed. As in plywood in the windows.

How to explain that?

On the one hand, I am sure dealers are making less. And landlords might have been squeezing more on the rent rates.

On the other hand, as times get bad, I should think more people are interested in selling things they might otherwise wish to keep.

Either way ....... not much out there.

[Vinca]

1. I think for a shop to be successful these days it has to have a real following

or be in just the right location. The place where I sell seems to be doing pretty well, all things considered. Last year the owner raised rents a little when her rent went up, but still under $100 a month for an unlocked booth. It's in a walk around location in a touristy town and I think that's why it's successful. Oddly, bona fide antiques don't sell so well unless they're dirt cheap. Lately people seem to want stuff from the 1960's and early 70's. A Grateful Dead album won't last a day in the place. Too bad about the shops on your route, though. I hope someday they'll come back.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. I miss them .....

..... they're in the Annapolis, MD area, which is actually pretty touristy and a sort of destination. The ones in Baltimore's antiques district will likely be closing in the next few months, too. I see lots and lots of "faded ink" in them. (Faded ink is what we call price tags that have been in place so long that they ink has faded to near unreadability. There was one booth in a now closed mall that had a statuette of a camel. It was a sales piece for Camel Pens from the 1930s. The asking price was $200, which was not unreasonable. But no one wanted it and I **know** that some serious pen collectors saw it. So there it sat. When the mall closed a few months ago, it had been there in excess of five years and was still there the week before the final closing.)

My own town's Main Street is a destination with many antiques shops and two malls. One of the malls, I am certain, will not make it until Spring. Faded ink everywhere. I bet at least a third of the individual shops close, too.

[Vinca]

3. Faded ink. That's a perfect way to say it. In some cases, though,

I'm afraid it's dealers unable to face the sorry reality that ebay has caused prices of many items to nosedive. I'm guilty, too. Every so often I have an item in the booth I think is wonderful and stubbornly refuse to mark down and the thing practically grows roots. I force myself to have a serious markdown sale every year just before tag sale season begins. I start at 25% off and over the course of 6 weeks end up at 75% off if need be. I hate to see shops go by the wayside, though, but I understand it. There's a beautiful space open in the downtown area now (the former Obama headquarters, by the way, so there's good karma) and I'd love to open a shop, but in this economy I'm not brave enough. I'll stick with my booths for now.

[yy4me]

4. It is the same in this neck of the woods. Old stand-by's are now

closed. The faded ink business is so true. Even in the days when I had my shop, we always made sure to rotate the merchandise from one spot to another and always checked to see that the tags and stickers looked fresh. A faded, dirty or crossed out and repriced tag tells the customer immediately that no-one wants the merchandise or that it is overpriced and has been hanging around.

It is sad to see the shops go. Dealers work 7 days a week, looking for, cleaning and refinishing, research, sitting at auctions for hours for one item, driving from home to lord knows where for stock.

We would always hear from customers, "Where do you get all this beautiful furniture? Do you buy and sell?" I always wanted to say--never did--"no, I stole it. Instead I told people about the house calls, the road trips, pickers etc. Pickers? I bet there are none left.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Pickers ......

..... I'm guessing there are still a few ....... who used to be dealers.

We almost started a sort of picker business a while ago. We were thinking of ways to diversify our business and one thought was to supply artifacts and props to restaurants. At the time (many years ago), we were **very** familiar with dealers' inventories over a pretty wide area, from Philadelphia down to Richmond and out to the Shenandoah. Lots of cool stuff that had no value to us, but would have been great in restaurants.

Enter repros ..... idea scratched. Thank you China.

[Vinca]

7. Grrrrrrrrr. Repros. They drive me crazy.

And some are done so well they can fool you. Last summer I picked up an old - or what I thought was old - cast iron toy or sample cookstove. It turned out to be a knock off. I should have looked at it closer, but sometimes you just go into a sale and start grabbing.

[grasswire]

6. I know a picker who works Cape Cod...

...and parts of New England, based in Western Massachusetts. He sells on eBay, too, but I have noticed that a good portion of his listings go without bids whereas once nearly everything sold. He specializes in paper items and photographic images.

[barb162]

8. I think the recession is hitting antique dealers too

just like everyone else.

[Vinca]

9. I need to amend my first post on this thread.

The shop where I sell is apparently not doing so well. I went to pick up my check last week and was asked to hold it for 2 weeks before cashing. Apparently they're teetering on the cliff. This time of year is usually not wonderful, but apparently the big ticket items they sell to supplement the booth rental fees are just sitting there. They let some people go and are closing on the slowest day of the week for the time being. I hope they can survive.