How To Be An Antique Picker
(Page 4 of 9)
July/August 1971
By the Mother Earth News editors
Sooner or later, you're bound to come across someone who has an antique that he wants to sell. Or someone who has something that he never thought of selling and probably doesn't realize is an antique but which you know you can turn a little profit on if you can get him to part with at the right price.
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Now, buying from individuals can be a tricky matter. The first thing to remember is to be honest and fair in your dealings. Don't try to rip anybody off. I realize that I shouldn't belabor this point because all of MOTHER's readers are fine, upstanding, honest and gentle folk . . . but just in case there's a predator out there, some mention of honesty should be made. Chances are that the individual you'll be buying from is one of your neighbors, and if you con him (or her) out of a family heirloom, you'll have to answer for it sooner or later. So keep it straight as you go.
The primary difficulty in buying from an individual is in agreeing on a fair price. Whenever you can, don't make the first offer. Ask the seller how much he wants for whatever he's selling. That way, if someone comes along after you've bought the object and tells the seller that the price was not nearly enough, he can't blame you for not offering a fair price. It was his price.
Of course, if someone offers you a rare art glass vase for two dollars, and you know that you can get two hundred for it, you'd dang well better offer the individual more for the vase. And not just five dollars, either. Let him share in the good fortune. You'll sleep a lot better for it.
That sort of thing won't happen very often, though. More often than not, people overestimate the value of a family heirloom. If the price they ask is too high, decide what you should pay for the item in question and make them an offer. If they refuse, a little haggling is OK but don't tell them how little the thing is worth . . . you'll only make them unhappy. Just tell them you're sorry, but that your price is all you can afford to pay, and let it go at that.
A technique that sometimes works well in buying from an individual, particularly when the item you want is something that is still in daily use (or disuse) and which has no sentimental value, is the "new lamps for old" method. For instance, if the item you want is a rare Model FF Leica that somebody brought back from the war (the big one, in '44) and that nobody knows how to use . . . the owner just might swap the Leica for a new Instamatic which would be of more use to him. And all parties involved will feel they got the best of the trade.
Of course, the foregoing example is highly unlikely, and was used purely for illustrative purposes. A more reasonable example might be to exchange a new stainless steel mixing bowl for a piece of early Bennington ware. Anyway, I'm sure you get the idea.
Private sales usually aren't worth bothering with, but they deserve a little mention before going on to your major source, auctions. When someone wants to sell all or most of a houseful of stuff and is afraid to have an auction, they'll often hold a private sale. Professional sale managers usually come in, price things and run these private sales for a percentage of the take. With people like that, your chances of finding a bargain are practically nonexistant. Still, there is a chance. If you can get to a private sale early, and have nothing else to do, it's worth a try.
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