you can make first-class profits with a secondhand business

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That's the surface history of our venture . . . but you're probably more interested in the do's and don'ts, the profit possibilities and some of the side benefits. So here goes:

I should say, first of all, that buying is really more important than selling. You have to get back twice what you give for most items in order to average out a living in the long run . . . and that's where your ability to size up salable merchandise comes in handy.

True, you can't win 'em all: You'll sometimes find yourself taking what you can get for an article or tossing it out the back door. On other goods, however, the margin of profit will be sensational. Suppose you buy a table for a dollar and sell it for ten. According to my bookkeeper husband you'll have made 900% on your investment, and where else could you match that?

Then again, right now is a good time to dispose of the prevalent myth that all secondhand dealers get rich by picking up costly items like carnival glass for next to nothing. Not very often! People now recognize the worth of most such articles. Sometimes, however, when you buy a package deal—a complete houseful of furniture—you will get a few valuables in the collection. A certain number of antiques will come to you in the same way. These help draw customers, but won't sell for as much as they would in a strictly antique store and won't give you the return you get from plain "used" pieces. (Profit on junk beats the good stuff all to heck . . . which means, incidentally, that it's wise to let the buyer do the refinishing. Anyhow, he has more fun that way and you do less work.)

Buying secondhand items in quantity is almost always a good idea whether or not you get any antiques as windfalls. Keep your bank balance as healthy as possible so you'll be able to take advantage of such bulk purchase opportunities as they arise. We once bought the contents of a local hotel that was to be torn down—furniture, rugs, plumbing, light fixtures, dishes, etc.—and did very well on the transaction. The wash basins, for instance, cost us 25¢ apiece and sold like hot cakes at $2.50 to $7.50. (Used plumbing is always in demand among owners of rental property.)

There's also a certain sentiment about anything that belonged to an old landmark. People will buy an unmarked glass simply because it comes from a particular hotel. The same is true of an historic house. Customers will practically beg you to tell them that some object was purchased from the Jedediah Plunkett mansion . . . until you're almost tempted to bring out all your "clinkers" and palm them off as part of old Jed's estate.

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