Small Business: “If you don’t earn it, someone else will.” by Mitzi Curi
Vintage Indie would like to welcome shop owner Mitzi Curi for her inside tips for making some cash this spring and summer with antiques, refurbished housewares and more.
Photo Copyright © JavaJaneDesigns
hemisphere, go outside and take a deep breath. Can you smell something
different in the air, besides the the perfume of spring flowers? It's
the smell of money, honey! There is money out there, floating about
with the pollen. If you don't earn it, someone else will. How can you
earn it? By buying and re-selling antiques and vintage goods. You can
get started pretty easily in a part-time antique business without much
initial investment. Today, I'd like to suggest three different ways to
get your foot in the door of this fun and exciting world!
Photo Copyright © Blandy Snorhal
natural world, there is a "food chain" of sorts in the antique selling
world. Close to the bottom of the chain are the "pickers". Pickers are
folks who comb the countryside looking for antiques. This doesn't have
to include cold-calling on residences, asking owners if they have
things to sell. Pickers can also acquire their goods from garage sales,
Salvation Army or secondhand stores, Craig's List, or even eBay. The
trick is "flipping" your acquisitions quickly to antique dealers and
making a profit. Basically, if you are a picker you are a supplier, and
you have total flexibility in terms of how much or how little time you
put into your business., and you won't be tied down to a
bricks-and-mortar shop waiting for customers to show up.
If you
are able to "pick" a cache of goods, you need to call upon some antique
dealers to show them your wares. Contact an antique mall or antique
store, preferably during a slow time such as a weekday morning. You
might want to call first, just to make sure you will be welcome. Simply
tell them you have a selection of goods to sell and show up with your
treasures. If you have very large items, such as a dining room suite,
you might bring pictures instead, and maybe one part of the set as an
example. Be prepared to deliver the items when convenient for the
buyer. When a picker shows an antique dealer their wares, they should
have an asking price ready for each item, leaving a bit of room for
negotiation. Don't be offended if the dealers don't bite. There are
many reasons why they might not be in a buying mode. They might be
strapped for cash, or simply uninterested in the items you brought.
Simply leave your business card and move on to another antique store.
I
think it goes without saying that it helps to have some basic knowledge
about the stuff you are trying to sell. You don't want to make a
costly mistake such as "flipping" a piece of pottery you purchased for
$4 at a garage sale to a dealer for $8, then later seeing the pottery
priced at $125. Even though you made a 100% markup on the piece, you
want to avoid that sick feeling that a situation like this might
elicit. So do your research and learn as much as you can as you go.
Photo Copyright © DOTTO
Occasional Sales:
picker doesn't appeal to you, perhaps conducting "occasional sales" by
yourself or with a group will be a better option. This can be as simple
as having a sale at your house, which you can advertise as you would a
garage sale with an emphasis on antiques, or as elaborate as a group
sale at a special venue such as someone's barn. Be certain you obtain
any necessary permits from the city for holding a sale such as this, and
plan for the parking so customers can safely and easily visit your
location.
Rehabbing Furniture:
Another business idea without investing a lot of money is to buy furniture in the rough,
refinishing or painting it, and then selling it to dealers or directly
to the public via occasional sales or shows. I can think of one gal
that rented a booth at an antique mall and sold her painted furniture
quite briskly there.
If you have some furniture repair skills, you can
put them to use by purchasing furniture that needs "help", getting it
back in shape, then giving it your special paint treatment. You might
need to learn how to re-glue rickety chairs, replace missing hardware,
or find other solutions to bring old furniture back to life. My
suggestion would be to perfect a "Shabby & Chic" inspired paint
treatment. The shabby look is still quite popular, and painting
furniture is easier than stripping off the old finish and staining and
sealing it.
Personally, I like colorful furniture, but in my experience
white sells the best. Consider adding special details such as glass
drawer pulls on the dressers, or maybe painting floral designs on a
headboard. One invaluable resource for the furniture repair person is
the Rockler Woodworking catalog. They have everything you need to get
furniture up to speed. You can really feel good about "furniture
rehab", because you are rescuing things that might have ended up in a
landfill and are giving them a second life.
These three ideas
should help get the wheels turning and maybe inspire you to get involved
in a new small business. Even if your dream is to someday own your own
store, these are easy ways to dip you toe in the water without investing
the large amount of money that starting up a store would require. You
will meet other dealers, learn something new every day, and be on your
way to joining a group of folks that have already discovered a
fulfilling hobby/business that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.
My name is Mitzi Curi and I am striving to become the "New Face of
Antique Dealers"! I think the time is right for us to incorporate
vintage goods into our modern lifestyle and appreciate things that have a
history and story to tell. Re-purposing antiques and crafting with
vintage materials are my favorite pastimes, and I love to share my
passion and enthusiasm with readers at my blog Mitzi Collectibles
This was such a great read! The timing couldn’t be better for me. Just yesterday I decided to pursue my dream of rehabbing furniture for a living. I started collecting free and cheap furniture to fix up a few years ago because I was a freshman in college and needed cheap stuff. Now it is a hobby that I hope I can make a small profit from. Plus, reusing is very popular these days (rightfully so).