American Pickers Coming To Canada? Unlikely...

These days Canadian Pickers is existing only in re-runs.

So, the way should be clear for American Pickers to come to Canada, right?

Well, it hasn't happened (for reasons unknown), and now is less likely to happen.

Frank got busted.

 Yep, a DUI....was intoxicated on booze and Xanax, apparently.

So, now he has a criminal record, and thus will be ineligible to come into Canada....

Formula: Storage Wars:Texas + Moe Prigoff = Storage Wars: Barry Weiss

So, with STORAGE WARS:Texas hitting the tube, we now have another "professional storage locker" buyer who has that antiques/collectibles buyer sort of slant.

I realize these programs follow a "formula." Thus, the plan seems to add Moe Prigoff to the Texas crew to create that vibe that Barry Weiss gives to the original Storage Wars.

I like junk TV programming, I do...it is my business, after all. I am also intelligent enough to see it as "entertainment" and not "that is REAL LIFE"...it is a polished, edited, buffed up, TV representation of life, but not real life. Heck, for one episode of AP they film about 50 hours of footage...so OVER 49 hours worth of footage is edited out! It is entertainment, and I like it, usually.

I have to admit, I am already a little tired of the way the spin offs seem to be going....ALREADY.

Though, I guess if I got a call to be a buyer featured on what would undoubtedly be called "STORAGE WARS: MANITOBA" I might consider it.

Cash is cash, after all.

However, I have substantial doubts it will get to that point....as I really doubt that following the "formula" they have will really work for long.   Unless you really change things up, and make the next "spin-off" its own program, independent from the parent, the formula based clone is destined to fall to the wayside...some quicker than others. The offspring might well bring down the parent into the pit of cancellation, also.

Reality TV hasn't figured out what producers of successful fictional TV program franchises have figured out.
Let's take the Law & Order franchise, as an example.

They are all DIFFERENT.  Yes, they target a similar/same audience, but, their STAYING power lies in the fact they have very DIFFERENT characters, a DIFFERENT formula for each series, and DIFFERENT settings.

Yes, there are some crossovers in characters, even the odd plot, and they are similar in a some ways. However, in other ways they are VERY different from each other.

 Many of the reality TV franchises can not lay a legitimate claim to their shows being VERY different from each other. Some of the spin-off programs have had the embarrassing misfortune to have hosts that even opt to use the same lingo used by the parent show's hosts!

That is just, well, tacky.....I find those TV moments down right painful...I cringe.    It makes it a little too obvious that the hosts are not "legit".... 


That is, unless you are unfamiliar with the trades they are depicting, and you assume that the lingo used on the parent program is the common lingo used right across the trade. Yes, we have trade terms used right across our business...some examples:

Patina
Mint condition
NOS/New-old stock
Hallmark
Reproduction
Fake


Let's take some lingo yanked from American Pickers as an example.  "Honey hole" is not a term I had EVER used  (nor use now) to describe a great picking spot.

From what I have been told by a few veterans of the metal detecting hobby, the term is used in the metal detecting world...and has been for as many years as the hobby has been out there. That actually makes more sense to me...you dig holes when you metal detect, usually.

 The first time I had ever heard it related to picking was on AP....and I have been in this biz for just as long as Mike (Wolfe) has. (Though I am younger than Mike....might not look it, but it is true! Hey, I've earned my grey hair and weathered features, damn it!)

The first time I heard Mike say "honey hole" on American Pickers I did a triple take...

 If you weren't aware of the fact already, "honey hole" does have some other definitions that were far more commonly meant when those words were spoken.

As you see, neither of which relates to the antiques business...well, directly, anyway...but any of those sorts of stories are strictly kept amongst a group of pickers, sitting around a bonfire, and after several bottles of beer have been consumed....

Wikipedia nails it down as a mainly hunting & fishing term, though they add American Pickers as a "Popular Culture" notation.

The power of TV is pretty strong in the popularizing of terms and their uses, eh?


I am betting that there will be a "UK PICKERS" or "BRITISH PICKERS" or "PICKERS IN KILTS" or whatever, that is almost inevitable. A change of country can potentially work as a twist that may well hold viewers, if the casting is right.

I have to admit, I was initially a bit excited about "Canadian Pickers" being produced.....until I saw the first episode....and the rest of the episodes.  I was very hopeful....I am an optimist, believe it or not.
Their 2nd season is going to air (finally) in January 2012, so I will save you from any rants, critiques and reviews....at least until after the new episodes air.

 Though, I would really like to hear YOUR opinions of the show....

Actually, comments on ANY of the junk biz TV shows are welcome!

I'd also like you to honestly note how long you have been a professional/making a living/supplementing income/etc in the "junk biz", if you are a long time junker but not pro, or if you are a rosy cheeked fresh newcomer, inspired by the programs you have seen.  I actually think it is GREAT there are newcomers, fresh faces, etc, so do not feel shy that you have become hooked on "junk"...there are MANY of us "addicts" out there.

I have found one thing, in analysis of the last couple years worth of Junk TV programs. The take on things in the "junk biz" by Reality TV seems to have a focus, or at least a "chunk" of attention is paid to, one basic thing..

It includes "getting a deal"..."negotiating"..."appraisals"....."how much"...."it could be valuable"....which are all connected to:

Making MONEY.
 
The almighty buck and its children (bastard and otherwise), get tossed up on our screens to the point of near absurdity when it comes to those programs.
 
That is all fine and dandy,  with the economy and all, they are trying to lure people in to watch.

However, too much of it can really make this biz look like a bunch of money hungry folks whose focus is just on that dollar sign...or Pound sign, or Euro sign...whatever.

Ok, I admit that we do like the cash aspect of it, sure, but that is not the appeal for most of the "players" out there in this field.  We have personalities beyond the almighty buck....and reasons we are in this that go beyond  that. Mike shows that in AP...he goes batty over bicycles. Frank goes owly over oil cans. They are legit in their passion when it comes to "old junk", and it shows.

Me? I LOVE the thrill of the hunt. That is my motivation.....my addiction!

Hell, pay me a realistic wage for what I do, the experience I have, education I have accumulated (etc), back me with $$$ for buying and I will PICK antiques and other assorted cool/neat/weird/odd sundry items on a salary basis! Will have your shop filled to capacity in a matter of weeks....heck, under a week if you have no particular category of vintage items you want.

Problem is, I need cash to buy the stuff....no cash, no hunting for dusty treasures....so paying too much doesn't work....keeping stuff does not work....

Yep, a true addiction...and I am doing what I have to in order to feed my addiction.

I need AAA......no, not AA....I need:

Antiques Addicts Anonymous.

My name is Bear, and...umm......I am self-employed...I am an entrepreneur....

So, um, now when do we get to have that coffee & those cookies? I haven't had lunch...spent my last $20 on those tin cans over there by the door......say, what is in the basement of this building?

All in all, viewers who are even just on the fringes of "the junk business" are smart enough to realize that Reality TV's take on the "Junk Biz" thus far is not realistic.

SO, now think of those who are newbies....just how long is it going to take for them to figure out it is just not like it is on TV...and some/many of the things said, done, experienced, etc, is not the day to day reality of it...now that they themselves have experienced the "junk lifestyle" first hand?

And what happens after they have expressed this to ALL their friends, and relatives...who tell all their friends and relatives, who tell all their friends and relatives, who.......)

Got the picture?

Even the "good" junk biz programs will start falling in popularity. Reality TV is crying wolf.

No pun intended....if I had intended a pun, there would have been an E on the end.

That said,  I'd think that Mr Wolfe's original premise (which I believe was to focus far more on the people, especially the real characters we pickers encounter) is actually a more long term survivor, in my opinion.

What do most of us do with an antiques/collectibles price guide once it is a few years old?

Compare that to your other reference books in the bookcase...the many "book of silver marks", "pottery marks" or other books we use for research purposes? And that favourite novel you read and reread?

What about the spin-offs that are pure "follow the formula" of the successful parent Reality "Junk TV" show?

Well, they will be the first to fall....if they didn't hit circular file called "cancellation" after their first season....or first few episodes.

What I clearly recognize that is needed for "junk TV" keep a grip on the audiences long term is simple...non-formula based spin-offs.

Fans have clearly and loudly expressed this about other programs.

 Danielle Colby-Cushman of American Pickers is a PRIME example of this. 

She is founder of a BURLESQUE troop for crying out loud...and a former roller derby queen.... ....she makes/remakes/designs CLOTHING, is an ARTIST...and a MOTHER...man, COME ON, can no one (in the production company) not see "SPIN-OFF MATERIAL" flashing in bright orange tubing of a huge (but of course rusty) neon sign???

No, I am not a fanboy of Danielle's. She seems to be a cool person and all, but so are many folks I know in this biz, who think for themselves, and are "eccentric" in some ways...and are not on TV, nor ever will be. Frankly, many SHOULD be...they are certainly all far more interesting than some of the folks that have been cast in these shows.

Don't get me wrong, there are lots of interesting & simply cool folks out there that have been cast/given shows (some current, some gone) that are certainly quality TV characters, but some are just NOT...and who ever cast them is not doing their job well at all.

AH, that is IT, I know what the next big Reality TV blockbuster will be!

"CASTING DIRECTOR - THE FINAL CUT!"

The "New" Collector Celebs - The other side

Reality TV's foray into the "Junk Lifestyle" has created a number of newly minted "Celebs".

We already all know that many celebs are known to be collectors, including:

Louie Anderson - high quality Mission/Arts & Crafts Furniture - Especially Stickley

Whoopi Goldberg  - Bakelite, rare books, Maxfield Parrish prints (and other Parrish items)

Oprah Winfrey - Black Americana

Bill Cosby - African-American Art

Demi Moore - Dolls (and no, I am not counting Ashton Kutcher, for those of you who are so inclined. As for me, the only thing I like Ashton Kutcher for is the fact he made 1970s & 1980s trucker/farmer caps a cool fashion thing...helped me sell 500 or so of the 2000 I had...)

Barbara Taylor Bradford - Victorian Silver Spoons

Donald Trump - (yes, he collects more than cash, real estate, and supermodels!) - Art by Mark Gonzales, marble figural statues

Jay Leno - Antique & Classic autos and other vehicles

and I can go on, and on, and on, and on....


But, the new crop borne from Reality TV's "Junk Lifestyle" programming have one major difference...they were heavy collectors before they were celebs.....and quite likely were collecting before it was "trendy" and "fashionable."

And many (if not most) were collecting well before they had access to ready cash to heavily finance their collecting habits, and have that extra spending cash to shell out for those "Holy Grail" items when they do pop up. Their celebrity certainly makes those items more available...with millions of fans, you have several million eyes looking for those items for you, not to mention TV's long reach to those who may be knowingly (or unknowingly) harboring those items.


Before that, many of the same collectors would have to make some major sacrifices to be able to afford some items they wanted, pass those items up entirely, or buy them and own them for a very brief time before having to sell them to pay bills, or risk financial ruin, minor and major.

Reyne Haines, a a junk TV celeb in her own right, and blogger for The Huffington Post (as well as being 1/3rd of the group of cupcake queens extraordinaire) did an interview with "American Pickers" Mike Wolfe, which can be found on The Huffington Post HERE.


 The collectors I truly admire are really not those who have bank accounts to back them up, and buy anything that they desire, or think will impress those around them. 


Now, I myself am a collector. However, my collecting habits now tend to lean towards items that have some historical, and mainly local, or at least historical Canadian significance, and are not as readily salable as items. 

This vein of collecting, for me, does allow for those items to remain in my hands for longer periods than, say, collecting high quality Coca-Cola items, Petroliana items, etc.

"Why?" to the second power

Ah, now you are confused....!


Ok: Why do I have more respect for those who are not well off/wealthy who have created wonderful collections?

and 

 Why do my collections now lean towards the areas mentioned?

Yep, it is another cliff hanger...you will have to read my next blog posting!














  

 

Junk TV

Was just checking out the "stats" on the blog, and noticed that someone came across my blog by searching for (and I quote):

"canadian pickers" gone for good?

Not sure what the person doing that search is thinking....as far as I know, there is still season 2 coming out, and from what I have heard down the antiques biz grapevine is that Sheldon Smithens and Scott Cozens, the hosts from the first season of Canadian Pickers have been signed for a THIRD season.

I do think that is odd, considering the 2nd season hasn't even aired.....but, maybe the production company knows something we don't.

 What I do know is that there has been quite a bit of discontent from folks across the entire "junk biz" spectrum, as far as the current choice of hosts for "Canadian Pickers".   Comments from 99% of those folks have, well, lets just say they haven't exactly been very complimentary.

I don't want to relay anything here, as I know it will be perceived by some people out there as "sour grapes" on my part.

Meh.

 I'm not getting paid by any production companies to offer my expertise, market research, etc, and they obviously have no interest in what we all think, anyway.

By "we" I mean the the majority of people who make up the "junk business."

Reality TV production groups would be well advised to vet their ideas through a panel of TRUE veterans of this business before they make the decisions that have been made as to host choices, venues, etc, etc.   I suppose any eyes watching makes for profits, even if most of those viewer eyes are rolling constantly. Longevity of most of these shows is something that is obviously not in the production companies' plans.  These are not "British Antiques Roadshow" grade programs when it comes right down to it.

I do enjoy most of the shows, though on average, my eyes roll more than they would while watching the Antiques Roadshow (with the the exception being the Canadian version...it crashed and burned it seems...and for good reason).

I know too much...I'm educated in the business, so when I  hear prices of multi-hundreds being tossed around for an item I KNOW barely garners high double digits....well, I just shake my head.

There has been lots of trash to cash TV shows, and I am sure there are going to be many more. Any cheap & relatively easy to make (IE: reality TV) that feature "ordinary" people making money from other people's "junk" gives "fans/viewers" some "hope", especially when they are short on money (IE: the people who are recently unemployed, downsized, etc...all those things that happen during a recession) it all equals more money in the medias' pockets.

If  "Trash to Cash" happens to sound familiar, that was also the title of a series back in 2003...and has turned into a general term used regularly by a variety of bloggers, articles, etc, as a description of the genre of reality shows I fondly refer to as "Junk TV".

I gotta be different!

Seems like many of the shows are spun off of "American Pickers"...have to wonder if Mike Wolfe is getting royalties! Kudos to him if he is! You may have noticed that the success of AP has caused spin-offs & copies, unsurprisingly. Sadly, the word "Picker" is in those titles for the sole misguided purpose of luring the AP viewership into watching. is one...Once I saw "Picker Sisters", I quickly decided that was not the name I would have choose. Some would even consider "Canadian Pickers" misnamed...the comment I hear is usually something like "Candian Antiquers" would far more accurate."    True, they do go to mainly antiques shops, antiques shows, collectors' collections, and occasionally "other" pickers' offerings. I can not see Scott nor Sheldon ever picking through the muddy basements, dust, dirt & pigeon crap filled attics, and the hay filled, mouse infested, sparrow poop spattered barn lofts that I commonly sift through.  Mis-casting is more the culprit in that case. The production company tried to replicate AP in Canada, but sadly, it is not what most Canadian "American Picker" viewers expected.

I really am not sure why the Canadian versions/spin-offs of US shows always seem to end up leaning towards "corn" factor.  Maybe the self-deprecating Canadian attitude is embedded in the producer's psyches.

The thing is, from everyone I have talked to on the subject, it is obvious that there IS a substantial audience out there that is getting quickly tired of the not-all-that-real Reality TV version of the "junk lifestyle."

When you live the lifestyle, seeing through the TV version is as easy as looking through a clean window.

Frankly, I give kudos to Mike, Frank and Danielle of AP. They are making more $ off the antiques biz than they ever would have in the traditional way.   Sure, I wish it was me making that big $ and getting recognition for the 20+ year long rocky road this business has dragged me over.

But, it is not. So, life goes on, per usual.

I was hoping the shows would garner more interest in antiques & collectibles than it has.

Wait, let me clarify that....

I was hoping the shows would garner more interest in the COLLECTING of antiques & collectibles than it has....

Every show out there right now seems go for the "look at the deal I got" and/or the "I will make lots of money on this" aspect that drive them.

People watch them as if they are "how to" videos .Oiy....they are so far from that...

I know what I am buying and I know what I am doing, so it has no real affect on me.
I might actually save some money by being outbid at auction on some piece of old junk that I really do not need.

If there were far more shows getting people interested in COLLECTING, driving people to COLLECT, and make the collecting end of things more appealing, giving the multitudes of reasons why people should collect this or that, making collecting something that you should do, highlight its importance to history conservation, etc, etc, then that may well create the upward spike in the junk MARKET.

More competition is something that I am sure most don't want. "Cost of goods" increases, which is being seen in the Storage Auction business, as Glendon Cameron of www.urbanpackrat.com has mentioned a fair bit in his video and blog entries. Same thing in the antiques biz, but we have a little different situation here.

Collecting old crap is not like needing a couch for the living room.

  Yes, competition drives up prices, which is fine, but if there is no end consumer that is willing to buy the goods the "dealers" fought over, is that item actually worth what is being paid?

Not likely.

There is a bit of a false market being created in this business by these shows, as there is starting to be a glut of "dealers" (or rather, wanna-be dealers/pickers) being created. More dealers than end buyers can hurt the market.

When you examine the way the market is at present, it starts to sounds a little like the fiasco the Banks pulled.

No worries, it will self correct itself, eventually.

The veterans of the business will be just fine. We know how to make it all work for us.
I do believe that a VERY small percentage of the "newbies" that have gotten into this business will survive, but the vast majority will end up with storage lockers full of crap...and many will end up loosing said lockers...allowing Storage Wars and Auction Hunters to go on forever!

SO, you better study up by reading and re-reading my blog, AND at Mr Cameron's site www.urbanpackrat.com in preparation to tackle the impending influx of abandoned storage lockers!

It Has Been A Real Barn Burner..

Wow, it is already October!

Ok, ok, ok....yes, it is actually mid-October. Cut me some slack, I have been busy....!

Lots of stuff has been happening....some good, some bad.

Let's start with the bad.....just get it out of the way right away.

We found out in early summer that where we were starting to get a mini-salvage yard/flea market area, and antiques shop was not actually our property. As it turns out, the front of "our" property did not start at the fence line as we had been led to believe.  The Highways Department actually owns 125 feet of the land from the fence line. Wouldn't you know it, the area on which we had cleared & leveled, built some small buildings, dropped a sea container there, as well as dropped tons of stuff on, is ALL within that 125 feet! What a waste of time, money & energy.

 *sigh*

Now we (I) have a major task ahead of us (me)...moving it all.

So, the plan was to fix up our barn, and make it a shop.



















Then in July...well, the photos below explain it best.

The firemen figured the grass fire (that started the barn ablaze) was likely ignited by  glass in the dry grass, and I have been wondering if it was possibly spontaneous combustion due to rotting manure in the barn yard. Did I mention we also live in what is basically a desert? We were lucky, really. Usually that time of year the grass and much of the foliage is crispy and super dry. We had an unusually wet year in this area, so much of the foliage and such was still green. Had it been the usual sort of July, we'd likely have lost the house and everything else...

So, we are dealing with insurance, and that sort of thing. At the time of the fire, I wasn't sure we even had any insurance on the barn. Thankfully, it turned out that we had insured it way back when we bought the property, but there is no way we could replace the structure for the amount it for which it was insured.

Back to the drawing board, as they say.

Now the plan is to build on a budget...a shoestring budget. Hopefully between salvaged materials, trade deals for labor, materials, etc, combined with hard work (which I am no stranger to, being a picker and all) we can get something built in the spring.  We are currently working on some small building(s) and shelters created from salvaged materials, but once the snow starts to fly, and gets to be more than a dusting on the ground, it will be pretty tough to continue with that even.

So, there is some of my  "bad" news.

Good news from the past while includes becoming a columnist for "The Country Register." Not a big dollar paying gig, but it is publicity for the business, B&B, and this blog.  My initial column, thus far, has only appeared in the Canadian Prairies edition, so if you can't get a copy of that area's paper, Oct/Nov 2011 issue, you won't find it. But, if the publishers/editors of your area The Country Register get enough requests for them to publish my column, then maybe you will get to read it!   If it were to be picked up by other publishers of the paper, I would:

(A) Get paid for each column published in each area. (At $25 a column it might actually pay to write them!)

(B) Be a little more broad in my content of the articles as a result. Would contain more "A Pickers Journal" style of content. Half of my initial article was fairly "local". I will release it in the blog here, also...guess I will have to start a sub-section of some sort....oh geeze, now I will have to learn more stuff about this bloggin' thing.......

I am also starting a project....

I am going to attempt to create a Lean, Mean, Pickin' Machine!


Mike & Frank of American Pickers have their new Mercedes Sprinter van...

Scott & Sheldon of Canadian Pickers have the rental vans they seem to get in each province, which they slap their magnetic sign on...

Allen & Ton of Auction Hunters have that late model milk truck....

The "hosts" on Storage Wars all drive their "trademark" vehicles....

Not sure what Cari of Cash & Cari drives....haven't seen very many episodes of it.

The Picker Sisters have...oh, you know I haven't even seen an episode yet....Well, I assume they drive SOMETHING....

but I will have something far better......wait for it.....

1977 Vandura MOTOR HOME!

Yup. A vintage vehicle!  Ok, I know that there is a show out there with a vintage bus that runs on Veggie grease or bio-diesel...but they haven't been picked up buy a network yet....Well, I guess I haven't even got to the point of having my own show, either...oh well....I will have a cool vehicle, tho....Especially after the Monster Garage-esque modifications I have planned...

It is white...mostly......with some yellow & brown. It even has a textured hood...unique to "vintage vehicles" that have been sitting awhile...

Confused?

Well, let me explain. The hood has lichen scattered/growing all over it.....which I intend to KEEP as part of it's "patina!"


Yep, it should be a heck of an adventure!

As you'd expect from a frugal picker, it will be on a shoestring budget, also....I am gutting much of the unit, so the proceeds from the interior bits I sell will go back into creating this ultimate picker-mobile! Donations accepted, too!!!! Cash, parts, etc!!! I'll even take beer! And/or rum!

hmm...all that is starting to sound like work!


Anyway, with winter coming, and the weather turning cooler by the day, the blog will get updated more frequently.  I do have other news, plans, ideas, etc to relate, but will save it for another day.... got an early morning tomorrow, as a friend (and fellow long time picker) is dropping by in the A.M.

Happy pickin' folks!

I'm Telling Ya, Pickin' Ain't Easy!

So, after reading my last post you figure you still could make a living "picking antiques"? Yes, I did see and read the articles that are now popping up online about how "easy" it is to make a living "picking antiques." You will notice my name does not appear as the author on any of them.


I'm betting that if you follow their links and such, in the end they will want to sell you something, or there is tons of advertising all over and around the articles....maybe they will offer you an "e-book" or manual or something...or, they are making money on the "clicks" to the sites you end up on.

Beware...Pickin' Ain't Easy.

And beware of anyone who tells you it is! I have yet to hear Mike & Frank of American Pickers spout about how easy it is to make a living at picking. Yes, they make it look easy & fun, and, to a point, it is. If you hit that point unaware...it will slice right through you, and you will suddenly realize you are resting your gut on the hilt of the knife...

If you plan to get into this biz to make lots of money, forget it. If you think you can just "buy old junk and sell antiques"...well, c'mon down, I'll sell ya a semi-load for $5000....heck, I'll be real nice....the load might even be worth $5000....

Oh, and keep in mind that I have a refrigerator shipping box to sell ya...real cheap, too...'cause you might need it when the bank forecloses on your house....

You need to wonder when this sort of line is posted:

 "When I lost my job, I became an antiques picker, and I made lots of money and I want to show you how!"

Doesn't it sound like every other "get rich quick", "make money at home sitting on your duff" and all the rest of the questionable "make money easily" pitches?

Yeah, "For 4 easy payments of $19.95" they will send you some bad videos....

Hey, I will tell you some valuable information FOR FREE!

Oh, wait, I have been doing that all along in this blog, haven't I?

Wait...check that out over there....

Now, for effect, I will climb up on this covered wagon belonging to one of those snake oil salesmen while he's out having a snort of gin at the saloon down the street....ooooof..ack, OUCH!...DAMN SLIVERs!....Oh,.man, it reeks of body odor up here...man, ewww...nasty...whew...got to stand up out of the stench...cripes, whew, eww, talk about taking your breath away...and NOT in a good way....

Aah, oh, ok, here we go:

I am telling ye NOW, that YES, you can buy stuff at garage sales and thrift shops for a mere 25 cents an item...yes ma'am, only TWO BITS, a thin QUARTER, and you CAN sell some of those items for $5 - $20 PER item to antiques dealers all-day-long...and you might even make money, once you sell all the other 25 cent "dud" purchases at your garage sale.

Oops, I killed the pitch with that last sentence, didn't I?  Oh well, that is only because I believe in TRUTH in advertising...

Look, one of the issues is thus: KNOWLEDGE IS KEY!!! That is where pickers make their money in many cases. Yes, we get lucky once and awhile...but, even that "luck" is based on an EDUCATED guess, IE: a knowledge based hunch, and/or we recognize the quality of something. We already KNOW that the painting we are holding is REAL, and is OLD, and is well done...which indicates it could be a very good piece. 

Now let's look at the one the excited soul over there is clutching.... It is 1800s in appearance and style...and he is SO excited....just swooning and drooling over it, because it is signed by a big name artist nearly anyone would  recognize....ANd it sure looks like a painting....BUT, it is actually an "oilette."

No, it is not a painting at all. Basically just an "embellished" print. Still worth $125.00 for what it is...but not $1,250,000.  Bit of a difference.

As professional pickers/dealers, those "scores" we are buying are "lottery tickets" that we already know are winners...we are just unsure of HOW MUCH we will win. We might get our money back, we double, we might do far better.

If you know little about antiques and their MARKET values, where to sell, etc, etc, it is not a get rich quick business....

Even when you have a vast knowledge it is not a get rich quick business!

The odd person might actually luck out, and buy a fantastic piece for pennies on the dollar, and "get rich quick." However, I assure you, there are lots more who buy something for $100 and find out it is actually only worth $50...or $5....or 50 cents.

We all hear the fantastic stories....and of the true ones, 90% of them are FLUKES. That random person who knew little, not a professional antiques picker at all, happened to stumble upon a rare item (in behind the ugly print they bought, the rare Tiffany vase in with a box of junk, etc, etc) and sold it for a million bucks!

Yes, it does happen, but it is usually a pure fluke.

So, with all the long term, highly knowledgeable, very experienced pickers who are out there (and pretty much all of us are barely eking out a living when it really comes down to it) how do you figure that you will be able to make a living from picking, and support your family, by just jumping into the business?

Look, I realize it may be your dream to do this...but, please, take my advice, most of you need to do just that....

Keep dreaming.

I do say that in the most respectful way. This business can be a heck of a grind.....it will chew-up-and-spit-out many people who try to get into it as a "profession." Some end up leaving their love of "old stuff" behind them....never to return....and that is a shame.

Oh, HEY, wait, is that one of the newbies in the back whispering "I think he's just afraid of competition!"

Ok, for those foolish enough to utter that...

Here is a hockey analogy (I am in Canada, you know...I think it is part of our genetic code to bring hockey into things...even when you are not a hockey fan):

Imagine a pick-up hockey game at your local rink or even a game of street hockey between the following teams:

Team 1: Wayne Gretzky, Dale Hawerchuk, Tie Domi, Theoren Fleury, Sidney Crosby

VS

Team 2: You and 4 of your beer buddies....oh, heck, lets say FIVE of your beer buddies...wait, make that SIX...(and to keep this realistic, let's assume that you have no professional hockey players in your circle of friends....in 99.9% of the cases out there, that is a safe assumption.)

Now, before they get playing, do you want to take bets on the winning team being you and your buddies? Hmmm? Didn't think so (unless you are one of the five players on team one, that is.)

So, competition is not a worry for me. I have been in this a long time. I have been to enough garage sales where 4 dealers are walking out, and I still score some great stuff. I have picked enough attics that have "already been picked" and pulled out wonderful things. No, I am not bragging, I am just "saying"....it is our experience and our knowledge that make us money. Yes, I could go in to any pick after Mike & Frank (of AP) have cleared out what they want from a place and likely still pull out a load of good stuff, also. We all know different things, different knowledge, have different backgrounds, access to diffent markets, etc.
I am worried about some things, though.

What I am worried about is the number of people who are (not in order of importance):

(a) Going to get ripped-off, either on purpose, or inadvertently due to an amateur picker's complete lack of knowledge, giving professional pickers a worse name than we already have (which is usually due to the few scammers that are cocky enough to call themselves "pickers" and not what they actually are..."crooks".) The amateurs that make mistakes included myself when I was starting out.....though it was more over paying than under paying. But, a glut of over-zealous amateur pickers, with little knowledge about what they are buying, could be detrimental to the trade....and to themselves. If you grossly underpay for something, and fail to recognize that, or fail to compensate for it, there is a high possibility that the word will get around that you "ripped off so and so." It is really easy to get a bad reputation, and takes no work to keep it. It takes tons of work to create a good one, and still much more work to keep it! If you are SERIOUS and really think you can survive the hell that comes along with trying to actually earn a living at this...well, I'll tell ya, it does build character...! You'll have that, once you have been in it awhile, for sure...the stress lines come, the scrapes, cuts, etc, turn to scars, the hair turns grey (or your forehead gets longer).

(b) Going to get hurt going picking in places that hold hidden dangers. If you are from the city, grew up in the city, are rarely ever out of the city and are unaware of the hazards an abandoned farm site holds, DON'T risk your life picking it! I know nothing about old mines, so thus I do not venture into old  mines, unless I have someone with that sort of experience along.

(c) Going to go bankrupt.

(d) Going to have a formerly stable relationship explode into a divorce, separation, etc.

(e) and so on, and so on, and so on...

Ya get the picture yet?

Still fuzzy for some of you?
 
*sigh*
 
Ok, you might want to read my next post to clear the picture up a bit. Ah heck, everyone can read this one...C'mon, take a walk in a picker's shoes...It is sort of "Being John Malkovich" for the picking crowd....