Did You Get A Job Offer From Fedora Antiques? BEWARE! It Wasn't Actually From Fedora Antiques!

There is a new scam going around, and it seems the scammers are using/victimizing various antiques shops across Canada.

Unfortunately, the list includes mine.

Some scammer, based who-knows-where overseas, has created a bogus Gmail address using my shop name. The fake email is fedoraantiqueandcollectibles@gmail.com. That is NOT my email. 

You'll notice it is "antique", rather than "antiques". Usually missing the "s" points towards someone who is not entirely fluent in English.

The scam works like this: The scammer posts a "job offer" on a Facebook group, and the interested parties are sent a "job offer" letter. The one below is what was sent to a potential victim, who was nice enough to send a copy of to me. The scammer has essentially copied various aspects of my website and information to create the bogus letter.

Notice they tried to "official it up" by adding a Canadian Antiques Dealers logo at the bottom. I don't belong to that group, as thy require 80% of your inventory to be true antiques, and my shop does not qualify, as I deal in a wide variety of collectibles and vintage items, also.  

Anyway, you then are "interviewed" over Telegram, and once they give you the "job", you are sent a (bogus) cheque, which you are instructed to deposit, and then use the money to buy Apple Pay gift cards "for customers".

Then I assume the scammer cashes said cards, and is gone with your money.

So, then the victim contacts the real business, expecting to be paid for their work, also not realizing they have been scammed until the cheque comes back to them as uncashable.

I found out about it from two individuals contacting me to find out if the offer was a legitimate one. I delved into the issue, and found out this information I have detailed here.  I also now know I am one of about 5 antiques shops that have been victimized across Canada, though the number is likely higher than 5. Here is an article on one of the business victims.

So, if you ever see job postings for data entry positions, administrative assistant positions, etc, beware that they could be scams such as this, and be aware that the business names being used are just stolen from legitimate honest businesses to give a veil of legitimacy to the scam.

Be careful out there!

New Things are Happening!

So, I have been neglecting the blog, as you can tell, considering my last post was in 2021!  But, I have been active on YouTube since then, so please check it out. You can catch up on all the drama that occurred with the sale of my property and follow my progress in renovations of my new-to-me commercial building. Renovations are still ongoing, as cash flow permits. As I type this, there are electricians retrofitting new LED lighting in the old fluorescents. 

The shop is looking brighter by the minute! 

Also, the latest major event is the launch of my new website, www.fedoraantiques.com! I have been meaning to get a website up for nearly 20 years, so it is about time!  So far, there are a bit under 300 listings already on there, but I am trying to load more on it every week, sometimes daily. 

Blog wise, that is where I will be doing blog posts in the future, though I might post them here as well, haven't quite decided yet. I will be copying older posts from this blog to the website blog, as well as potentially doing fresh ones as inspiration hits, though many end up instead as videos on YouTube, so I suggest following me there. In any case, check out the new website when you have a chance!

Long Time No Post

 

Sorry folks, it has been all too long since I last blogged. 

But, truth is, vlogging and creating videos on  YouTube has taken up the time I would normally be spending blogging here.  It has been tough, actually, as I can't seem to get the hang of how to create views.  I see so many videos with 1000, 10000, 100 000 and more views, with crap content, and wonder what I am doing wrong. 

I am not saying my content is "top quality", but when there are videos of people popping their pimples getting a million views, you have to wonder what the heck is going on when your video gets only 20 views.

It is a strange beast, YouTube. 

The best way to keep up with what has been going on, frankly, is my YouTube.

I will try to blog some over the next while, though I have several projects on the go, not the least of which is the day to day struggle of making a living.  I have a book I really need to get back to writing, on the mysterious man known as "The Mad Trapper Of Rat River", aka Albert Johnson. I do have a FB page about my work on that. 

I also want to get working on a movie/cable TV miniseries idea I have about an antiques dealer, sort of a twisted cross between American Pickers & Breaking Bad. Not so sure how to get started, aside from just writing the story itself, and perhaps publishing it as a book, and hoping a production company wants to do something with it. I have lots of jottings about/on unique characters, ideas, twists, curves and surprises. I suppose I could just write it in a screenplay format, though there is a learning curve there. I imagine it as a screenplay, so that might be the way to go. Still undecided, though I was going to tie into it this evening, but ended up working on this blog posting instead.  Anyone know of a production company looking for unique ideas and would be interested in an elevator pitch? 

Anyway, this posting is starting to get long, so will cut it off there. I do recommend you subscribe to my YouTube channel, and catch up on what is going on currently. 

  

MAY 2020 - Update !

Been slacking off on the blog, and for those of you who follow the blog, I do apologize. Making videos on youtube, or vlogs as they sometimes get called, has been front and center of my 'blogging' activities for the past several months. 

I have been creating weekly update videos, which you can access here. 

There are already over 70 update videos alone there. Most are well under 10 minutes, so you could binge watch them all and see my progress from moving from the old place, buying the new place, and doing renos, and moving in, and progress from there setting up. Still have lots to do, of course. Had to get a living space built from scratch, and technically it still isn't 100% complete, but I am living in the building now.

 Was hoping to monetize them eventually, but now youtube has announced changes that may make that a pipe dream. You used to have to have 1000 subscribers (which is daunting enough to get to), and a few thousand viewing hours on your channel in order to get access to the monetization point, where they put ads and such on your videos, and give you a cut. It is not big money by any stretch (not until you hit a million subscribers, really), but also by that level you do get some perks and features not otherwise available to you.   But, now, if you don;t hit that threshold by June 1st, you won't be grandfathered into the new levels, which apparently will be something like 4000 subscribers and many more viewing hours than before.  With my videos being so short, and with people's attention spans being even shorter, it would have been tough enough to get to the old levels, but now it seems even tougher, almost insurmountable.....Would pretty much need a video to go viral in order to accomplish what seems to be the impossible at this point. I have maybe 75 subscribers now, which has taken many months to get to, so to get another 925 before June 1st seems like an utter impossibility.  

It makes me now doubt the value of the YouTube platform. It is like the "AirMiles" program where they kept downgrading the value of the mileage points you have earned. Just when you think you could afford that toaster with your mileage points, suddenly they  downgraded the points/miles to a level that you could only afford to buy the ballpoint pen with your "miles". 

So, what I am doing may or may not change in the coming few months, as far as blogging and vlogging goes.  We shall see.

Another Update in the New Chapter of Life

So, much has gotten done since the last post. Not as much as I would like, mind you. The whole reno process is slow, with some of the tradespeople doing work, then coming back a week later to complete it. That has been frustrating, especially when one set of tradespeople need the work of another set of tradespeople to be done so they can continue their work....the days and weeks in between have been adding up fast.   

The carpenters have been moving the fastest, though with hunting season upon us, they had to take a week off to go hunting. Oh well, they have gotten the most done, really, and have earned their money.

You can keep abreast of the weekly changes by subscribing and watching the videos here. 

Things are slow as far as the shop storefront is going, as I can't do much until the floors are washed, and without running water I can't get that done. The electricians just got the power going to the pump, and now the pump doesn't seem to be pumping water...so, I still can't call the floor cleaner to come and do the front part of the shop floor.

I had hoped I'd at least be living in the living quarters by now, but these delays are not helping the situation.

Trying to have patience, but my anxiety has been rising with the delays, and watching the money go out far faster than it is coming in. I am not bring in to much as far as income goes, because most of my inventory is packed....and I can't unpack much inventory until the shop gets set up.

 Stuck between a rock and a hard place. But that is where I have to operate for now. Anyways, as I mentioned before, to keep up and current, just catch the videos as they are posted.

Happy pickin'!

Update on the New Chapter of Life

It is now October 17th, 2019. Things are slowly moving ahead. The plumber is here, and has jack-hammered out a section of the concrete floor to rough in the plumbing for my new washroom...at great expense. About $2300 of expense, actually. That is a chunk of my budget, but I guess it is a necessary chunk.

The carpenters, meanwhile, are at a stand still because they are at the point they need to do some more drywall. The electrician didn't finish up the electrical that is needed to be done, so the drywall can't be finished in the living space. A week later I finally had to call to see what the holdup was, and now the guy at their office is checking their schedule to get him back here to finish up. I was also told the worker came by on Friday (when there was storm warnings stating travel wasn't advised & I had a lawyer's appointment in a city nearby at 1:30) and on the morning of which I didn't even receive a call saying he was there needing access.  I guess I was supposed to somehow use my ESP to know he was going to be there....

Communication doesn't seem to be their strong suit.

Anyways, I am hoping/assuming their work is better than their communication skills. They were recently bought out by another firm, so perhaps it is growing pains?

All in all, the progress is slow, and my budget is being eaten away quickly....concerned I will still be left with renovation bills to pay and no money to pay them immediately.  As for sales, it is tough to sell stuff when it is all packed, and you can't open the doors to the public. Online sales via ETSY are slow, maybe 1 - 3 sales a week, and they are usually not significant dollar amounts.

Was really hoping to have some funds left to tide me over the winter, but it is definitely not looking that it will turn out that way. 

So, it is a matter of "sell, sell, sell" again...But, at least my expenses will be lower (assuming my heat bills are not outrageous and nothing pops up that I am not expecting), without a mortgage to pay, lower heat bills, and generally lower monthly expenses.

That's about it for today. As I mentioned before, you can follow the ups and downs of the daily progress by watching my videos on YouTube here. 

Safe picking!

A Fall Post

So, been a busy summer, but not much to blog about....well, actually, there has been lots going on. 

The biggest news is that the property has been sold, and I am no longer the owner of it as of September 30th. 

So, where am I now?

The new property is at 230 Cameron St (AKA North Railway St) in Oak Lake, MB. It is just 5 minutes east down the highway of where I was.  

The building is about 3500 square feet, and I am putting in a living quarters at the back of the building, taking up about 1/5th or so of the building. It is a tiny space, but it will do. As a result of my living quarters being so small, my display space is limited...as a result, I have to divest myself of some of my personal collections. So, that will mean some cool items being put into inventory in the shop!

I also had to let go/abandon approx. $200,000 retail worth of inventory at the property. That consisted all of the outdoor inventory, and a fair bit of what was in the basement; internet inventory, "future" stuff, lamp parts, a pinball machine, a 1890s counter top, a 1960s bar that had soda fountain stools on it (which I had planned to use as my kitchen eating area), among other things that I hated to let go, but really had no choice. The time frame for moving the entire 12 years worth of accumulation was 6 weeks, so I simply did not have the time. I technically didn't have 6 weeks to move stuff, as I had to pack, and find a place to re-establish.  I was lucky to acquire the building I did, despite the amount of reno I have to do to get it up to usable condition. 

If you wish to follow/see the progress from "start" to "now", check out the YouTube videos on my channel, under the heading "New Chapter In Life". You will want to start at Update 1, and go from there.  To keep abreast of new videos, click on the SUBSCRIBE button under teh bottom right corner of the videos.

The videos should update you on what has gone on over the past 7 weeks.....or longer, depending on when you are reading this.

Happy picking!

Update!

Been awhile since the last post, so I figured I better do a little writing. Am delving into doing YouTube videos, and have established a channel, which can be found here.  Trying to do some videos of stories I have, as well as picking videos, magnet fishing videos,  metal detecting videos, etc. 

Haven't been inspired to do any blogging as of late, as you may have noticed. I have been writing some, working on my book on the Mad Trapper. To keep tabs on that, I do have a Facebook page for it that you can "LIKE" and keep an eye on. 

Other than that, just have been trying to make money to cover bills; nothing much different than the norm.   I guess the most exciting thing is my starting to do videos.  It is something I should have started ages ago, but better late than never, right?

There is a learning curve to do the videos...practice, practice, practice. So, the easiest ones to make tend to be the stories, then magnet fishing ones. Some of the stories are contained within this blog, but some are ones I haven't written down, so you may want to check them out! 

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....

Dark Provenance - Nautical Antiques

The first thing you are probably thinking of by the title of this posting are things like shipwreck artifacts. 

That is, artifacts salvaged from a what was a tragedy.

Frankly, that is an area of collecting expertise well covered by collectors across the world. One associate of mine specializes in items with dark histories; and one of his collections includes artifacts from the Titanic disaster.

Someone has to preserve such items, and I have no problem with collections of items from such events, as it is history preservation. 

The items I have a problem with that have a dark provenance tend to have acquired that darkness of history far more recently.

Nautical antiques, from ship lighting, port holes, ship compasses, furniture, bouys, bells, assorted architectural details, and countless other artifacts are sourced from ships that have undergone renovations, or more than likely have literally been broken up and the hulks pillaged and salvaged until there is nothing of value left.

Ship breaking is the source of the vast majority of nautical antiques and collectibles out there today, especially when it comes to 1950s and newer items from these vessels.

Ship breaking is an industry that is undertaken in several countries, and the business of ship breaking  in third world countries is a scary industry; one responsible for horrid working conditions, pollution and environmental damage, horrific deaths of workers...and in some cases slavery-like conditions & use of child labour.

And, with such unregulated and unsafe conditions, how do you know that item you are purchasing is not in some way been contaminated with hazardous chemicals/substances, radioactivity, etc?

So, you may wish to view these two videos before purchasing that neat light, brass ship gizmo, vintage life preserver, etc, and strive to find out the source of that item first.

Ship Breaking in Bangledesh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4cVGWTzKo8 

Ship Breaking in Mumbai, India: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jdEG_ACXLw 

HEY, TV Production Companies! How about a change?

Reality TV has touched on the antiques and collectibles business, but TV production companies are missing a huge market that they should have long since realized exists.

There is obviously a large market for vintage themed reality TV shows such as American Pickers, Storage Wars, and a long list of vintage related shows that are running on assorted networks, not to mention another long list of shows which have come and gone (though some have reached temporary immortality by way of re-runs).

But, we are growing tired of all this "reality"...

Now, it has been established that a substantial market for a vintage themed shows exists, that is obvious.

 But we vintage themed folks also enjoy more than "reality" themed shows. 

We all watch fictional productions, from legal dramas, assorted romantic comedies, other dramas of all sorts, action shows, and on and on...

We are part of the general viewing public, after all.

So, I pose a question to TV production companies out there....

How about a FICTIONAL show about the antiques business? 

Or are we stuck with trying to find and watch reruns of Lovejoy ?

And while we are on the topic of Lovejoy...

Being the writer and general creative sort I am, I have several ideas, including a fairly fleshed out one that is essentially a modernized cross between (now imagine this).....

 Lovejoy and Dexter.  

It would be good my friends, very good...just like the antiques business itself, it would have unique characters galore, twists, turns, shocks, and surprises, not to mention inside information, jokes, etc geared to those in the world of vintage. 


It will be one of those shows where there are times you want to turn away, but just can't.  

So how about it, all you TV execs out there? When do we get our own truly fictional shows?

Future of Collecting - Vintage Tech Hunters

One of the questions on people's minds in the antiques & collectibles biz is what the future holds for the business. 

It is a business that relies on new blood to come to it, and if the same people are the only market, the market gets thin, values plummet. 

Well, change is the way of the world, and changing is what you have to do.

It is adapt or die, really.

One of the areas of collecting that has come in to its own is technology. 

Interest in vintage technology has increased and risen from what could have been considered a niche market for electronics nerds to a mainstream audience.  This rise has been made even more evident by the appearance of a new reality TV show in the marketplace called Vintage Tech Hunters. (Promo reel here)

This Canadian produced show is in the Canadian market (soon to the US market?), and at the time of this blog has had a half dozen episodes aired already. 

The show does keep its premise pretty simple, with hosts Shaun Hatton & Bohus Blahut travelling many miles across the US and Canada searching for vintage tech at flea markets, at garage sales, in old warehouses, etc. 

It is a familiar formula, that seems at first was borrowed from American Pickers. It is far from the first show to utilize a version of the formula, and I doubt is going to be the last, as a successful formula is not something production companies are going to sit and ignore.  It is cut back a little in comparison to American Pickers, resulting in a more streamlined show, which is "lighter" and as a result actually does seem more palatable & appealing in its content to those who are not necessarily into vintage tech.

So, the next time you walk by a vintage video game system, some ancient electric gadget, or that video disc player, think about the money you could well be leaving on the table.

Too Little Too Late - Treasure Found!!

Guess what?

One of the treasures I mentioned in previous blogs has been essentially located...or, rather, there are some researchers/treasure hunters already ahead of me, hot on the trail of the cache.

I mentioned this lead in my posting here.

I can give more details now that there is someone else on the case, and are advanced in their seeking what is literally a mass of over 200 antique weapons, including antique guns, knives, trade axes, etc.!!!

This is a historic find, and literally is a part of Western Canadian History.  Now, due to the location of this find, should I have gone after it and gotten there before the current researchers, I would have been only the finder, not the keeper of this historic weapons find.

Instead of me simply regurgitating information, I suggest you read the article here.

And that is what can happen when you do not follow up your leads in a timely fashion!

Treasure VS Treasure

Treasures.

We all seek them.

As they say, treasure is in the eye of the beholder.

If you don't see an item as treasure, it is not treasure....at least to you.

So, what do you view as treasure?

The Holy Grail?

A childhood toy?

Which would you recognize as treasure?

Would you know the Grail if you did see it in a pile of junk?

Considering no one really knows what the Grail looks like, probably not.

But that toy, laying amongst trash, you would spot it right away.

Maybe lying next to the Grail itself!

The point I am making, if you haven't already figured it out, is that knowledge; the ability to recognize what is "treasure" makes all the difference in succeeding in finding treasure.

Did you know that gold smugglers would melt gold and cast it into day to day utilitarian items?

Horse bits were one of the choices smugglers supposedly used, for example.

In one old treasure magazine I remember reading that a treasure hunter had found what he thought was a gray, painted, cast iron spittoon in an old gold rush town bar...a scratch revealed it was actually solid gold!  A fortune in gold, sitting in plain sight for years!

 Anyway, knowing these bits of information and many more tid bits of information you will learn over the years could be your key to finding true treasure.

If a Picker Quit Pickin', What Would a Picker Do?

What to do.

That is a question that has been on my mind lately. 

Why?

Well, if I couldn't be in this business for some reason or other, what would I do?

How would I make a living?

I would definitely scale down my expenses, which I strive to do as it is. I have higher expenses simply because I am limited as to my selection on places to live, because I need to set up my business somewhere appropriate, somewhere with lots of traffic.

Setting up in some little town in the middle of no-where is not really conducive to long term success, in general.

After the property I am on now is sold, my next location will be visible from #1 highway, pure and simple. The Trans Canada is "the" highway, especially when it comes to the prairie provinces. Traffic going anywhere is likely going to be travelling down the #1.

Thousands of vehicles travel that route daily. It is the busiest thoroughfare in the prairie provinces.

So, establishing a store on #1 is the goal.

But, back to the question, if I couldn't be in this business, what would I do?

I have things I'd like to do.....but what would I do, in the way of making a living?

The scary thing is, I really don't know.

Could I make a living doing the other things I'd like to do?

Perhaps.

I am a writer, so if I had a writing gig of some sort that would actually pay real money, then that is a possibility.

I do have some ideas for screenplays, IE: cable-type shows.

Anyone know of a producer looking for some truly fresh ideas?

What is a picker to do?