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.

Treasure Leads You Can Find

Been awhile since the last post, and being that I am in Facebook Jail (suspended until 5PM today from posting in any groups) for some unknown reason, I thought it would be a good time to blog.

Anyways, treasure leads are easy enough to find, if you know were to look, and how to go about finding them.

For example, during the fur trade era, to my understanding, every capsized canoe belonging to the HBC of bales of furs and goods was recorded.  (I am not sure about the canoes of other companies, nor independent traders.) Those bales of goods and furs are now sitting in the middle of various rivers. Due to the fast moving water in some of these rivers, the bales are sitting on rocks, as the rushing water tends to clear silt away, and the fur bales are packed thus that they remain intact. 

So, theoretically, if you were to search the HBC archives, as well as archives for the North-West company, as well as do a ton of reading of various true fur trade tales, you may well be able to find the location of those lost bales. 

Some time ago there was a Manitoba University prof who that did just that. He ended up diving for one or some of these bales, and recovered at least one, if I am recalling correctly. 

Imagine finding a bale of trade goods, all of which are highly collectible and worth some good money! Even a bale of furs would be a real find, a solid piece of history you can touch. 

So, what are you waiting for? 

Get researching!

Disaster Averted, Not Without After Effects

Averted a major disaster recently.

One that would have resulted in loosing my business and my home.

In desperation I even set up a gofundme campaign.

Here is the text of that campaign, which explains things, shown between the two rows of asterisks:

*************************************************************

I am about to loose my home and my place of business, essentially due to the immoral actions of an insurance company. 

My mortgage is in default solely because I have no insurance, and this far have been unable to secure any that satisfies the bank's mortgage conditions. 

The following is a letter of complaint I wrote to the insurance company, as well as the provincial body that regulates/oversees Insurance companies operating in Manitoba.  I have redacted the names of the company, bank, etc for privacy purposes.  This letter will best explain the actions the insurance company took, which has seemingly also essentially destroyed my chances of getting "Full Replacement Coverage" insurance elsewhere. 

Letter is as follows in bold: 

During a rainstorm in the late evening/early morning hours of a Friday in June 2015, sheerwinds stripped a swath of shingles from the roof of my home. 
This damage resulted in water pouring through the ceilings of the 2nd floor, 1st floor and basement. 

As per is required by the insurance company during such events, I made attempts to minimize the damage by putting down pails, buckets, etc, and moving all items out of the water's path, which resulted in piles of objects in corners of my previously well & neatly organized the living room. 

I worked until the early hours of the morning to do my best to minimize the damage, but of course the water from the torrential rain pouring through my roof caused substantial damage to the interior of my home, as well as caused things to be strewn about the yard. 

Being a Friday, a subcontractor adjuster was sent out from YYYYYYY. The individual proceeded to take photographs of areas pertaining to the damage, and, without my prior permission/consent, also snapped several photos of portions of my home and yard that had nothing to do with, nor was affected by the damage. (She also failed to make a close examination of the other side of the roof, which had also sustained some loosening of shingles, which resulted in aggravated further damage of that side of the roof when a tornado funnel passed over the house about a month later.)

Do note that I was/am going through a divorce, and did have personal items moved into my living space after dividing possessions with my soon to be ex-wife, who had fairly recently moved out. 

Soon after, I got a call from the insurance broker, ZZZZ ZZZZZ of ZZZZ Insurance in Virden, MB, about having to "discuss the policy going forward." 
This discussion was not in actuality a discussion. 

Mr ZZZZZZ stated that *********'s "big guys" and his boss both agreed and decided by the photos that the property was owned by a hoarder, and that if we did not sign off on a voluntarily cancellation of a policy that ********* would do a "company cancel" of the policy and put it on public record that I was a hoarder. 
Do note that this action is the textbook definition of extortion. (ex·tor·tion - the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats. Synonyms: blackmail, shakedown; formal exaction) 

Do note that being a "hoarder" is a clinical diagnosis, and that *********'s people are very unlikely to be qualified to make such a diagnosis, especially such as was undertaken based solely upon photographs taken by a similarly unqualified individual. 

I do happen to suffer from a mental illness, but it is not that of hoarding.  As a result, the action taken by ********* also could well constitute discrimination against; and quite possibly could be considered a violation of the Canadian Human Rights Act. 
Due to the threat, we did sign a document voluntarily cancelling the policy, as we were told by Mr ZZZZZ  that should it be put on public record the policy was cancelled due to hoarding, that we would never be able to get insurance from another company based on that notation. We felt we had no other choice and had to sign under duress. 
Also note that the ARHA (Assiniboine Regional Health Authority) is behind me 100%, and will back me with documentation stating clearly that I am NOT diagnosed as being a hoarder. 

It is our position that several of the photos were taken: 
(a) of areas that had NOTHING to do with the storm damage and were taken without expressed permission 
(b) and were considered/looked upon by employees of ********* and ZZZZZ Insurance completely & utterly out of context (IE: Items stacked in corners of the room to minimize damage during the deluge of water) 

The decision to make a threat of cancellation based on hoarding was stated by Mr ZZZZZZ as having come directly from within ********* Insurance. 
Our position is that due to us having 3 previous claims (all "Acts of God" type incidents beyond our control), ********* was looking for any excuse to cancel the policy, and utilized the baseless accusation of hoarding to force us to cancel the policy. 

After this time, despite the only "voluntary cancellation", I have not been able to get insurance from any company that satisfies my mortgage requirements. All companies seem to find some sort of excuse/reason to say no, or deny the application, some even after having given a quote and saying they would insure. It seems rather suspicious that they all would deny the applications, no matter the company. Oddly enough, ********* quoted on an application put forth through XXXX , only to end up denying the application and further cause issues with getting insurance from any other firm.

As a result, my property is now in Foreclosure due to non-compliance with the Mortgage requirements (not having valid insurance in place) . I am now as a result of the extreme stress *********'s action have caused am suffering from depression, anxiety, and am generally not functioning well in day to day life. 

I may well loose my property to foreclosure due to *********'s actions; actions which were undertaken in such a way that could well be considered illegal under Canadian laws, as well as a violation of the Human Rights Act of Canada.
                                            ******
I have pretty much exhausted all means of obtaining insurance, though there are brokers trying various markets. However, these markets also put my insurance cost at over $6000, figures which will cause a financial strain (ie: wipe out my savings and then some).  By the bank foreclosing, I will loose my home and my sole means of income, which is my antiques, collectibles and salvage business which I operate from my property. 

The only ways to stop the foreclosure at this point is to get insurance (which as I have outlined has proven oddly impossible over the past year) and the other is pay off the remaining balance of the mortgage myself, or by the sale of the property.  The property is up for sale with a realtor for a year so far, but with the market being down with the price of oil (this is "oil country")  there has been no takers as of yet. 
 I have no other means of being able to immediately obtain the  $110000 required to pay off the mortgage, unless the property were to sell. It is listed currently a $300,000.  If the bank forecloses, I fear they will sell it for grossly under market value and then after expenses, (as well as payment of a $28,000  loan for the geothermal heat unit we had installed) will leave me with next to nothing (that remaining  sum which I will have to split 50/50 with my exwife, also).

I am at the end of my rope, so thus I have put up this plea for help.  

If by some miracle things do work themselves out (ie: I end up with insurance (unlikely), I win the lottery (equally unlikely), the property sells for a realistic sum before the bank forecloses (I can only hope)) then the monies will go towards a downpayment on a new location.  Having been self employed pretty much all my life, my credit rating sucks, and thus obtaining a significant mortgage is a daunting task. So, a larger downpayment on a property is an asset.   The property I do have my eye on is under $200,000, and is ideal for my business. 

I/we (the ex and I) have had far more than our fair share of  drama occur in the last 10 years of living here, as well as events that you would find yourself frowning & shaking your head at how much bad luck we have had.... but I will spare you the details, as they are only precursors to all this, and I am not looking to evoke sympathy, I am only looking for empathy and assistance/help.

Even if the final goal is not reached and if I am able to raise more funds myself via sales of inventory that I am undertaking presently, I will utilize the funds to perhaps be able to cover the mortgage that way.   Also, should I actually find some company that will insure the properly, undoubtedly it will be in excess of $6000, so any funds may end up used to help cover the insurance.

***********************************************************

So, what has happened? Well, the very insurance company that caused this problem in the first place ended up giving me insurance again. It was even cheaper than the first policy that we had, oddly enough.

So, anyways, I had been trying to get insurance for the past year, and when the bank finally started foreclosure proceedings, things were looking very grim. Basically, two weeks before the bank would have started procedures for auctioning the property, I got the insurance in place. Sadly, that is not the end of it. I am now dealing with anxiety & depression that still will not go away, despite disaster being averted. 

Here is an "update" from my gofundme campaign that explains a bit of the financial after effects (again, between the rows of asterisks): 

*****************************************************************
Finally some good news! The insurance company that caused this mess has now done a 180 and offered insurance!! So, in the 11th hour this may well come to a positive close. Just some banking/legal stuff to deal with now to pull things out of foreclosure.

Well, the foreclosure will soon be stopped, but the costs have risen...this fiasco will have wiped out my savings, having cost me about an additional $6600 (beyond the $2100 paid out for insurance and $1800 worth of back mortgage payments that they had stopped taking 4 months ago; which of course I just saved up. Both amounts I would have spent anyway, so I am not including them in the total.) The $6600 is made up of over $800 in "temporary fire insurance" the bank put in place and the rest is LAWYER'S FEES! 

Yes, the bank's lawyers require me to pay the legal costs and fees, amounting to the $6600. So, I am not coming out of this free and clear, not by a long shot. This "series of unfortunate events " has cost me more than $6600....as that number does not factor in time and fuel for running around to insurance brokers all over the place, the extreme stress, the $ not made in my business due to the loss of productivity as a result of the anxiety and depression I have had to deal with for a year, and on and on and on. I am reducing the amount of the campaign to $6600 as a result, to try and get somewhat back on my feet financially, and repay the money I had to borrow to top up the amount I needed. 
I'd rather sell you stuff than "beg" here, so maybe just buy lots of cool stuff from me, ok?

***********************************************

Anyway, so that is why I haven't been blogging as of late. Lost the drive, the motivation. 

I did manage to get a pick in, now that that stress is basically behind me. But, I will blog about it in the next post, to give you some relief from the stressful drama you have read above.

Junk Biz Reality TV - Crossroads

I've always thought "The Junk Biz" would be a great name for a reality TV show about the "Junk Business", in which I am so indoctrinated.  Yes, I have mentioned before, that I had the same idea Mike Wolfe did, though years before...and it is unlikely that I was the only picker who had the idea, either! The idea likely predates my birth, Mike's birth, and pretty much anyone who is alive now.

Anyway, I've blogged a bit about the "Junk Biz" related reality TV shows, some of the stars on those shows, ideas for shows, reactions, thoughts, complaints, etc in the past, ever since American Pickers hit the screens of the general public.

No, AP was not the "first" "Junk Biz" related reality TV show, not by a long shot.  Antiques Roadshow pops up in most people's grey matter, and there are several other less iconic ones, as well as others that are/were regional in nature.

AP, however, got the general public interested. Good timing on the behalf of Mike Wolfe, right place and right time, as well as hard work, the right connections made, etc. I doubt it was easy for him to get it going, unlike some of the shows that came after they blazed a trail, which others have tried to follow. Some have had success,  others lesser so, and yet others met a brick wall and faded quietly into oblivion from whence they came. Some deservedly disappeared due to poor content, poor characters, poor execution, and others fell by the wayside due to poor promotion and behind the scenes issues.

As far as Junk Biz Reality TV goes, however, I personally feel we are at; or at least nearing a crossroads....and it is something  production companies should take note of.

Striving for and building on a foundation that promoted longevity is something that production companies seem to be skipping when they put these shows together.   I don't know if it is something they are doing on purpose, out of design, or they are simply not "getting it." No doubt AP will keep going for awhile, as it is "The Original", and "The Original" tends to create its own longevity, despite any flaws that may arise. Some of those flaws are even embraced by fans.  But it is important to note that very same viewership will not necessarily forgive those flaws in any spin-offs!

The public is not stupid....

That especially is so of those who gravitate to, function well; even prosper in the "junk biz." If you can use your alchemy-esque skills to squeeze CASH from what many/much/most of the general public view as trash, well, you obviously have to have some intelligence, don't you?!? 

Many of those in this business are not "University Educated"...but we all most of us know that means little to nothing when it comes to the real world, anyway.  We live in an age when tradespeople make far more than many of those University Graduates sporting costly pieces of framed paper on their walls. 

Heck, storage locker hounds across the US, Canada, UK, and elsewhere have bought the contents of 1000s of storage lockers that have those very costly, well framed diploma's packed in boxes! 

The recipient of those same diploma's lost their stuff because they can't even pay  their storage locker rent.  Guess that $150,000 education is not working out as well as they were lead to believe, is it?

So, over all, much of the viewing public quickly figures out that staged situations are the norm, rather than the exception. The exception should only be due to the requirements of TV, and all the legal issues.  There are many exceptions due to the way media tends to work, so don't get me wrong! 

For those of you unaware, when I refer to the legal issues I mean things like: Model Releases,Liability Waivers, contracts of various sorts, among a host of legal documents related to the making and the participation in any filmed production, not to mention the documents that are meant to zip people's lips until the production airs, etc, etc, etc.

Viewers who are observant, loyal, etc are quickly growing tired of set-up situations, hosts chosen for looks (and/or acting/improv ability, among other assets) rather than their genuine experience in whatever field of the "Junk Biz" being "portrayed", as well as a list of other issues that arise with these productions.  

Lack of experience in those areas shows through. This is a point that has rankled many a junk biz vet's hackles, not surprisingly.

However, the shows have spawned more participants in the "junk biz"....and they have figured out on their own who is real and who is not, comparing notes using their own experiences. They quickly come to a conclusion that things depicted are not all that realistic.

They think to themselves:

 "Who can make a living paying $75 for something, then sell it for $100?  Oh, sure, I can...but not if I hold on to that item for more than an hour....and I sure can't pay to have it shipped across the country first...and then pay an auctioneer a commission after it is sold."

 Certainly it does not take a genius to figure out the viability of that as a living. 

"Reality" is a misnomer....but then again, the show "Survivor" does not depict what many people think of as truly "surviving" either.

The viewers of Junk Biz TV now include those who are not vets, but they are educated in the junk biz. They started not so long ago, maybe 5 years, 4 years, even 2 years ago.

However, from the comments, forum threads, "shop talk", junk biz grapevine gossip, and all the junk biz regulars' tired sigh (accented with rolling eyes) when hearing a show/character's "tag line" at a garage sale they are attending, I'd say we're at a crossroads. 

It seems more and more Junk TV fans/viewers are ready to move on to more intelligent, less staged, fare.

So, where does this leave the "Junk Biz" as far as Reality TV?

I'll give you my thoughts...

***Insert/imagine suspense-inducing music here!*** 

In my next blog posting!