How NOT To Run Your Store!

I was on Facebook this evening, and like many days on there, I was quickly looking over a couple threads on a collectors page. 

What page, items, etc is not important in this case.  

The memory it triggered is the important thing.

Within this little story is a lesson that should resonate for all store owners, especially those of you in the "junk biz". 

Frankly, it doesn't matter if you run a second hand shop, thrift shop, antiques store, collectibles store, flea market booth, operate just a flea market table, run a perpetual garage sale, etc, etc....in any of these cases, PLEASE DO NOT be like the owners of the store I am about to describe!

* * * * * * * *

About 15 or so years ago, a fellow dealer and I were enroute to an antiques show a couple provinces over. We did a little buying along the way, stopping in at the odd shop we knew about or happened to come across.

We tended to looked through the yellow pages, brochures, etc for shops to potentially check out, while killing a little time after supper, sitting in the room at the hotels/motels we'd book into for the evenings.

Anyway, one place we  found, possibly in the yellow pages, we decided to check out.

We finally found the place, and when we walked in we had both thought:

 DAMN, this place is packed!

We have/had very different interests & specialities; John being into high-end glass, "true antiques", quality porcelain, sterling silver, Sheffield plate and that sort of traditional fare,  and I myself was into country antiques, nostalgia, toys, advertising, etc. 

Despite our divergent interests, there was some damn cool stuff within the scopes of both of our fields of interest; scattered all over, mixed in amongst mediocre stuff and a smattering of junky, shelf filler sort of fare.

   

Luckily, pretty much everything in the store was tagged. We hate when things are not priced.

But, there was one odd thing we quickly noticed about the tags.

They only had code numbers on them...not a price!

 We asked about a couple things each, and quickly realized why the place was packed, and still had cool stuff all over....

Every time we asked about the price of an item, relaying to them the number written on the tag, if we could even read it, (considering how faded, dusty, and smudged many of the tags were) the 3 owners of the store (all family, I think) huddled around a stack of semi-loose pages, all dog-eared, stuffed in a book/binder. Flipping through it, and finally selecting a page, presumably connected with the number we gave them, they whispered amongst themselves, furtively looking up at us during their conversation..  

Then, eventually after much whispering, page flipping, and glances in our direction, they would finally quote a price....

Which was easily 3 times what the item was worth....

After going through 3 or 4 of these agonizing episodes, some of which took 10 minutes or so, we looked at each other with eyes rolling and walked out. We have never gone back, and no one we know whom we have told the story to has ever darkened that store's doorstep, purposely, that is.

Now, does this sound like your shop? 

If so, I have some top notch advice you need to consider. 

You have a couple options on how to make money in this sort of scenario....because you sure as heck are not making a single dime right now. 

Option 1: Close and lock your doors. Then, go out and get a  9 to 5 job.

Option 2:  Go outside, tear down your store sign. Flip it over and with a can of spray paint, in big letters, write the following word:

MUSEUM

 Then, underneath that, write:

Admission $1.00  

This way, you might actually make a buck.

Canada's Highway is #1! - Article for The Country Register

The Dust And Dirt Column - As published in the April 2012 edition of the Country Register (Saskatchewan-Manitoba edition)

Canada’s Highway is #1!

As a traveler, the Trans Canada Highway is the route most will likely take as part of their journey.  Number 1, as area residents call it, is an integral part of any place I wish to drive, save for my own property. Well, there is the occasional summertime jaunt next door to neighboring campground’s convenience store, for that ever important ice cream cone!

This is an abbreviated rundown of stops potentially of interest to junkers, antiquers, history buffs, and others thus inclined, while travelling the eastern Saskatchewan/western Manitoba section of #1 from Whitewood, SK to Oak Lake, MB. Use it as a basic guide, and budget time for unplanned stops that make trips memorable! Small towns are full of them when you get looking and asking around!

Let's start at Whitewood, Saskatchewan, home of OLD GEO'S! This museum is entirely owned and operated by George Chopping himself!  George is an entertaining character,  and highly knowledgeable in many areas. I will leave your potential experience at this roadside attraction an intriguing mystery.  Look for Ol’George, usually sporting a beard, and long grey hair under a cowboy hat, to start your adventure!
If you have daylight left after spending the day wandering around Ol’ Geo’s, Moosomin is the next major town on the road. I have not had a chance time to check out their local sites in the last few years.  Make it a stop of discovery, and find its secrets on your own!

Eventually you will arrive at the village of Elkhorn, Manitoba.  Their Antique Auto Museum is a car buff’s drool-fest, featuring many classic, and early, ultra-rare vehicles.  Included under the same roof are other historical artifacts & oddities, including a two headed calf! As well, slip into  Elkhorn and check out "Past & Present Antiques & Gifts." Just the place for shoppers to get their fix!

Twenty minutes east, Virden holds sites including a restored railway station, now housing an art gallery & gift shop. Within a stone’s throw is a circa 1900 underground pedestrian tunnel! Make certain to see the Virden Pioneer Home Museum, plus arrange a tour of the historic Aud Theatre. Explore the town by car to discover many well preserved and restored field stone buildings, among other eye pleasing sights.  Treasure hunters/shoppers will want to stop at "Jam's Used Furniture" on Nelson Street. They carry an ever changing inventory of used furniture, some antique furniture, and a large section of mostly consigned antiques, collectibles and treasures of all sorts. Just across the street is the “Nearly New,” where you may find some good buys. Then, zip less than a block from there to Echo Books on 7^th Ave. Their inventory includes books (obviously!), vintage items, locally sourced crystals/stone, plus other oddities!

A ten minute drive east brings you to the Buzzing Bee Bed & Breakfast, as well as Fedora Antiques & Collectibles. Yes, our place! We hope to get the store (and a country flea market) open in early summer!
 I’ll conclude the list here, as I have tons of work to do before you arrive! As mentioned, this is an abbreviated  list, so my apologies to anyone along the route feeling left out. Know of a stop that fits a junker’s list of interests? Drop me a line!  Note that the editors do restrict my articles' lengths to only a small portion of a page...despite my ability to fill the entire paper!
Happy hunting, folks!

Thrifting As A Professional Picker/Antiques Dealer

Yes, I am a picker, and yes I do go to thrift stores.

 I'm a hardcore picker...I do it all!

And why not?  Thrift shops are sort of like a daily garage sale, but indoors...and when it is -20C outside, shopping in a heated environment is welcome!

When I am out picking, and happen to be cruising through a little town, I keep my eyes open for such places, and take note of them for next time I am in the area. This includes second hand stores, consignment stores, etc, etc. I will stop in and check them out, if convenient, and they are open. If they are closed, I will check for a phone number posted in their window, which is usually an invitation to call and have the proprietor/proprietress open up. Usually, I do weigh the possibilities of the place, my schedule, and will pass of the store if other places in the area that may hold more potential at that moment.

I have done well from such places, especially in more rural areas where many/some/certain antiques & collectibles are/may not be recognized as having value, and not immediately snapped up left, right and center.

Last week, en route to pursue up a lead, I stopped in at one such country thrift store.  I suspect I spent about 3/4 of an hour there, as it was one I have never been in before, so I didn't have a set "search pattern" already in mind as I was looking around.  I left with 3 bags of items, as well as a a few bulky things.

 As part of the $42 (and change) that was spent I acquired some neat items, including:

2 bunches of 100+ year old, glass trade beads. 

 

 Yes, of the type that were used for trading for furs and such during the Fur Trade period in North America. What most people do not know, or not realize is that these were also used for the same sort of trade in Africa and other nations during that period. Being found here, though, their intended purpose was for trade with the native population here, over 100 years ago.

Cost? 

$1.00 for the lot.  (These I have already been sold, by the way...so you won't see them for sale in my inventory.)

These were a fun and cool find, and the oldest item from that buy, but not the most profitable.  I also bought a hand tinted photo, done by a noted, and heavily collected, Eastern Canadian Photographer.  It was $15. My retail price is $75.   Am thinking I may also be able to work a decent trade with a local collector of his works. If not, it will go with me to a show, or maybe it will end up sold at a wholesale price to an eastern Canadian dealer.  Also in the purchase was a painting that may turn out to be of decent value, but am still researching it. 

Also as part of the finds, I bought 2 large, heavy, well made, shallow, bowl like plates....which are actually collection plates.

 No, not "collector plates"... I do mean collection plates, from a church!  They are only from the mid/late 1950, but for $3 each I couldn't leave them there!  

Maybe I can use them in my new picker cult!

Wanna join? 

Toss your $50 bills in this plate please....'cause I need it to go pickin'!

Buying Old Junk - Business VS Hobby - Is That Item Truly A Bargain?

You are going to find that passing up on what you initially see as a bargain, and highly "profitable" inventory is a constant struggle.

Why pass up a 25 cent buy that you are pretty sure is worth $15 in a store?  Well, read on, and you will find out.

Some days resisting the urge to buy every "deal" you see will be far easier than others. If you are like myself, our addiction is the hunt and the big rush we get when we find some cool treasure, especially if it was CHEAP.

 After awhile, like any addiction, it takes something more and more spectacular to give us the same "rush" we crave.

But, when it is a significant part of our income/business, also, we need to temper that treasure hunting addiction with common sense and good business acumen. 

Yes, that ornament is only priced at 25 cents, and it is salable for $15 in a shop or online, but is it truly worth the time? And the cleaning? The supplies you use for cleaning? The time spent on cleaning? Time spent photographing it? Editing the photos?  Listing it online? Fees for listing it online? Emailing and answering questions? Invoicing a final buyer? Packing? An the packing materials? Time spent packing it? Mailing? And the gas to the post office? Time spent standing in line at the post office?  Emailing the buyer to say it is in the mail,and sending tracking info? Customer service after to make sure it arrived and they are happy with it?

A the markup on that item was a theoretical profit of $14.75.  But there is an argument to be made that it actually cost you money to deal with that item. 

So, that 25 cent purchase may well have turned into a loss when you factor into the equation all your other expenses.

I struggle with this daily. I have lots of "low end" inventory.

However, I don't buy that many low end items purposely for resale, anymore. Only the odd quarter from my pocket are spent on an item that is only worth $15.

I have lots of that sort of "shelf filler" already.  But, I still acquire that sort of merchandise for other reasons,  by other methods, an din other situations.

When I am out picking, sometimes spending $5 on a $20 item is what you need to do to get in the door.

Making a pile of quarter priced items at a second hand shop can show I am a serious bulk buyer. Might even eventually lead to the "good stuff" in the back room, and/or make a long time and good contact in that area. Perhaps end up with referrals to some of their sources, for items that are priced too high for them, but are bargain priced in your view.

Local thrift stores I go to, I do spend some of my quarters. Some places are run as money making enterprises in support of charities, and are worth supporting. I'll get my twenty five cents back, hopefully, and end up breaking even (once I factor in the $14.75 worth of expenses I have incurred by buying that item!)

For me, it is sort of the equivalent of any expenditure for items of "pleasure"...like buying a soda at the convenience store, a coffee & donut at the local Timmies (Tim Horton's) , popping it in a video game, dropping it in the coin slot of a slot machine, etc.  IN the case of "in support of such and such charity" thrift stores, it is akin to buying a overpriced giant chocolate bar from the local neighbor kids who are raising money for a new bunch of basketballs.

The difference is that I can write it off as a purchase of inventory.  I slaked a bit of  my thirst for a "score" and made the world a better place for only 25 cents!

That is how I rationalize it, anyway! 

That said, I now pass up more "bargains" than I buy. China and glass items are one of those things I pass up more and more, unless the potential resale value is significant, or it is something I am curious about, and/or  want to research it as part of my ongoing self-education in a variety of collecting areas.  I also do buy the odd thing just as a 3-D reminder of an event, place, etc. A souvenir of that stop, and a bookmark in my memory to stop by there again.

Plus, there are those items I buy solely for some of their "parts". A lamp I can cannibalize for a part or 2 to make another salable. The parts may be obsolete, but still are not intrinsically valuable. Even of they are still available new, it is cheaper and/or more convenient to buy the junk lamp than make a trip to the hardware store, or order it online. Plus, the "patina" of age is already there, and the replaced part of the repair/restoration doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.

I get plenty of the $5 to $25 items in box lots at auctions, etc. Even now that I strictly limit my garage sale purchase, thrift shop buys, etc, those $5 - $25 items still  pile up, and I still need to be careful as to how I deal with them.  My accumulated knowledge means I buy more than the newbie, as I recognize more of those 25 cent items as being worth far more than 25 cents. So, the struggle will be eternal. More you know, the more you can buy, because you see more bargains on the tables than the part-timer standing beside you at that garage sale.

I certainly still do not make tons of money when it is all said and done.  I'd be lucky to make $10 an hour.....which is less than minimum wage, here.   If it was ALL about money, I'd be able to do very, very well with a 9 to 5 job.  Heck, on the "oil patch" in this area, even a kid fresh out of high school can get a job with a starting wage of $25 an hour (+benefits)...PLUS they get a pretty new 4x4 company truck to drive.

However, I am "happy" with what I do.  One of these days my chosen profession and skill set I have created, honed, add to and constantly improve on, will all pay off big....

Or so I hope! 

And now it is time to get back at it. I have a stack of boxes to deal with, full of things with 25 cent price tags. 

Pass me that bottle of Goo-Gone, will ya?