How to make money on antiques: useful tips. Sales of antiques
Vladimir, what does an antique dealer do anyway?
At first glance, the work of an antique dealer is very boring. You sit in a stuffy shop, sort through dusty things, rummage through books and catalogues. For a long time and - to the best of your ability - you convincingly explain to people that a coin in which someone has punched a hole with a nail is worth nothing, but pre-revolutionary porcelain is unlikely to be bought at the price of plastic mugs. Sometimes (though very rarely) you manage to find something really worthwhile, and then find a person who needs it, and even listen to his sincere gratitude.
To imagine our work, you can actually watch TV. There are a lot of good reality shows - for example, Pawn Stars or Total Sale. Or absolutely wonderful movie The Best Offer with Geoffrey Rush. Here you need to understand that interesting does not mean truthful, and real is rather routine.
What do you need to know and be able to do to become an antique dealer?
In a nutshell, everything is very simple:
you need cultural background, knowledge of history and the ability to get along with people.
And the details won’t even fit on the page: external features silver, copper, bronze, cupronickel and other materials, demand for different types goods, specific types of counterfeits, legislation of the Russian Federation, huge amount marks on porcelain, silver, signs or weapons, the differences between engraving and lithography, which stones are suitable for specific zodiac signs, the geography of the Middle Ages, the ethnography of Asia and Africa, a foreign language (or better yet, a couple) and much, much more.
What pros and cons do you see in your profession, what brings you special joy in your work?
The main difficulty of the profession is that all price risks fall on you personally. In other types of trade, everything is more or less clear: there is the cost of goods, market prices, product range, trade margin and so on. And here most of the items are unique. Even a coin issued in a million copies may have its own specifics (mint, defect, condition, etc.). Almost every transaction is individual, but the decision must be made very quickly. And the extent to which this decision is correct means whether this transaction will bring you profit or loss.
Let's add a huge number of fakes of any antique things - from paintings and sabers to coins and banknotes. Let us also remember the various offers to antique dealers of nickel silver under the guise of silver, brass under the guise of gold, etc. (sometimes not because of greed or cunning, but out of naivety or ignorance). For example, my colleague not long ago bought 4 samurai swords, which were not cheap at all, but turned out to be an absolute, 100% fake. A lot of money just melted into thin air!
It turns out that there is so much adrenaline in your work! What is the difference between an antique dealer and a junk dealer? Are there many antique dealers in the country now and is there a difference between Russian and foreign antique dealers?
An antiquarian is almost Saint Peter, only for things. Decides who is worthy of heaven (up to the museum), and who has a place in the home closet of memories (and then, in the best case).And the junk dealer works precisely from the second category: what forgotten, unnecessary, old and dirty things can be bought cheaply and resold at a little more expensive.
Famous chervonets. The legislation of that time required that the issue be at least 25% backed by gold and foreign exchange reserves. Therefore, chervonets were expensive money: loaders received one banknote of 25 chervonets for a team of 10 people for their work. And “to exchange money they bought large quantities of wine” (from the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions report)
Probably, one cannot generalize and contrast antique dealers as “ours” and “foreign ones.” All people are different. But examples where this is a family business of about two hundred years old can often be found “there”, but in our country almost all antique dealers are in the first or second generation.
Sellers and buyers of antiques, what are they like?
It must be admitted that approximately 40% of the people with whom you have to communicate are marginalized, for whom the value of a thing is not in its history or even price, but in the ability to convert it into hangover relief. As for buyers, there is no universal portrait: they are students, financiers, workers, clerks, pensioners, military men, police officers, and traders. There is only one thing in common: passion and a complimentary attitude towards history.
Where to study and how to make a career in such an unusual profession?
It seems to me that there are no universal recipes.
I remember a sauna owner I knew decided to open an antique salon. I decided and opened it. I just wanted to. A common example of the fact that owning an antique salon does not make a person an antique dealer.
As for me personally, I have - I dare to think - quite good history education and some collector experience. Novosibirsk Akademgorodok has greatly increased its cultural baggage. There is only one piece of advice: that’s it free time read, listen, watch, touch, compare. In general, study, study and study again.
But you will have to forget about your career. There is only one option: get a job as a salesperson somewhere, and then (after a couple of years) get some training and open your own shop. And that's the ceiling. Even if there are then two or five shops (which is rare), the essence will not change. At the same time, one must understand that such work takes a lot of time: not when it is convenient, but when necessary; They can call at 11 pm and 8 am. Such voluntary slavery.
Bouillonette. Silvering. 19th century Birmingham.
Have you had any experiences in your practice? funny incidents or funny stories?
There's not much to laugh about here. Today, the average cultural baggage is simpler and lighter than ever. “Boris Godunov? No, I haven’t heard of that.” "But this one bearded man(L.N. Tolstoy) I recently saw on TV.” As an alternative - genuine information about Tartary, the gold of Kolchak and Ermak, Hitler's flying saucers, the dangers of black magic in African masks, etc.
But there are persistent myths in people’s minds that we have to sadly debunk every day. For example, the myth that any pre-revolutionary icon costs a lot of money. This is not always the case. You may have a lithograph or a “wire rod” - a gray icon - on tin, made in a factory. And even a postcard.
Now there is a crisis, and the old thing may support the budget until it goes back to work. What do you recommend looking for in chests, attics and mezzanines?
Now we are again returning to the fine line between an antique dealer and a junk dealer: everything costs money, but travel to the antique dealer’s shop and back will cost more than a penny from 1916 or the famous ruble with Lenin. But the chances of finding “things of Nicholas II” are not enough. And within this range lies the work of an antique dealer. But there are, of course, “universal” things: porcelain, silver, paintings, military paraphernalia, etc., which do not age, but enhance memories of the past.
Vladimir, thank you for the interview. We wish you more interesting clients and unique things!
KEEPER OF ANCIENTSThere is no description of this profession in a single classifier: the specialty “antique dealer” cannot be studied at any state university. Nevertheless, antique dealers themselves exist, and “antique shops” still create the flavor of the historical part of the capital. This difficult craft paradoxically combines commercial calculation and the passion for collecting art. What is he like as a modern connoisseur and dealer of antiquities?
On Old Arbat I go into a small shop with a sign and a display window that once fashionable style"Empire" The smells of European-quality renovation are intricately combined with the aromas of a bygone time: collectible baguette and centuries-old dust. Having learned about the non-commercial purpose of my visit, a middle-aged man dressed at home introduces himself: “Andrey Ratnikov, owner, and during the employee’s illness, salesman.” The expensive antique gold watch on his wrist does not fit with his modest image of a museum employee or a scientist.
– Andrey, how did you get into the profession of antiquarian?
- Accidentally. I had a grandfather famous architect. Inherited from him large library, several paintings, antique things: vases, boxes, porcelain figurines. I then dreamed of having my own car. I decided to sell my inheritance, but I didn’t want to do it for next to nothing through second-hand sales. I had to immerse myself in this world: visit antique shops, meet collectors, study literature, catalogues. In the end, he sold the things for maximum profit, and instead of buying the coveted car, he bought new antique trinkets for resale - it took a while. For a long time antiques remained for me additional source income. Then, on a recommendation, I got a job as an appraiser in one of the stores. Gradually he collected his “current” collection - and opened his own business.
– What qualities should a future antique dealer initially have?
– Our profession stands at the intersection of trade and passion for collecting art. To sell antiques, they need to be “sick”. Real antiques professionals are fanatics, ready to travel to distant lands to look at some painting or dish, not knowing for sure whether it is genuine or not. Our product is specific, complex - to work successfully in this market, you need professional flair, and this is a gainful business. In everyday work, patience and knowledge of psychology are required. You must always look convincing, intelligent and positive.
– Who are your customers? Exceptionally wealthy citizens?
– Basically, these are people who really love antiques and are very knowledgeable about them. Today, every serious collector has his own trusted antique dealer, who forms his collection, cuts off extra people and blocks “access to the body” for outsiders. Regular clients, whom you can call when you receive one or another interesting thing - this is a golden fund, but for buyers “from the street” there is always something to offer if you understand in a conversation what a person is interested in.
– How do you obtain antique goods?
– Each antique dealer has his own techniques and connections, developed over the years. Someone advertises in the newspaper: “I will buy expensive antiques - furniture, icons, books, dishes,” and places guys on the streets and in the subway with signs. In the 80s, the type of “Moscow grandmothers”, in whose houses wonderful family heirlooms were preserved, had not yet become a thing of the past. It was big business. Nowadays you can’t get serious things by advertisement. They carry mostly things of conventional value, a remake or, as they say among antique dealers, “bullshit,” a “replica.” Our market is very narrow, everyone knows each other - a lot is decided by a recommendation: they advise you to contact me, knowing my specialization in paintings of the Russian school, I refer you to other antique dealers in dishes and bronze. I don’t take everything myself.
– Does it happen to buy goods at art auctions?
- Extremely rare. There are no serious guarantees at our auctions, and prices are outrageous. Many antique dealers use the services of familiar dealers who travel to Europe to buy goods. Especially in the Scandinavian countries - the markets there are not as luxurious as in France, but the prices are an order of magnitude lower. They bring auction catalogs: we choose what interests us, decide how much we can pay for it. And they move on.
– How is the brought item valued? Is it possible to correctly evaluate a thing without receiving a special art history or museum education?
– I can’t imagine how anyone can teach to love and understand art? If you don't have a special artistic streak, you can't deal with antiques. For professionals higher education no need. We need to make decisions quickly - theoretical knowledge will not help here. The practice of aesthetic communication with an object is important: when you hold in your hands hundreds of things from a particular era, style, school, experience will come commercial valuation. IN difficult cases you can involve specialist appraisers in the case.
– How does the price of a piece of art come about? How objective is the assessment of an antiquarian?
– Each item has several prices: dealer, customer, insurance, collection. A serious item goes through several dealers before reaching the last hands, that is, reaching the final price. The main thing for the seller is to feel the situation of the item, evaluate its condition, and, of course, maintain courage. After all Experienced antique dealers make money not from sales, but from purchases - professionalism does not lie in “selling” the client something at exorbitant prices, but in buying a worthwhile item cheaply. If you know how to discern value that others have not noticed, and know who might want it, you will never end up at a loss. The item must meet the client's expectations.
– How long does it take for goods to be sold?
– Most often, you know right away who to offer it to. But some goods sometimes sit for years. If an item doesn’t sell for a long time, you trade it with someone. In the end, there is a buyer for everything.
– What does it look like in your profession? career growth?
– This is more than a conditional concept.
A salesperson could be placed on the first step of the ladder. With the caveat that in this position a person must already have certain experience, be part of a certain circle, and most importantly, get recommendations: no one will let a person from the street near their product.
The position of an appraiser is almost exotic; what goods to buy and what price to put it up for is decided, as a rule, by the store director - a trusted representative or relative of the owner of the antiques.
The director has all the information on clients and suppliers.
I can definitely say that the top step in the antique hierarchy is the owner own business - it doesn’t matter whether it’s big or small.
– So what is an antique dealer – a profession or a way of life?
– As they said before, the keeper of antiquities, a bygone time that involuntarily evokes a response in the soul. You want to part with the item quickly, but you still admire every item that comes your way. “Tears of Things” is priceless to me.
1. Strictly speaking, there is no special antiquarian education. Nevertheless, in the profession, people who have graduated from Stroganovka, MGAHI (Surikovka), the history department of Moscow State University, and gemologist courses at the Moscow State Geological Prospecting Academy (in connection with the assessment of precious stones) are valued. Several years ago, the Gelos Institute opened in Moscow under the same name. auction house, which trains antiques experts, dealers, and auction sales specialists.
2. The salary of a beginning antique dealer corresponds to the salary of a university graduate without work experience in an “average” company - $300-500 per month with bonuses based on sales results. The total runs up to about $1000. An experienced salesperson can earn $1,500 per month or more. The director's salary, of course, depends on the store's profit, and the income of the business owner is generally a trade secret.
Grigory SOLDATOV
vacancy.ru
What can often be made from garbage with the right information good income, I knew. Some stories from my experience, but the book was positioned not as fiction but as applied, as a manual or self-instruction manual. But as they say, the reality was different. Yes, there are a lot of hackneyed truths, for me, a person who is a little in the subject. Yes, there are some very “childish” tips, but overall this book is really a guide to practical action. And not only in terms of antiques trading, but simply management (I speak as the head of a small company). There are a number practical advice which are applicable not only in the antique business but also for the vision of business as a whole. But just general thoughts on antiques with a slight bias towards investment numismatics. But this is understandable, the author is an expert in this direction and it is closer to him, as well as coins made of precious metals, probably the most understandable and profitable segment of the antique market, which stands at the intersection of creativity and earthliness, antiques and business. Coins have a circulation and value even in scrap metal, but in addition to this there is also a component from time and historical events. What else, in my opinion, is interesting is the author’s attempt to show business from different sides - these include conservative methods, such as working with the population and scouring flea markets, and ending with new technologies - selling via the Internet and “time management”. This book will not teach you to distinguish a "Red Girl" from a "Mstera", or a Castle from a Lancere. This book is more of a textbook on management and new technologies in the antique business. You can become an antique dealer only on the basis personal experience, studying highly specialized literature, communicating with colleagues and museum workers, as well as visiting exhibitions and museums.
If we talk not about generalities but about specifics, I would like to note that after reading it you may get the mistaken opinion that becoming an antiques seller is easy. But from my own experience of communicating with many dealers, I can say. Becoming a successful dealer requires a lot of work and a special flair and necessarily artistic taste. Few achieve success; most remain at the lower level. It's like trying to become a chef by reading "The Book of Tasty and Healthy Food." You can learn how to cook your own breakfast, but it’s unlikely to become a chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant.
Yes, many tips and recommendations are superficial, but this book is not trying to become a comprehensive textbook, it gives impetus for your further self-education and search for answers. And most importantly, it gives you the opportunity to test it in practice. Take action, try, make mistakes and everything will work out for you. Therefore, I would still recommend reading this book. Most importantly, the book is written in simple language and very intelligible. After reading it, you will find something new for yourself even in those areas that you know, not to mention those areas that are new to you. Therefore, I personally look forward to Vitaly’s new books.
How to become an antique dealer. I buy junk and sell antiques. Already on sale! November 23rd, 2013
Dear friends, colleagues, readers of this blog!
I am pleased to inform you that the book “How to become an antique dealer. Buying garbage - selling antiques” has been published.
Here she is, white as a swan, lying in front of me and smelling of fresh printing ink.
What is this book about?
This book is the first collection practical recommendations on trade in antiques in Russian.
It reveals:
- all the secrets of creating an antique store;
- recommendations for promoting an online store;
- subtleties and pitfalls of international auction activities;
- safety when trading antiques;
- implementation of a guaranteed pension savings program.
This book, on 320 pages, systematizes all my experience in antique activities over the past 30 years, and presents it in the most detailed instructions, schemes, templates and technologies for turning knowledge into money.
For ease of use large number recommendations are organized in the form of 300 tips, they are highlighted with an icon and numbered.
The book contains 30 color illustrations and many drawings explaining the meaning of a particular chapter.
At the end of each chapter there is a list of recommended literature on this topic.
Much attention is paid to the use of modern information technology in the antique trade.
The bonus applications contain a table of the gold content in the main investment gold coins of the world, which is very useful for the activity of an antique dealer.
After reading this book, you will learn to understand the main areas of antique activity, turn old “raw objects” into antiques and objects of art. You will also learn to correctly determine the goals of your business and subordinate them to your life style.
But the most important thing is that even before you read this book to the end, you will already receive a guaranteed profit from implementing the recommendations given in it.
There is nothing more necessary in life than an idea that comes to you at the right moment. I am sure that reading this book will give you more than one fruitful idea!
You can order this book in the online store COININVEST.com.ua
Its price is 149 hryvnia (USD 19) with FREE delivery in Ukraine and CIS countries!
If you dream of having your own antique store, read this book and you will succeed!
Many who are interested antiques, understand them or collect them, want to know how to make money from it. Antiques is a branch of business in which you can earn significant money, the main thing is to be patient, since such a business works for the future and requires not only an investment of effort, money, but also time. But if you have enough patience, you can achieve great success and high incomes.
How to make money on antiques and antiques
Before you start earning money, you need to acquire knowledge that will help you distinguish between fake antiques, correctly assess the value of an antique item, etc. This can be done in courses offered by universities and others educational institutions. Unfortunately, such courses do not offer budget places, only a commercial basis, but treat this fact as the need for your first investment in business.
If you have acquired the necessary knowledge and skills, get a job as an appraiser in an art gallery or antique shop. At the first stage wages It will be small, but experience will be gained, connections will be made, and a reputation will be earned. In the future, all this will allow you to become a private appraiser.
Save money and buy valuable items yourself, which over time can be sold for several times more. Of course, it won’t be possible to make a profit soon, but if at the moment you do not need funds, then antiques are one of the the best ways investments of funds in order to preserve and increase them.
Cooperate with customers, fulfill their wishes. For example, customers often know what they want to buy, but do not know where to buy it. The appraiser must not only evaluate antiques, but also be able to effectively collaborate, study the antiques market, supply and demand. For organizing the transaction, the antique dealer also receives monetary reward.
Open own store to make money on antiques. It is not necessary to open a real salon; you can open an online store. This will help save on personnel, renting premises, etc. The site should be developed for buyers from all over the world, therefore it should provide for the availability of versions on different languages.
You can choose any type of income that you consider most suitable for yourself. If there is no desire, commercial vein, but you want to make money on antiques, then it is not at all necessary to open a store; you can secure a high income for yourself with a private appraisal.
