How to Be an Antique Picker

So many people are looking for work these days that the market is flooded. Sometimes you have to move off in another direction to make ends meet. Many people have turned to eBay and other web sites to try to make a little extra cash to keep food on the table. eBay has left many of those people in the dust as it courts the big companies with big bucks selling TVs, Xboxes, Computers and the like. Compound that with the fact that the “eBay Craze” has brought far too many people into the market with Granny’s old dishes and prices have generally tanked. But there still is a way!

Long before eBay, there were pickers. These were, and still are, the folks who spent their weekends trolling the alleys and residential streets looking for cheap or throw always they could scarf up and turn to profit. You can do it, too! There is a ton of money to be made with little investment other than time. Let me say at the outset that in this business, like many others, knowledge is king. The more you know, the more money you can make. But you don’t need a lot of knowledge to get started. And there is a huge amount of help available. Pickers scour yard sales, auctions, estate sales, the dump and any likely place to find something that they can sell. If you have several items on hand,you can begin to turn them into cash.

Clean your items to make them as presentable as possible. Dust most things with a damp cloth, but note that not everything should be cleaned. Silver should be polished, silver plate, too, though gently. Glass and pottery should be cleaned. Wood products generally should be cleaned with a damp cloth. Let the buyer polish as she will. Swords, guns, and other metal objects should be left to the buyer’s discretion.

Research them to discover exactly what they are, their retail value, how much you paid ( no more than 50% of what you plan to sell it for) Yard Sale items are the cheapest, usually, but competition can be fierce and you can get your feet stepped on. Country auctions are more expensive, though a few sleepers can slip through. Estate sales can be a good source, though generally are priced fairly high

Offer your items for sale: Consider eBay, though prices there for more common items has dropped recently. eBay has begun to cater more to the big dealers of new products, but you can still sell your wares there if you are careful. Consider making your own website. Sell to dealers at wholesale prices. You will make less per item, but with fast turn over so your money can really work for you. Rent a space in an antique mall. Make sure the space is well lighted and (hopefully) in the midst of the traffic and not off in some lonesome corner. Overhead in a mall space increases, but you can sell your better items there easily with a minimum of hassle. Try to have your items be just a bit better than the competition’s.

Remember to keep track of the miles you drive, the cost of your goods, the additional costs of doing business, get some books to help you learn about the antiques in your area. Price guides are a great help to give you the high end prices of perfect samples.