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So, you want to sell Asian antiques?

 
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Greeno107
 Greeno107
(@greeno107)
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Joined: 5 years ago
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Topic starter 16/09/2021 10:39 am  

I’ve decided to hold off just a bit on my estate sale post (sorry), in part because of my deep belief in the philosophy that you must learn to walk before you we can run (E.L. James).

 
So, for this discussion I’d like to make a few bold statements:
 
1. If you’re going to make money selling things (Chinese antiques or home computers… doesn’t really matter), then you need to learn how to buy at a price that allows you to make a viable profit.  This is what those in the biz call, ‘buying right’.
 
2. No matter what someone tells you (expert or otherwise), the only way to know what something is worth is to sell it, and the market will assuredly tell you (I prefer ‘teach’ you) the truth about an item’s worth.
 
3. What we value can (and often is) vastly different than what others value, and as a ‘seller’ you need to recognize how to differentiate the two if you want to succeed.
 
Allow me to offer up a little background on myself before delving into specific practices…
 
I’ve mention before that I came from a family without wealth, and without any interest in antiques or art.  Let me add that nobody in family had any business experience nor money sense (you sort of need money to manage money).
 
However, I was a bit different than family in that during my childhood I always was coming up with business ideas to make a few bucks (my dad called them schemes), and in my 20’s I developed an interest in Japanese woodblock prints (but I never sold any until my 40’s).
 
My situation changed dramatically after taking a temp job for a bank call center turned into a 10 year career ending as a commercial banker in Palm Beach.  
 
And what I learned came from interacting with hundreds of successful and failing businesses, and having the privilege to see every aspect of how their businesses worked, and how the owners made business decisions. It was a very insightful experience.
 
The lessons I gained are applicable in every area of business, including selling antiques. 
 
So, while my post may seem very anecdotal, that these are just my personal experiences and not necessarily true for everyone  (and they are my personal experiences), please take my word that my knowledge is borrowed from much smarter and successful people than myself.  
 
I’ve only applied it to the field of Asian art and antiques, but honestly, you could take these ideas and use them for selling ANYTHING!
 
So, let’s dive in with the first step at becoming  successful at Asian antiques - buying right!
 
Logically, a beginner will ask a very good question - How do I know what to buy if I don’t even know what is genuine and what is reproduction?
 
So, my first bomb shell belief - you don’t need to know if an item is genuine or not to start buying to resell, but you should keep a very thrifty budget, and you’ll need to learn if your personal sense of value is inline with those of your buyers.
 
How do you do that?
 
Start with your budget.
 
What can you afford to loose each week on lottery tickets and still feed your family and pay your bills?  That should be your budget in the beginning.  
 
Mistakes made at this stage are necessary, but the price (your tuition) needs to have no significant impact on the quality of your life - I’m not trying to cultivate gamblers, here.
 
Secondly, and very importantly, you need to teach yourself to buy at a price that allows for profitable reselling.
 
How?
 
1. Go to a thrift store.
 
2. When you see an item that looks ‘sellable’ based upon your current personal level of knowledge and experience, ask yourself what you would pay for it?
 
3. Pick up the item and look at the actual price.
 
If you’re a cheapskate like me, you’re going to find that a lot of thrift store items are over priced.
 
But, if the actual price is lower than your personal estimate, then you’re ready for the market test- put it up for sale on EBay!
 
 
LET ME BE VERY CLEAR - If you’re not 100% sure of what your selling, then don’t make claims of it being ‘antique’. Your reputation matters for future business success, and the lure of additional profit from a false claim won’t be enough to make it worthwhile in the long run. 
 
Fairly represent what it is you are selling with an honest description and good photos that show the item in its true nature (showing highlights and defects).  If you don’t know the age or if it’s a reproduction, say so. 
 
Your buyers, especially experienced buyers (your target audience) will know what is real and what is not, and their offer price will be the best indication as to authenticity.
 
Overtime you will acquire experience that will help you to differentiate genuine from reproduction AND (VERY IMPORTANTLY) having the knowledge to differentiate genuine from reproduction will make you a more successful seller, both by reputation and by quality of products demanding higher prices, but it takes time.
 
Early Tim (who knew almost nothing about Asian antiques) bought from thrift stores at extremely low prices (nothing over $10), and and if sold for a dollar more, I made money.
 
Depending on how much profit I made or lost , I could gauge how much to spend the next time.  For instance, If I saw the very same item again at a thrift store, I could adjust my purchase price up or down, and be more confident that there was profit to be made.
 
As you accumulate successes, its natural to want to increase your budget - and you should… carefully!
 
I suggest you set up a cash reserve for your initial investment of purchases, and never spend more than 10% of the reserve on any single item.
 
So, if your reserve is $200 that you’re willing to invest in purchases, then don’t spend more than $20 on any single item.
 
Items break, get lost, turn out fake, or get stolen during the process of a sale.  You don’t want to loose your entire working capital because you went all in with every dollar you have in just a single piece.
 
So, now that your on your way to buying right, let’s take a look at the 700 pound gorilla in the corner of the room- valuations / appraisals.
 
With all do respect, an appraisal of value is pretty much good for insuring against loss or theft, but has some real challenges in the seller’s matket.
 
First, if you’re not selling right away, the market volatility on Asian art is fairly significant, so 1 year after your appraisal, you’re probably going to have a different value.
 
Next, the Asian art market is quite huge, but still finite. So the identical twin of an item that sells for $1000 last month, might sell for only $500 this month because there is one less buyer looking for that piece.
 
And finally (and quite commonly), if an item is conservatively appraised based upon past results, and a renewed interest in the current market results in a sale many times over the estimate, then while we can celebrate the success of the sale, we also have to acknowledge the appraisal really didn’t add value.
 
Value appraisals do have their place, but it is far more important to invest time and money buying authenticated pieces using the ‘buying right’ technique detailed above than getting every item you buy appraised.
 
At the end of the day, the market is only going to pay what the market demands… not a penny more, and not a penny less.
 
The final part of this process deals with developing an understanding of market taste…you need to know what the market wants to buy, and not just buy what you like, if you want to buy to profitably resell.
 
A retired antique dealer that I use to buy some great stuff from, also loved buying cork carvings and would buy any that he came across.
 
Now, he had some spectacular carved cork landscapes, and tons of them!  But, 20 years have past and I still don’t see Christie’s opening their New York Asian Week with a single cork carving!
 
Do not confuse your hobbyist-level interests with the business end of buying and selling Asian antiques and art!
 
Everything is art?  No it is not. 
 
It’s genuinely old, so it has value - not true. 
 
Yes, taste is subjective, but when their is wide spread acceptance that a style or item excels above others in a similar group, we need to recognize it for what it is, and  reject those that attempt to copy it.
 
A ‘revival’ is widespread acceptance, and should not be confused with reproduction for mere profit.
 
To be anything short of brutally critical of art and antiques allows reproductions to devalue the genuine article, which in time could destroy the industry (some might argue this has already happened).
 
In close, let me tell you one more anecdote.
 
I am a fairly accomplished aquariumist, and managed several stores in my late teens.
 
These stores sold guppies and goldfish for a dollar or two, but they also sold saltwater angelfish upwards of $700.  
 
From a business standpoint, the sale of a $700 angelfish was exciting, attracted new clients into the trade, and certainly gave the business the appearance of being ‘experts’ in the field.
 
But, when it came to making money, the store sold a hundred times more guppies and goldfish - that was the bread and butter that kept the business profitable because there were 1000 times as many viable buyers.
 
The same is true for selling Asian antiques and art.  However, no matter how long you stay in this business, the three practices I’ve laid out should be tools you keep sharp and at hand for continued success.
 
Hope everyone finds a nugget of useful info in this article.
 
Thank you for indulging me!
Tim

   
Brian Crowe, Short Dong, Yin Hall and 7 people reacted
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Shinigami
 Shinigami
(@shinigami)
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Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 4690
16/09/2021 1:14 pm  

Though there are no antique malls, no thrift stores or estate sales in my country, I like reading your articles, there’s a lot of wisdom and also much to learn in them. Thanks a lot!
btw did you get my mail concerning the shipping of the vase?

Birgit


   
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Greeno107
 Greeno107
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Topic starter 16/09/2021 1:19 pm  

@shinigami I don’t see your email. I also don’t see the email I sent you with the tracking. Let me resend it. Just confirm receipt off forum and any other questions… weird.


   
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Greeno107
 Greeno107
(@greeno107)
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Posts: 2875
Topic starter 16/09/2021 1:25 pm  

@shinigami Just resent tracking with pics of the form and receipt.


   
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 Thomas Johnson
(@thomasumjohnson)
Honorable Member
Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 382
16/09/2021 2:10 pm  

@greeno107 Interesting..   I go by - assume it's a fake and pay less than it would cost as a fake.   As long as you can put it back on the market and at the very least, get your money back, you'll be fine.  Also buy what you like.  Worst case scenario is you get to keep something you regard as beautiful.


   
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Greeno107
 Greeno107
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Posts: 2875
Topic starter 16/09/2021 4:38 pm  

@thomasumjohnson That’s a common method- to buy what you like.

I know dozens of broke antique dealers with houses full of stuff they can’t sell who use that method.

I just think there’s a better method if you want to A) make money and B) grow your aptitude for buying better/more valuable items. 

in the end, it’s an individual choice.


   
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Brian Crowe
 Brian Crowe
(@lotusblack)
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Posts: 4116
16/09/2021 5:57 pm  

@greeno107 do you have a store site you are selling on?


   
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Greeno107
 Greeno107
(@greeno107)
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Posts: 2875
Topic starter 16/09/2021 7:45 pm  

@lotusblack No, not for some time, but I cut my teeth on Ebay, and I highly recommend it for both learning the trade and making a decent supplemental living. 


   
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William Huvar
 William Huvar
(@william)
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Joined: 4 years ago
Posts: 636
17/09/2021 6:48 am  

@greeno107 

“Buy what you like…” only works if one is born with an eye for quality.  I have never met such a person!


   
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Shinigami
 Shinigami
(@shinigami)
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Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 4690
17/09/2021 9:12 am  

I think „buy what you like“ is meant for collectors like me who don’t sell. It means that you live with the items for many years so only buy what gives you pleasure each time you look at it.

For example Japanese porcelain might be a promising field where money can be made but I don’t get warm with the style so I don’t collect it.

One can also get tired of countless Republic ladies with children. So in that field the more unusual topics appeal to me like people in contemporary 1920s clothes. That’s just an example of what „buy what you like“ means to me personally. 

Birgit


   
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Short Dong
 Short Dong
(@short-dong)
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Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1546
17/09/2021 10:41 pm  

@greeno107

In what way do changes in interior design and fashion effect the way you might view  a certain catagory of items. For example Japandi has recently just popped up as the new interior design style. It is being pumped now by magazine, designers,influencers and stores are advertising it. I am not sure who creates these crazy idea's or how they are marketed and distributed but Japandi as mental as it sounds is now a thing. How might something like this effect what you might procure for later sale. 

Japandi interest me as I collected a big bunch of Japanese Satuma Kyoto vases at very low prices. I would like to now sell some of them on for a profit. Would something Japandi (which highlights and encourages displaying ceramics, dark browns with light browns etc) 

How do we as collectors effect the market or how does the Market effect design. Japanese art is cheap right now, and along come japandi. 

 

Satsuma kyoto

9e3e540b 3524 4e13 a580 783c4af72b89
$ 1 (4)
download 2021 09 18T044602.501

https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/campaigns/home-trends-at-ikea-pubf7706d30#9fa022a0-e3e5-11eb-9acb-d1e583aeaca3

 

This post was modified 3 years ago by Short Dong

   
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