As money gets tight in this economy, I’ve received more calls than ever from people wanting to sell their valuable items – just like I thought. But remember, as antique and art buyers, we work just like real estate investors and stock investors. When the general public is in a panic and selling things off, when things look their worst, that’s when we buy. It’s in these times when the bargains will be found. True collectors are still waiting for you to contact them with that very special piece they’ve been hoping for, and you just might have found it.

We are in the last period of our website reconstruction, and I’m getting really excited in anticipation of the results .All members can now go to the Members Only Section and create a unique ID and Password. Once you create that, you can add the items you look to buy on your Wish List. It won’t show until the end of the week, but don’t until then to create your list. You can do it now.

Keep track of your progress in the Million Dollar Race by using your Personal Inventory Page right there on the website. This is a private page and only you will be able to view it. Please email or call us and let us hear how far you’ve progresses. For those of you who haven’t been following 31 Club, the Million Dollar Race is an inter-club competition to see who can compound $100 into a million dollars first.

We are almost there, so thanks to our many charter members for supporting us during the building of the 31 Club from the ground up.

 I often tell Members of the 31 Club that money in the antique and collectible world can be made with items smaller than a bread box. Besides not taking up too much space in your home until you get them sold, you won’t be faced with transporting these small treasures back and forth, which eats away at your time and erodes your profit. Snuff Boxes and Snuff Bottles certainly qualify as items smaller than a bread box, and they can be quite valuable. Today, I’ll focus mainly on snuff boxes.

Snuff, used for many centuries, is a tobacco that is ground into a very fine powder. It’s sniffed through the nose, tucked behind the lip, or tucked inside the cheek. It came in either a dry form or a moist form.

In Europe, in centuries gone by, the use of snuff was a very popular social ritual, mainly with the elite. Many a high society lady or gent would never leave home without their stylish snuff box and would often have several to choose from. They even had snuff boxes for every season. In China, snuff bottles were very popular, and the bottle stopper had a little pad on the inside of it. The process for use was the same.

In 19th Century America, some women might have smoked cigars in public for its shock value, however, there were far more ladies discreetly using snuff, which was perfectly acceptable. This was Women’s Lib 19th Century style, and it caught on.

Fast forward to the 21st Century and we find that anything to do with snuff has become highly collectible. If you find one for a collector, they’ll pay you handsomely, especially for the right one.

Snuff boxes can be made from almost any material. They were often made of antler, silver, wood, brass, gold, pewter and many others. They also can be a combination of several materials, artistically decorated. Most boxes were decorated with gold or silver, often with the owner’s initials engraved on them. Many were highly decorated, and of course, these are quite valuable. Let’s look at a few values in Kovel’s Price Guide to see if your eyebrows move a little north:

A 3” Gold Enamled Box of a Harbor Scene, c. 1830 valued at $17,250. If that’s too rich for your blood, how about a Metal, Gilt, Musical, engine-turned panels sized at four inches for $14,950. These must have been owned by a very special lady or gent.

$32,500.  That’s the price of the snuff box shown in Today’s Photo. Offered at M.S. Rau Antiques, this Swiss Enamel and Gold Snuff Box, circa 1740, looks like it contains a double ivory portrait,adding to its value. This is a real beauty. When you take a look at all their high end snuff boxes, you’ll have a better idea of the high quality, high end boxes out there.

Remember, we look for the higher end, rare items. As we work our way up the 31 Steps, our ever increasing knowledge of true quality and rarity will help us along the way. Please make every effort to attend antique shows in your area to see high quality items up close and face to face. The first goal is to be able to recognize quality when you see it.

But using snuff was not reserved for the high society folks. We regular folk used it too. I can still remember the way my Grandmother would quickly sniff a little, sneeze, and then hold her dainty handkerchief to her nose. As a child I often wondered why she would do this. Maybe to clear her nose, I thought.

Robert Louis Stevenson

As I discussed in my blog on buying and selling in uncertain economic times, the days ahead might get a little rough. However, this gives us even more reason to bone up on KNOWLEDGE. It is our knowledge of antiques and fine art that will give us the edge we need to be successful in the coming days, regardless of any economic downturns in our country or worldwide. The best and highly desirable always sells and we need to be able to recognize it and buy it.

Network, network, network! You’ll be doing yourself a huge favor by letting people know you’re in this business. By doing so, you open yourself up to the possibility of having amazing things cross your path. Whenever I’m in conversation with someone, I try not to leave until I’ve at least mentioned I’m in the Antique and Fine Art business. Your saying so might even turn up some Civil War letters written by a Confederate Soldier to his wife, as it did for one of our 31 Club Members.

The lot of 147 Civil War Letters, found by a club member and purchased through our Associates Program, found a buyer immediately through our network of private buyers. The same thing happened with the Vintage Kentucky Derby Glass. In fact, this sale happened so fast we didn’t even have the time to list the glass on our marketplace.

This time of economic uncertainty isn’t a time to rest on our laurels. Be very aggressive in your search for the special pieces that will propel you to the next level. And if you find something special that’s not in you’re buying budget, call us to go through the Associate Program and make the 35%.

This business never becomes dull for me. I hope it is never dull for you, either. With every passing day, I’m amazed by the things that come up. I received a great phone call recently as I was typing away at the computer. “Are you Mr. Lambert,” a warm voice with an East Coast accent asked? This got my attention because most people don’t call me Mr. Lambert. She asked me if I buy things. I told her I did and asked her to tell me what kind of things she wanted to sell. “Well, I don’t know if you’d have an interest, but I saw you had a Patrick Henry Document for sale, and I have six of those.”

I turned up the volume on my phone. I didn’t want to seem too excited, but I asked her what other items she’s considering parting with. “Well, I do have an original poem that was written for a member of my family by Robert Louis Stevenson. It’s never been published.” Thump. (That’s the sound of me falling on the floor.) Those of you who’ve read my book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles, know that it was Robert Louis Stevenson’s book, Treasure Island, that inspired me as a youngster, setting me on the path I’ve been on for almost 45 years –searching out antique and art treasures.

She has since sent me the photos of these items, plus a few others. We are at the point of evaluating them and exploring which method might be best for selling them. Now that’s exciting!

Being a history buff, there isn’t anything more exciting for me than to be in possession of something that belonged to a notable figure in history. In my head, on some level, it creates a connection with that person, and for some reason – it’s important for me to feel that connection. Who knows exactly why this is so, and I’m not going to try to figure it out. There’s too much treasure hunting to attend to.

I am sure there are members who have exciting stories that other members would like to hear. So, I am soliciting your stories so that we can include them on our website or in a blog. Please send them to Cindy at cindy@31corp.com

Your 31 Club is trailblazing a path for people in this industry, and its tremendous growth will make it a better opportunity for our members.

31 Club is building the one place to go to if you are looking for high quality antiques, the one place to go to let people know you are ready, willing and able to buy, the one place to sell, the one place to go to get free mentoring on dealing in Antiques and Fine Art, and the one place to consign your rare and high quality antiques and art. While anyone can consign their rare and high quality items to 31 Club Gallery & Marketplace, our already low commissions are even lower when you’re a member. With our membership offer ridiculously reasonable right now, it makes good sense to join now rather than later.

Just think, we at 31 Club, are really starting to turn this market around. Last year, I can still remember when all I could read was negative articles about this business or listen as dealers complained about the business, while still doing it the old fashion way. We published several articles to the contrary and challenged this negativity through our blogs. Now I hear dealers excited about the market, and even the trade papers are beginning to think that the Antique and Fine Art business is here to stay. Considering that new records are being set in almost all areas of our business on a daily basis, they should. 31 Club was first to recognize that the best in this business is still ahead of us. As our members complete the steps in our individual Million Dollar Race, the rest of the crowd will find us hard to catch up to.

So why am I writing about all of this today?

You’ll remember that the Associates Program is already working for many members. Using the program allows the member to partner with us, with no investment of their own, to purchase the best items they find and then receive 35% of the net profit when the club sells the item.

Well, today, our long awaited 31 Club Wish List is ready to be activated. These Wish Lists will work as free advertising for Members when thousands of people see their ad as it goes out over Yahoo and Google. Each time a person visits our website, they’ll be exposed to our members’ Wish List. Can you imagine the response you could get?

The combination of these two programs, Wish List & Associates Program has the greatest potential to increase the likelihood our members will succeed in a big way in the Antique and Fine Art Business.

Members should watch their e-mail for instructions on how to use the Wish List.

If you aren’t a member of 31 Club yet, go to our website and join us today!
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Check out the new Paintings and new items in our Gallery and Marketplace here.

LINK: 31 Club Article July, 2007