How do you know you haven’t already passed on that special piece? Every time someone finds a treasure, you can be sure that many people have passed on it because they didn’t know what it was or because they were afraid to take a chance. Our goal is not to let either of these excuses stop us from reaching our financial goals in the Antique and Fine Art Busness.

This week, a gentleman called me about a pair of Oriental vases he thought might be a great buy if he could acquire them. His potential customer had e-mailed him about the pair.

I asked him what the customer was asking for them.

“Nothing yet,” he said. “They want to know what they’re worth.”

“Are you going to be paid to do the appraisal,” I asked him?

“I don’t think so.”

“Why don’t you respond to the email saying you’d be interested in the vases, if they’d give you a price. You could also state the vases could possibly be worth $500 up to many thousands depending on their history.”

With his knowledge in this area, it might be well worth the risk of investing $1000 to $1500 in this pair. If he is wrong, the chances are he will still make a profit. But what if he’s right? Then the rewards could be a profit of $20,000 or more. No, he isn’t sure which of these scenarios will play out, but he can’t be hurt very much by either of them. I am hoping he gets that call and the price they ask for the vases is reasonable.

Some of you will remember when I entered an antique shop close to my home and was told they had nothing for me that day. Still, I asked, “Are you sure?”
” I do have a painting here, but it’s sold,” the shop owner told me. This gave me an opening.

“May I see it,” I asked?

He took me to the back of the shop where I laid eyes on a wonderful early painting of two little girls skipping rope.

“What did you get for this wonderful painting,” I asked?

“Twenty-five thousand dollars,” he proudly stated.

I asked if he’d been paid for it, and he told me the painting was on hold and he hadn’t been paid yet. Now the door was wide open for me, so I ask him if he’d call me in a couple of weeks if he hadn’t been paid. Sure enough, two weeks later I got that call. I purchased this painting for $16,000. I didn’t really know what it was worth because I wasn’t familiar with the artist, Frederick Morgan, but I was willing to gamble that its value was at least $16,000.

The advantage that you have over me in these situations is that the 31 Club is there to help determine values. Did I know that this would turn out to be a great find for me? Absolutely not. But, it was. This painting later sold at Christie’s for $115,000. What would the results have been if I had said I wasn’t interested because I didn’t know what its worth was or I didn’t know the artist.

I could tell you many more stories like these, but the important thing to remember is that if the price seems right on a piece your looking at, take the chance. You won’t always make a fortune on every piece, but I’ll bet your decisions will be correct most of the time, so little mistakes are just learning experiences. This is why 31 Club Members just learning the business start with a trading account of only $100. That’s so their mistakes won’t cost them big while they’re learning.

When you buy something, sell it as quickly as possible. This should not take longer than 3-6 months. This way, you will have your money back in circulation to move on to your next purchase, win, lose or draw. Don’t hold on to marginal items trying to get more for them than the market will bear. Turn, Turn and Turn your money over and over until one day you wake up and the world is yours.

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LINK: 31 Club Article July, 2007

Going to my grandsons’ college graduation party in Kentucky this weekend won’t stop me from hitting all the antique malls or shops along the way. It might take me a little bit longer to get to the party, but I’ll sure have fun along the way. I’ll be making this trip alone, so stopping won’t be an issue brought up for vote. I love it! Wouldn’t it be something if I found a treasure even before I arrived in Kentucky?

Antiques Out of Place for the Region Can Prove to Be Very Well Priced.

So what will I be looking for? Something out of place, of course. Paintings are first on my list. Unless they are regional and from the area, paintings don’t do to well in this area of the country. Maybe I’ll find a California or New York Painting at a bargain price. Pottery? Well, the Mid-West is pottery heaven so I’m not pinning my hopes on a great piece of pottery. Political Memorabilia is a good possibility. Killary was just in Kentucky and I believe Bill Clinton was recently in my hometown, Owensboro.

Are you beginning to get the jest of how I think? This process will save you a lot of time once you’ve begun your trip.

I missed a great auction there last week, but I’ll be looking in on old friends to see how they’re doing. While I’m there, I’ll ask if they have anything I might buy from them that might do well in Chicago.

Cecil is the first person I hope to find because he always has some of he better things set back. I’ve been able to persuade him to let a few of them go to me, in the past. I’ll also be looking in my friend Owen’s “Spend-a-Buck“ Antique shop for some goodies.

In Kentucky, the expensive items seem to be more reasonably priced than what I’ve come to expect in Chicago. There seems to be an order to the way Antiques, Collectibles and Fine Art sell.

The Same Item in Different Regions of The Country Can Have Different Values

I used to set up at the O’Hare Antique Show with some of my friends, and it amazed me that the New York and European dealers would buy most of what I had brought to the show before the public had a chance to see it. I wondered how they could pay my prices and still think they had a bargain. But I learned that the same item can have a different value depending on where it’s being offered.

My friends, Doris & Mike, who sell a lot of vintage bakelite jewelry, have buyers from New York gobbling up their pieces, because they believe the prices are incredibly reasonable compared to the New York prices.

If you’ve read my book, you’ll remember the painting I drove all the way to Christies in New York to auction, because I’d get a better price for it in New York than in Chicago. The painting was estimated to bring three times as much in New York as it would in Chicago, and that’s exactly what happened. Primitives sell very well in New York, and as I was driving, I recall wishing I had some great primitives I could have brought with me. Had I had these items, I knew they wouldn’t be making the return trip with me.

Qualify Your Family Vacation or Trip as a Business Trip

Hunting for Antiques & Collectibles along the way to my grandsons’ party enables me to do business along the way, and is in essence, a business trip I can expense. Fun and Profit – the two greatest words I know besides the one I use to pray.

Join with like-minded 31 Club Members and put a turbo charge on your antique & collectible treasure hunting skills. Get FREE Mentoring. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to make high profits and continue to grow your money buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles.

My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership.

The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

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