Month: May 2021

A buying lesson for the beginning shopper—make sure to check for damage!

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Tips for the beginnerLeave a comment

When I was at an estate sale not too long ago, I managed to find some really cool items.  One of the items was a Lefton salad plate made for the Order of The Eastern Star.

I had purchased it under the notion that the plate was in good shape.  When I got the plate home, I found the plate had a chip on the edge of it.

Today when we shop, we have the ability to use our cell phone to check out the worth and rarity of a piece that we are interested in.  To a great extent, it has diminished the need to go with your gut, but not completely.

You still have to be able to judge if in item is fake or real—and frankly to discover the flaws on an item.  You need to use your fingers and the light that is around you to discover chips and even cracks.

Fortunately for me, the purchase price of the plate was inexpensive, it was less than 5 dollars.

What kinds of mistakes have you made when you purchased an item?

How do you find missing parts for a vintage item you bought?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

You are out shopping at one of your favorite places, and you run across an item that you are interested in buying.  You notice that it is missing pieces, and you go ahead and buy it with the thought you will hunt down the missing parts.

There is only one thing you are not sure of—how do you go about finding replacement parts for it?

The first thing that I would do is to try and find what the item looks like with all the parts that it originally came with.  This way you can compare the photo and the item you have to see what is missing on the item that you have.

I have seen what’s called an exploded view diagram that shows all of the parts an item has and how they fit together.  You might get lucky and find one of these to help with not only finding the parts you need but also how they fit on your item.

The next step is to search the internet for the parts that you need.  I have seen quite a wide variety of replacement parts for vintage items on the web.  I have seen everything from parts for a toy airplane to vintage refrigerators and even vintage fan parts.

If you strike out on the internet, then you are going to have to search for the replacement parts when you go to your favorite places to shop.  This might take more time to accomplish, but it can also be more fun to do.

Another thing that you could consider is to visit a place like your local scrap yard or even junk yard.  I have seen several replacement parts for a vintage metal Coca Cola cooler and even metal patio furniture at a junk yard that I was at several years ago.

This is a few ways that you can find replacement parts for vintage items.  What places or ways have you found replacement parts?

What are some things to expect when you begin to sell antiques and collectibles?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Selling tips2 Comments

When you dive into selling antiques and collectibles, you quickly find that there are some expectations when you sell an item.

What are some of the things that you should expect to happen when it comes to selling antiques and collectibles?

You will sell quite a few items that are priced below $100.  I cannot count how many items that I have sold over the years that are below $100.  There are several reasons that can account for this—it could be the shopper wants to decorate with the item or it could be a gift for a friend or loved one.

Another reason is that selling the high-priced items will take a little longer to do.  It’s not that the item has a problem with it or that no one wants it, but rather it might take someone a lot of thinking about in order for them to break out the money and buy it.

You will get an offer on an item that you are selling that you will not be able to take.  I have heard of several reasons when a price is not accepted, but the most common reason is that the offer on the piece for sale is too low.

This is a small handful of things to expect when it comes to buying and selling antiques and collectibles. What others have you run across?

How do you start a collection?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collectLeave a comment

You have made the leap and started to attend some auctions, and you have even gone to antique malls and flea markets in your area.  You might have even gone to thrift stores and even some swap meets.  Then it hits you—how do you go about starting a collection of your own?

The first thing to do is to start a collection on what interests you.  If you love enamelware or even records, the best thing I can recommend is to start there—you never know what kinds of cool pieces you will find.

The second step is to figure out how much of a budget you can afford to spend on your collection.  It does not have to be big at first—over time you will want to expand your budget to help with buying the more expensive items.

You will want to spend time (especially when you first start a collection) on things like how to identify real from fake.  It can be a couple minutes a day worth of research to help you out in the long run.

A good tip to remember is to settle on a fairly wide area to start collecting in—this way you can narrow down the topic of your collection over time.  I have seen people start collecting in an area like coins and then settle on Morgan Dollars and Franklin half dollars.

It’s also perfectly fine to have several collections going on—this way you don’t get burnt out looking for just one topic.

When you start to shop for items to add to your collection, start out at shops, auctions and swap meets where you live.  This way you are not spending a lot of money on getting to where you are going. 

Another thing that you can do is to shop around online.  There have been plenty of times that I have run across items for sale online that are cheap enough that you can add it to your collection.

This is a small handful of tips to help with starting a collection.  What tips have you run across?