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Messages - Ironman

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16
What's it Worth?? / Re: small cabinet
« on: June 23, 2011, 07:48:31 AM »
Be sure to let us know!

17
The Lounge / Re: Salvation Army
« on: June 22, 2011, 01:48:57 PM »
If it's boxed up, why not?

18
Stores / Re: Booth space versus full store - I bit the bullet
« on: June 22, 2011, 01:36:26 PM »
Trying this again. I'm going to post pics of my (booth, shop, store) at an antique mall here that I have been talking about. This is from when we first opened a month ago and is only half of the over 800 items now in the store inventory with a sales value of well over $7000.00 all profit except for the space rent of 190 a month. I have long since recovered and made 2 or 3 times the costs of the units I've bought. All this 'stuff' is the antiques, collectibles and smalls that are too good for a yard sale. Have a lot of this stuff listed on CL and ebay too. Just delivered two old chest today for another $250.00 in sales. This is sure working for me.

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19
What's it Worth?? / Re: small cabinet
« on: June 22, 2011, 07:19:25 AM »
Absolutely agree with the fact that if it is all dowels or mortise and tenon with pegs it would be older more valuable and higher quality. Unfortunately that piece doesn't look old enough for that. It looks like something from the 30's thru early 50's. The screws being straight push the date back closer to the 30's. Phillips screws are much more modern. I thing a price of 150 would be reasonable without knowing more about the piece.

20
What's it Worth?? / Re: small cabinet
« on: June 21, 2011, 10:05:15 AM »
Mr. A. is correct all hings have value. You show a picture of the piece but don't describe it. Depending on the answers to my questions below the value either goes up or down.

1. What's it made of? Hard wood and what kind, Plywood, Partical Board
2. Veneered or finished (stained or natural)
3. Corners, are they dovetailed or rabbitted?
4. Hand cut dovetails or machine cut.
5. Any screws and fasteners? What kind? Phillips screws or straight? Nails or Staples?

Best value would be as follows:
1. Hardwood
2. Finished
3. Dovetails
4. Handcut
5.Screws (straight head)

These are all signs of an older piece that is hand made. Of course any tags or markings help to identify it also.

Just from the picture and looking at the front I'd say it is an older piece (vintage to antique). I say that because the front doors are burl (looks like mahoghany) and the doors are book end matched. That type work was common years ago and is found in higher end pieces.

I'm a bit of a wood worker as a hobby but again, this is just my humble opinon.

Don't clean it very hard as you don't want to remove any patina but do get some RESTORE A FINISH in mahoghany and wipe it down. You will be very pleasantly surprised at how good it will look.

21
25 to 30% is normal and I've seen as low as 20%. But then, Gallery 63 thats on TV charges 35 I think. But one thing to do when taking items to auction is get yourself into the mindset that all of your stuff will only sell for half of what you think it should. If you do that then there is no sellers remorse or regret and if items sell for more than that then you get the gravy good feeling....LOL

22
A really good primer and a light to white paint color might work. Use a good quality primer and paint. The issue then becomes by the time you spend 50 on primer and paint and rushes and two dys to get it done they still won't be worth the effort , time and money because you'd be lucky to get 20 each out of it. My recommendation and what I'd do also is trash them. Take the mirrors out if you can and drop those on CL for 5 each and be done with it.

23
Yeah the tendency to hoard in this business is strong. I set a 90 day rule of thumb. If an item say an antique chest is worth 400 I'll list it for 300 for a month and keep revising / enhancing the listing everywhere but holding the price. After the first month I'll drop my asking price by 30% making the selling price 210 for another month and revice my listings, if it goes to a third month I'll drop the price another 30% making the selling price 147 and hold it there until it sells or I firesale it to generate cash at the 90 day point. Those are steep steps but I seldom get to the 90 day point. My goal is to make as much as I can but other than precious metals gems jewelry certificates valuable art, nothing is worth hanging on to for a long time.

24
Call that a lesson learned. This business is not all bad and definitely not all good either and there are some shady characters ou there. Also be on the lookout for combined units where the facility keeps a unit where they put all the crap other people have left into one unit and sll it off as a managers or combined unit. Also be very alert for 'staged' units. You will pick up on those soon enough. As an example, I looked at a unit where everything was fairly neat and right up front were two cardboard boxes with one flap open on each and a stack of plates turned upside down so you could read NORITAKE China on the bottom. Also, another locker had a truck tool box sitting across the unit with several tools (drill, skill saw, circular saw) neatly stacked on the top of the box. Again staged units. In those cases the unscrupulous had set the unit up with a few good things you could see from the door to raise the new bidders interest. Found out afterwards that all those units were loads of crap except for what was staged. But then thats the nature of gambling which is a huge part of this business.

25
Stores / Re: Booth space versus full store - I bit the bullet
« on: June 12, 2011, 10:13:07 PM »
You are responsible for tagging your items with those tags with strings. On the tag you put  vendor number such as V730 for me. Then a brief description of the item and then the price. The buyer takes the item up front where they remove the tag, ring up the sale and on their accounting software the vendor number is entered with the sale so you get credit. They then take the tag they removed from the item and put it into a card file under my vendor number with the date sold stamped on the tag. They do take a 10% sales commission for the house which is very reasonable (and I accounted for by raising my prices 15%). We get paid twice a month with a complete accounting of what sold. The process is easy and works well. They do allow vendors to "work" the floor if you want to and if they have an open timeframe and for that they give you credit on the space rental so you can reduce your rental costs. It is entirely voluntary and has no affect on your space rental. Now that is different than two other similar malls in my area where they REQUIRE you to work two eight hour shifts a month and one weekend a month (for free) as part of your rental agreement. I immediately dropped those two sites when I was searching as my labor is not free. ON top of that those sites rental rates were HIGHER per square foot than Big Shanty Antiques is.

The only issue that they told us about is when a customer switches tags for a lower priced item. Thats why they tell all the vendors to describe the item on the tag such as , 1930 Toby Mug, Red with green hat and @ 7 inches tall. Enough of a description so that if someone tries to swap tags they can tell it when they get the item up front. Again, makes good sense to me. On smaller items or very expensive items many of us (me included) bought a lockable display case, mine is 6 feet long four high and is all glass with three sets of glass shelves inside. You put the small and valuable stuff in the case, lock it up and put a 3x5 card taped tp the case that instructs the customer to go to the front desk and ask for access to the display case number V730. The owners then will go to the booth with the customer and let them look at an item. If they want it the owner take that item to the hold table at the checkout for the customer to pick up when they are ready to check out. They are very strict with the keys and at NO time give the keys out or let the case unlocked as they know thats where the valuabe stuff is and they don't want any issues with theft. All in all the process works and I am very happy with the way they do things.

26
Stores / Re: Booth space versus full store - I bit the bullet
« on: June 12, 2011, 08:16:30 AM »
That's the beauty of the place I'm at, I don't have to be there to make sales. Stopped by yesterday and found out  had made another 37 dollars in sales in the first ten minutes the facility was open and it was just getting the busy saurday traffic, On average I'm selling @ $550 a month. Its all those 10 and 15 dollar sales of smalls that would otherwise end up donated or in a yard sale that add up and I don't have to be there for it to happen. I do have several high dollar antiques and collectibles there and if only one of those sells a month I'll be making some REALLY NICE supplemental income. Even so, I'm happy for now netting out 300 to 400 a month with the shop running on auto pilot except for restocking every Wednesday getting ready for the FRi-Sun sales times. Many of the other vendors there have only "real" antiques that are $50 and up and the average buyer is buying the 10 to 20 dollar items which is my sweet spot now. The high dollar "real" antique vendors draw in the clients that are buying my vintage reasonable items....works for me!!

27
Stores / Booth space versus full store - I bit the bullet
« on: June 10, 2011, 10:25:14 PM »
After having so many smalls and collectibles and and and (yall know the drill) My wife and I decided to take an interim step between nothing and a store. We rented a booth at a local antique and gift mall. It runs 190 a month for a 10x10. Nice thing is they let you do basically what you want within the booth and the best part is I'm not there as the stuff sells. The buyers browse, load the carts take it to the front and it gets sold. Ive now sold antique and vintage furniture, jewelry, glassware, collectibles old newspapers all that stuff that wouldn't sell on CL and wasn't quite enough caliber to go on ebay etc. It's working fine for us. I've covered the first two months rent in the first ten days open and i'm into making profit now!!! A side benefit is my wife is now involved and loves setting up and keeping up with "the shop" as she puts it. Lotsa benefits there when Mama's happy the world is at peace..hahahaha...just another avenue for getting rid of a lot of stuff. Actually, Young Gun on here told me his dad had a booth and was working it so that's how I got interested. Yall should check it out in your area (I'm north of Atlanta). It's not surprising in a down economy that people are looking for bargains especially on some of those semi luxury items they still want to buy. It's a way to go......

28
Well, believable and truth do not sell on TV. Bull**** hype and spin do hence the unreal tru tv type crap. Same as storage wars and auction hunters even with disclaimers and at times a moment or two of truth they are there to sell advertising and numbers of viewers sell advertising and bull**** drama and "the get rich quick dream" draws viewers not the hard work it really takes that most of us know about.

29
Not here in Atlanta. All us regulars still seeing a lot of newbies and way too high prices. Went to an auction yesterday with 6 units. Biggest unit was a 10x20 with two old mattress sets, some old furniture (living room) a washer and dryer and an old rear projection big screen with a few boxes and bags all looked in very used condition to crappy. The damn thing went for $970.00 to a newbie / almost newbie. Then there was the small unit a 10x10 that had two metal self assembled shelves, a kids bicycle(toddlers) an old partical board computer desk BROKEN and in pieces and one box that sold for $80.00. You could have bought the shelves new a walmart for under 30 and all the rest was landfill fodder. I'm just hopeing things ease up here. This is getting rediculous.

30
The Lounge / Re: Free Internet On Your Laptop Through Your Phone
« on: May 23, 2011, 10:05:30 PM »
Found the app for many smartphones but not for the IPHONE that look like they will work. Anyone find one for the IPHONE?

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