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Many GAN readers are in the habit of buying items from dealers in the hope of putting them straight into auction and selling them at a profit. However, this can be a dangerous strategy, if you don't do it sensibly.
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It is possible to buy well from the trade and make money by consigning items to auctions, but you must ask yourself four questions before you buy. Indeed, these are questions that you should ask yourself every time you intend to buy something in the hope of selling it on, whether you are buying from auction or from a private source. Here they are:
1. Is it something I know about?
2. Will it appeal to a lot of other people, and, if not, is there a small but fanatical market for it?
3. Can I buy it at a sensible price?
4. Can I put it in the right auction to ensure a profit?
The answer to each of these has to be 'yes'. If the answer to any of them is 'no', then walk away. If the answer is 'I think so' or 'Maybe', then proceed with extreme caution and be prepared to have your 'bargain' in your life for a very long time! If you are hoping to sell to an individual rather than through an auction, then questions 1-3 still apply, and, for question 4, simply substitute 'Do I have an interested buyer?' for 'Can I put it in the right auction?'
Remember that a rare fountain pen, vintage motor bike or ancient Egyptian artefact will interest specific collectors and that the big auction houses have regular sales devoted to these and other specialist categories, BUT you may have to wait for six months or a year for the next big sale in that category. Ask yourself whether your cash flow allows you to wait for a year before you shift the item and - hopefully - make your profit. If it doesn't, then walk away.
The problem with the Bargain Hunt-type television programmes (apart from the fact that both the contestants and the 'experts' are generally pretty clueless) is that it assumes that you will find items that you can sell at a profit at every antiques fair you go to. You can't. Much of the stuff is overpriced, some outrageously so. The TV cameras demand that contestants buy several items to sell from every fair, when in real life it is possible that at any given fair you will find little or nothing on offer that will give you the chance of a realistic profit. If you do, wonderful, but, if you don't, then save your cash till next time. If you find something good to sell every second or third time, you'll be doing well.
Another snag with the TV shows is that items might be good in themselves, but they are always put into general sales where their potential often goes unnoticed. A recent episode saw a Victorian pill roller, which would have made a handsome profit in a sale of antique medical items or scientific instruments, make a huge loss in a general sale. Look for the right object at the right price and put it in the right sale.
I have mentioned before that one of the easiest ways to make a quick buy-to-sell profit can be to attend general sales and spot the items that might sell better at a specialist sale, when all the collectors for that specific type of object are gathered together and prices are higher. At some salerooms that hold both weekly general sales and occasional specialist sales, it is even possible to buy an item from the general sale, pay for it, walk it across the car park and enter it into a forthcoming specialist sale! This can be done because very often items are entered into general sales and lotted up by junior staff or the saleroom porters; so the saleroom specialists may not see the items until itís too late. Indeed, they may not see them at all. Marching lots across the car park from a general to a specialist sale is not something I have been able to do too often, but I've certainly enjoyed it when I have!
©Government Auction News
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