Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Antique buyers fazing out

I went to Bonneville this past August and left the interstate east of Salt Lake City and travelled state roads exclusively til Marshall, Texas. I had a zero balance on my credit card and a little cash-I was ready to spend some bucks. I spent barely over $200.00 and probably should not have spent half of that. I experienced an appalling lack of antique shops, malls, flea markets, etc. Those that were open had little of "our" type stuff and I encountered no petro/auto signs for sale at any price level. Store owners told me those were scarce and when they came up for sale they were grabbed quickly and at prices that would allow them little profit margin. I do hope other areas of the country are healthier than this.

There is a lot of antique stores here in town. Like some of the other post on here its mostly garage sale junk or furniture, Some of them specialize in fine antiques and there is a couple of dealers that have some advertizing stuff. From time to time and when they do get something really good and it is priced right it does not last long . But most of them are just dealers that rent a small space in a large antique mall. And have real jobs and this is just a side gig. But I do think it is tough to pay the rent and make a profit at it, in one of these brick and mortar stores.

A lot of good points made here.
My wife and I buy antiques for our house. Things that fit our lifestyle, everything must be useful not just for looks (well except that big floor butter churn she bought, and I am determined to actually make butter in it).
My offering price is half what I see on a tag. Sometimes we get a good deal and buy, sometimes we don't. Dealers seem to meet us at lower prices than they use to.

The biggest problem for antique dealers I see is they sell the High quality stuff on the internet and that only leaves the "garage sale" items for the store.

I have a booth in an antique mall, and our mall does "fair". My booth has actually helped turn that mall around some. Use to be mostly womens interest items. I added my oil and service station items and then a couple other guys came in with "guy" stuff. Now the regulars are adding more of that type stuff and traffic and sales are improving. They learned, if the husband has stuff to look at too, he wont' drag his wife out so quick.

My biggest beef, is Antique dealers see the price a pristine piece sold for in a book, and get STUCK on that value for their piece in not so nice shape. That alone has probably stopped me from making a purchase more than anything. And we all know, as the quality falls, the value falls even faster.

Chuck

Those are my favorite dealers the ones who love the book prices I just show them my book with 1994 prices LOL

Seldom do I find a fairly priced Petro item at an antique shop .

Back around 2004/5 when gas hit 3$ a gallon killed our A/S we had buildings full of old stuff, no one was driving around "antiquing" When we did get a customer they tried to get it for a few pennies on the dollar, those we ran off as quick as they pulled that stunt. So off to a number of auction houses in the area where we got more than what was on the stuff here. We still do a couple of "malls" the junk sells good stuff doesn't, September was the best month since the mid 1990's. So much for "reganomics" We still get people who drive past the "no trespassing" to see if we are open. I guess the shotgun means no! tt

ebay is what's killing the shops

2-3 years ago was the shakeout in the Chicago area: first people moving stores to locations with lower rent, now just plain gone. I see a lot of used furniture and assume that eBay gulps the smaller items.
What I don't see is college age shoppers. Back in the day, vintage stuff was the way to decorate: it doesn't seem to be now.
I can't remember the last time I saw a globe in a store, and if I see pump plates, they're repros. Rarely I'll see a sign. The maps I see look like eBay lots that didn't sell. Flea markets aren't much better, but once in awhile I find a gem.
Many, if not most, of the malls in the suburbs are gone. LaGrange had more than a dozen shops and malls in the early 2000s: nearly all are gone.
Prices are very soft on everything around here, too.

I have talked to the owners of antique malls in my area. They all say that the first thing that gets chopped when the budget gets chopped is the budget for trinkets. The high end antiques do ok with the people that can afford it but these malls make more money from small items than the one large sale a week.
I see the dealers at the antique auctions and they have been driving up the prices on each other for so long that they tend to set on stuff for long periods of time to get their money back. I also think that the quality of the antiques is getting diluted with less good stuff in the stores and malls.

All of the antique malls around here are full with waiting lists to get a spot and charge 300 a month for a 10x10 spot plus 7% on sales. New stores opening up everywhere. I don't see many signs or globes but when I do they are HIGH!

I am a traveling gas pump calibrator. I always look for antique shops and scrap yards. I usually have better luck finding cool stuff at the scrap yards. Antique shops/malls usually disappoint. I rarely find items that interest me, and when I do they are usually WAY overpriced. I can usually walk through a shop in less than 10 minutes, with nothing catching my eye. Also I have noticed that a trend has developed recently. Many of the really great shops near me have stopped getting "real" old stuff and started getting stuff that is made in China that looks like hand made art and antiques, but it is all just more junk from overseas.

I always clean up in antique shops around here...as well as auctions...the antique shops here are quality and have lots of good stuff cheap...

I was at a sign auction 2 weekends ago and everything went at rock bottom prices....I bought 20 signs and only spent $550....some were NOS....I bought a 9' Keystone lubricants sign for $260...also picked up a mobiloil Artic sign for $60 a mobil gargoyle porcelin that was dated for $50...

There are tons of young buyers out there you just have to look closer

eBay is what's killing the shops

your right greg, if i see a computer when i walk in the store door, i turn around and walk out...
mind you in 20 years, i can count on 1 hand the number of quality items i have found in an antique store.

Lots of good points here. I guess the antique business varies from region to region. I've found some great things within 15-25 miles of my home in the last few years (including a bowling machine that I'd been searching for for about 25 years!!) I'm not sure if it's all doom & gloom (what happened to the "Let's figure it out America" that I grew up in???) When I go into an antique store/mall I take a little more time than I used to; it's amazing what you'll find if you slow down a little...... If I'm asked what I collect by someone that works there, I let them know what I'm interested in, I've been directed to some good stuff that way. It also seems to really help if you smile when you're antiqueing, alot of people that I see looking for stuff seem to be p*$$ed off about something. A smile costs you nothing...............:)

I agree, I haven't been in an antique store for about 5 years,,, they all look like yard sales to me..

And it's only getting better. LOL