February 2018
Boost Traffic by Marketing With Memes
I love marketing with memes. When I’m on Facebook, nothing inspires me to click “share” faster than a clever meme. Chances are you’ve seen memes as well, but you may not have known what they were called. Memes are captioned images that contain a pithy saying or sarcastic comment. Social Media is full of them, […]
Why Your Facebook Marketing Isn’t Working
The topic of discussion at a recent small business gathering was “What’s new in your marketing plan for 2016?” My answer was “Nothing so far.” Perhaps if an entrepreneur develops a new platform that combines some of what I’m already doing, I’ll consider making some changes. In the meantime it’s status quo for me. I […]
Don’t Allow eBay to Bury Your Listings in Search Results
When asked why he robbed banks, 20th-Century outlaw Willie Sutton reportedly answered: “Because that’s where the money is.” When asked why I still sell on eBay, I answer, “Because that’s where the traffic is.” Although Amazon has roughly double eBay’s site traffic (146 million unique monthly visitors vs. 71.5 million on eBay), eBay has three […]
Smells Sell
Sometimes the antiques business stinks. Not the buying and selling part, but rather the smells that can accumulate in a store filled with used merchandise. Few things are more off-putting than to walk into a store and inhale the mildewy stew of odors that can be created by rooms full of used goods. Have you […]
Looking at Pay and Wages in the Antiques Biz
How much money do workers earn in the antiques business? How much do shop owners have to pay workers in order to hold on to them and keep them motivated? Published benchmarks are not available in our industry; there is no national trade organization that collects and shares such information. So, comparisons must be made […]
Amazon Opening its Traffic to Antique Dealers
When I was a kid in the 1950s, monster movies were all the rage. There were dozens of monsters on the big screen; King Kong, Mothra and Rodan were a few of my favorites. Of course, the undisputed leader in the monster movie category was Godzilla. To date, there have been more than two dozen […]
Don’t Let Sales Get Thrown Under the Bus
American popular culture loves a catchphrase. Always has. In the 1890s, businessmen were anxious to “get down to brass tacks,” and a well-heeled customer who was satisfied with his purchases was “as happy as a clam.” In the 1990s, if a customer discovered that a dealer’s claims were all smoke and mirrors, then the deal […]
To Collectors, Meaning Trumps Price
It seems that noted psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud was quite a collector. He amassed a collection of antiques that eventually numbered around 2,300 pieces. According to Freud’s student and colleague Ernest Jones: “His collection crowded his desk and cabinets, filling every available spot in the two rooms where he wrote and consulted with patients … to […]
Tell a Story With Your Merchandise Tags
Good merchandise tags offer more than a price; they create expectations and help you sell more. If you tell a story (briefly, of course) on your merchandise tags you will engage your customer and sell more. The best story I’ve heard to illustrate my point follows: Sitting in his cell awaiting trial for treason, Van […]
Money Matters: Be Smart with Markdowns
Labor Day is behind us, and the holiday selling season looms large on our retail calendars. Now is the time for antique dealers to review their inventories and consider what they lack and what they must get rid of. Smart retailers will mark-down select inventory during the selling season rather than wait (as some do) […]