We in the antiques and vintage trades have always known that an asking price is not the “real” price. Who believes anymore that retail prices actually reflect what the seller expects to get for his merchandise? We haggle over price when we buy and we haggle over price when we sell. Haggling is “business as […]

The difference between consumer goods and collectibles is the quality of the story that is attached to the item. Your storytelling ability is the key to selling more. For example: as a “follicly challenged” gentleman, I take comfort in my collection of hats. Not for their collectible value mind you, but for their value in […]

Back in 1897, it was rumored that Mark Twain had died. Twain was unaware of the rumor until a reporter showed up at his door inquiring about his health. The reporter, disappointed that he missed a big story, went on his way. Twain was amused by the incident and later recounted the tale for the […]

When I saw the headline I laughed out loud. It read “The Future of e-Commerce is Offline.” Now wait a minute … haven’t we been told for the past two decades that the future of retailing was online? That in the future there would be no bricks-and-mortar stores, just websites? Well, it appears as though […]

The most thought-provoking comment I’ve heard lately came just last week from the mouth of a four-year-old boy. I was browsing through the men’s department of a mall store when the four-year-old appeared, holding his mother’s hand. A clerk asked the mother: “Can I help you?” and without dropping a beat the young boy replied: […]

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 […]

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 […]

A baseball cap worn by Neil Armstrong after the Apollo 11 mission sells for $12,000. A typewriter belonging to novelist Cormac McCarthy sells for $254,500. A football used during the NFL’s “deflategate” scandal sells for $43,740. Baseball caps and footballs are commonly available for under $10; typewriters for under $100. Clearly, in the above sales the extrinsic value of […]