FUNK & JUNK_®

Thoughts from Elle

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Subject: Price Guides - What are they, proper use and pitfalls

Ok so you've probably heard this a hundred times but I thought I would give my viewpoints on price guides in the market: What are they, how can we use them, market factors effecting collectible prices and authors motivation in writing a guide

What are price guides?
Price guides are just what they sound like, guides for current markets in collectibles and antiques. They are meant to be used by dealers and collectors alike to guide them and keep everyone on the same sheet of paper, so to speak, with regards to what's out there and how much its "worth"

The proper use of price guides according to Elle
Many dealers rely too heavily on these guides that are often written improperly or with improper motivations (see "motivations behind writing price guides" below). Funk & Junk, for example, relies primarily on actual market sales research through many sources such as auction tracking, actual dealer sales and other REAL references (including their extensive historical sales database).
This, of course, involves considerably more work than pulling out a reference book and jotting down that price or some derivative of it but we feel this is the only way to do business.
So many dealers do not treat the Collectibles and Antiques business as a BUSINESS. We treat the Collectibles business like any other. It is constrained by the same market factors as any other business and is, therefore, susceptible to the same pitfalls and constraints as other business (e.g. market demand, regional factors, etc.).
Price guides can be very useful if used properly and with a little common sense. Our library is full of guides from all areas of Collectibles, Pop Culture and Antiques. Always read the introduction to any price guide as it will usually give you the same guidance we are about to.

Market factors
Prices in any market are effected by many factors. Besides the obvious factors such as condition, age, etc., the biggest factors with regards to Collectibles and Antiques are region and venue.

• Region
  Prices often vary widely from area to area even within the U.S.. Often a particular collectible enjoys a high popularity on, for example, the East coast and little or no interest on the West coast. This is the prime reason that many dealers and pickers for dealers travel cross country, or abroad, on buying trips. They can purchase popular items for the area at a fraction of relative value and vastly increase their profit margin.

Motivations behind writing price guides
Lets face it, some of us just love this business and sharing our knowledge and the vast majority of guides out there are written with that in mind and no other real motivations apply. Generally speaking, writing a price guide is a fairly thankless job that involves a great deal of work and results in surprisingly little cash reward for the author. Obviously, major guides (e.g. Schroeders, Kovels, etc.) may be an exception to this rule due to there mass acceptance and appeal.
Having said that, there are a few unscrupulous authors out there who have used the writing of guides to manipulate the uneducated in the market to benefit themselves. We're not about to mention any guides in particular but our library has many examples.
Consider a new collectible market that is just emerging. Having a huge collection of such item(s) lends itself to good fodder for a price guide. Cornering the market, so to speak, on such a new collectible can also create the mystic of the author being an "authority" on the subject matter. The market on these items, though probably not stable since it is fairly new, probably already has certain accepted norms evidenced by actual sales and the like. The author can easily use the new guide as a manipulative tool to do one of two things:

1. lower the market expectations to put himself/herself in the position to buy at bargain prices while the market establishes baselines. Often times when new markets open inexperienced collector/dealers or non-collectors discover they suddenly have overlooked items that now have value and this motivates them to attempt to sell them. As the "authority" on the subject, the author is a likely first candidate to contact regarding sale of such items. Upon contact, the author is only too eager to purchase and usually imparts the truism that dealers usually pay some fraction of "book" price driving his/her cost down even further!

OR

2. Raise the market expectation to facilitate the sale of his/her collection at vastly inflated prices.

Final thoughts This just scratches the surface on my thoughts about guides but hey, you got things to do! I welcome any additional comments you might wish to add and I might post your thoughts as an addition to this page.
Despite what you might think, I think that price guides are important for the Collectibles business and help to establish trends, references and generally can help to guide the various markets. Taking my brief thoughts along with the caveats in the front of most guides and your common sense, they can be a valuable tool. However, experience is always the best guide so try not to rely too heavily on guides and get out there and learn for yourself! (its fun!!).

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Subject: How much can you get for your collectible? Depends on WHERE you sell it!

As I'm certain to answer many questions regarding the "value" of submitted items its important to understand the market. The price you get for your item depends a great deal on how and where you sell it.

None of these are hard and fast rules but they are generally accepted and will give you at least a good rule of thumb. As always, use your head as rare items, currently hot items and the like will likely break these rules as will unpopular items, items in bad condition and items that currently flood the market.

Of course the best way to sell your item is to locate a market populated by lots of collectors of your item(s). Dealers, auctions and the like have worked hard to establish bases of collectors for many ranges of Collectibles so you've solved the initial problem of finding potential buyers. However, you will have to pay a premium for a sale/auction to cover expenses and profits for these resellers.

Dealers will typically pay 25-33% of RETAIL price for items with 50% generally being the highest range for all but the very rare or instant sale to a known clients. Dealers may also except your item on a consignment basis and sell it for you. These fees generally range from 35-50% of SALES price. The difference here is, of course, that you don't get your cash until the dealer sells the item.

Auctions vary greatly not only in terms of their expertise and popularity (and, therefore, potential for sale) but also in terms of their selling fees. This also is effected somewhat by the region of the Country. You can expect to pay anywhere from 20-30% of the SALE price of your item. Remember that at an auction your dealing with a lot of unknowns and your item could set records or be "given away". Some auctions allow you to set a "reserve" below which you item will not be sold but be careful as this may kill the sale. Make sure whatever auction you choose advertises the sale and has a decent track record. If you can, visit the auction a few times before you consign items to get a feel for the prices they realize. There is still risk involved but at least you will have checked out the basics.

At first blush you may react badly to these fees but if you think it through, or try to sell yourself, you will see that they are justified. Your options for self sale are somewhat limited. Basically, your options are either selling through a newspaper ad or selling yourself at a yard sale. Both of these options have severe limitations in terms of meeting the most important criteria of exposure to a good base of buyers for your item. Your biggest limiting factor is going to be the amount of time your item is exposed for sale.

Yard sales typically run 1 day. The chance of selling your collectible for a close to retail price at this one day event are very slim. Though you may get more than your would by selling via one of the methods outlined above, you may not sell it at all!

Newspaper ads typically run from 1 to 3 days and though you have more exposure time you may not reach anymore people than you would at a one day sale. Remember too that you will have additional costs involved in placing such an ad so you may even end up in the hole should your item not sell at all.

Selling collectibles is not an exact science and there are lots of variables to consider when trying to get the most out of your items. Research is always key prior to even considering how to sell your stuff so make sure you at least try to get a good idea of the current market for your item(s) prior to selling no matter which method you choose.

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Subject: How can you find the "good stuff"?

This article is based on a question posed by a reader:
Elle,
I am & have always been a collector by nature, I am trying to turn this passion into a money making (not just spending) proposition....I currently search yard/tag/garage sales for nifty items, but would like to increasing inventory a little faster.....what are methods are there for "finding the good stuff"......If this seems like a ridiculous question, not unlike asking McDonalds to give me the recipe for their secret sauce, forgive me.....I am a hard working, honest gal who needs to get some inside information.....

Thanx for your time, Love your site....
Mary

Hi Mary!
Thanks for the site compliment, though I can't take the responsibility I hope I'm contributing some added value.

Your not alone and I've actually had a few other similar inquiries, usually in the form of suggestions for an article by me so that's what I've chosen to do through your answer is in there!

Your right that most dealers might be offended by such an inquiry but I talked with the Associates at Funk & Junk_® who tell me that not only is it a daily occurrence but that they never get offended with such inquiries.

Here are some of the thoughts I came away with during my discussion with the gang at Funk & Junk_® with a few of my own thoughts thrown in for good measure:
The problem is that there really isn't any secret per se. The key to being successful is the same as in any other business - WORK!, WORK!, WORK! In addition, to find the real bargains you sometimes need some buying power. The ability to buy an entire collection or Estate can significantly reduce your cost on individual items.

Good buys can be had anywhere, even in retail shops. Obviously a "good deal" depends on the items intended use. A good deal for your collection is not necessarily a good deal for the retail seller who must make a profit.

Your message seems to indicate that you primarily scour the yard sale type venues. With few exceptions, the entire Country has seen a significant decrease in serious finds and bargains at either yard sales or thrift stores. I have noticed a drastic change here in the D.C. area within the last 5 years (though its been getting harder and harder for the last 8 years or so). As early as 5 years ago you used to be able to go into almost any Thrift store and snag a good buy or vintage item. Now I'm lucky if I find one nice thing a month (and I go to A LOT of thrift stores!).

Yard sales are a little different and I think the phenomena involved is similar to what happened in the early 1970's, though the reason is different. The late 80's and 1990's are the years of the "collector" with tons of "limited editions" "hot items" and the like along with an increased sensitivity to items values and potential collectibility.

The problem is that the vast majority of the press on collectibles and their "values" is presented to the uneducated public in small snippets or sound bites leaving out key pieces of information. As a generic example that has occurred many times, a record collectible price at auction is published or broadcast for a particular item while leaving out the fact that the final bidding came down to 2 buyers who were fanatics who lacked only that item in an otherwise complete collection in addition to the sale occurring at a location that involved collectors of that type of collectible only, thus tending to drive scarcer items prices above a "general" collectible market. I've actually tracked two such examples and, having participated, in the mentioned auctions had the real skinny.

Anyway, with all of this "disinformation" many people are yet again, as they did in the 70's, boxing the "better" items and storing them rather than selling them at a yard sale or flea market. Funk & Junk's_® store manager relates;

There is a good side to this just as there was in the 70's. Eventually these people move, need the space, etc.. and since the fever has dissipated they are more willing to sell and usually more reasonable. This is an opportunity to find the "good stuff". Again, the key is being there and you can only be there by "working".

If you've been watching the Collectibles and Antiques market you can see a general change that involves fewer available items and/or increased prices. The best example given as illustration involves price guides. Pull out a few old general price guides and the title is likely to be something like "XX Antiques and Collectibles" (if Collectibles is even mentioned!). Today pull out a few and you will see some of these but generally you see TWO different guides, one for Antiques and one for Collectibles. The Collectibles market has sprung up as its own entity due, in some part, to the lack of Antiques on the market at affordable prices as values have increased and placed many buyers out of many markets. These buyers,in order to feed their collecting "jones" search for other areas of collecting and reselling. The Collectibles market is truly a market separate and distinct from the Antiques market. It is a market that will also, over time, become subject to limited availability and rising prices.

It's inevitable that the same kind of occurrence (eg. less availability, higher prices, etc.) is bound to occur in the Collectibles market and can already be seen to a certain extent. If you've been around a while (and I have!) you remember the vast number of "warehouse finds" that seemed endless and resulted in large caches of pristine collectibles. Examples included Hopalong Cassidy merchandise books, mugs, hair tonic, Peter Max pillows, many varieties of tin advertising signs, Political posters, pins and the like, Vintage iron ons, classic movie posters, boxed GI Joes!, and the list goes on and on. Now many of the business that relied entirely on these warehouse finds for there business have branched out and now sell newer collectible items and individual pieces. I'm sure there are still warehouses out there and more stuff to come but its a mere fraction of what it used to be.

Of course the best way to make money in the Collectibles markets is to "discover" the market BEFORE it becomes collectible. It's super tough but it can be done. There are no rules that I can pass on about how to do this and its the same at becoming a savvy buyer - you just know it based on experience and your developed eye. The age old question asked many experts is "what can we start buying today the will be collectible tomorrow?". Most will shy away from answering this question. Others will give you their list of what they are buying but who's to say that this list is right? Is their "eye" more developed than yours? - maybe, maybe not. Still, the only way to guarantee longevity and high profitability in this business is to speculate for the future. A substantial portion of the buying budget at Funk & Junk_® goes toward buying the collectibles of tomorrow.

Another key to making these finds is knowing them when you see them! The key here is education, yes! education. Any spare time you have should be spent doing research. Critical is that you don't limit this research to your area of interest but to other areas as well so you can expand your potential to find items you can make money on. The best education is gotten by actually being out there and/or tracking sales prices of collectibles but there are also lots of trade magazines and newspapers as well as price guides that can all be utilized in an effort to increase you potential for making the big finds.

As a way of highlighting all of these time intensive points I'll use Funk & Junk's_® store manager/Associate's schedule as an example of the time involved. Typically he's involved in the business, with an occasional hour or two goofing off or smoking a cigar, a total of 115 hours per week!

He's a TV nut and many of the remaining hours are filled with movies and the like. However, its usually combined with reading one of the dozen or so trade magazines and newspapers, doing inventory or participating in telephone auctions and mail purchases.

My ideology in this business has always been run under the key principle of having a good time doing what I love to do. If I make money along the way that's great and its certainly something I strive for but I don't set myself up for frustration or disappointment. When I do make that once or twice in a lifetime find (I've actually made a number of "once" in a lifetime finds!) its all the sweeter.

I've said it before under different circumstances but it merits repeating. If your going to get into this to make money or a full fledged business of it you need to approach it the same way you would any other business undertaking. The Collectibles business is still a business and its governed by the same constraints and overhead expenses as any other business. In fact, it can involve a significant amount of additional man time to become successful.

Sorry Mary, if there is a magic key to making these finds I haven't come across it nor have any of the Associates at Funk & Junk_®. There are no guarantees but if you invest some time and hard work to develop your "eye" and background knowledge your bound to increase your holdings with quality "valuable" pieces. Broaden your scope if you haven't already and go EVERYWHERE where Collectibles might lurk including retail shops, flea markets and shows. Even when you don't find anything, your increasing your knowledge base. Eventually you'll find your instinct taking over to a large extent and your "eye" will just lock on to the good resale pieces.

Keep plugging away Mary!, you will be amazed at how quickly your inventory will increase.

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Subject: Truisms in the Collectibles business - are they still valid?-A two part article, Part 1

Let's face it, this business has changed dramatically in the last 5 to 10 years and it's time to take a look at the validity of many of the standard "rules" proposed many, many years ago when the Collectibles business was still a gleem in the Antiques business's eye.

As the opening example I'll use one that I've been hearing a lot about as the younger generations begin to take firmer hold on a large portion of the Collectibles business. It goes something like;

Next time I'll continue my article with a discussion of "How long does it take to "make" a Collectible?
Let me know any "truisms" you would like me to discuss but don't wait too long.

Read Part 2

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Subject: Truisms in the Collectibles business - are they still valid?-A two part article, Part 2 (Read Part 1)

It has been said for many years, by some well published players in the business, that:

[As an aside, some make a further breakdown from collectibles - as do I. The simple fact that someone collects something doesn't make it a "collectible" in the true market sense. The transformation of these desired and collected items to the realm of a true collectible is difficult to define but also revolves around a significant collecting population as well as a fairly stable market value.]

Ok, I certainly see the logic behind this one but it is a "rule" that deserves some extreme softening. It does indeed take a considerable time to fairly firmly establish a market value for a collectible. Is it 30 or even 20 years? I don't think so. In some cases it appears to have a fair sense of stability in 10 years or less with many collectibles getting a good foot hold within 5.

Please keep in mind that Im excluding most "Collectible" items put out in "limited editions" or retired from production as well as, for example, "the" toy of the time (usually Christmas). This is another discussion completely but suffice it to say that many of these markets are likely due for, or already have experienced, an implosion (attention Beanie collectors!!) as seen in many examples of the recent past. These markets are often manipulated by the manufacturer and/or scalpers who buy heavily to lessen the availability even more. Limited editions do now play a role in collectibles but the long term effect comes from only truly limited editions of 10,000 or less world wide.

As illustration against this market "rule", let's take a look at Nightmare Before Christmas toys and other products. Released in 1993 these items were often seen by many stores as being seasonal toys and were, therefore, not reordered. This limited their availability but not drastically and they were not intentianally limited. These toys have been trading for some time and the prices have gone up steadily to where their prices are now somewhat flat, but still significant. Their popularity is so great that new toys have been released both here and in Japan due to the increased demand for old items and new blood. Keep in mind that these toys are being released a full 5 years after the movie was released and does not correspond with any re-release or promotional campaign further backing up the steady demand for items related to this movie. I'm fairly certain that the prices of these older toys will maintain their values of today long into the future and that the market is already fairly well established. The release of the new line of toys has had some impact on prices of older toys but it has been minimal as little duplication, to date, has occurred. This particular example would need to be revisited should they release identical action figures and the like under the new line.

Items made today are often made with collectors in mind and their future value is very much determined by their quality, distribution and initial appeal. More than the passage of time, it is these factors that determine the future values and when the after market will become firmly established. Often these items have a moderate initial appeal or exposure that increases once the items have disappeared from the retail market. Suddenly collectors are clamoring for these collectibles and the after market begins. Adding low distribution and high quality and the price point can be significant. Only the buyers in the after market can truly determine how long this secondary sales run will run and if a stable market will be created. This may simply be a short lived explosion or a long running market with stable or slowly escalating/deflating prices.

I've just touched on the two most frequently bandied about examples but more of these "rules" are out there (If you have other "rules" that you've heard for years then feel free to pass them along and I will add to this discussion).

Both of these "rules" that I've discussed were born many years ago and kept alive by long term collectors who have, to a large extent, helped to shape and grow the market for collectibles.

Believe me, I have nothing but the utmost respect for most of these mentors. Having said that, These "rules" were established when there really was no Collectibles market per se. but simply an Antiques market. The problem is that these mentors of the collectibles business constantly look at the changing market values while rarely relooking at the overall collector population and ideology that they hold.

With today's collector conscious manufactures and collectors, we are collecting in a vastly different environment from the Antiques market and even the Collectibles market of 10 years ago. The media of today has help to create the most aware, though often ill informed with choice snippets, population with respect to collectibles. The high visibility auctions of recent years along with the ever increasing numbers of Television shows dedicated to the field (eg. Antiques Road show, Collectible Treasures and At Auction) only further fuel the business and very likely the demand for some collectible categories.

Long held beliefs about the longevity of any collectible category and the market growth within those categories may very well be transformed or shattered along with the ideologies and collecting desires held by the ever growing collector population.

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Subject: On-line auctions

"Have you heard of Ebay?", "Do you sell on Ebay?"

If your involved in this business it's hard to escape these questions. With my involvement level, I hear it every single day at least once.

Having been in this business so long my initial (but internal) reaction is usually "yes, I've heard of on-line auctions (believe it or not Ebay is NOT the only on-line auction service - just the most advertised and the first kid on the block) and I've been going to auctions for many years"

When Ebay first started it really could be a phenomenal source of great buys but a good deal of these buys have disappeared and it is, today, merely another avenue for purchasing collectibles. Indeed, I have found many items significantly cheaper than Ebay final bids many times, often at on-line shops. Yes, many good buys can still be had on Ebay but these same bargains can also be found through other avenues.

The problem with getting caught up in the "Ebay fever" is that people believe the hype and figure that not only are the end results gospel and the best gauge of the market but that the best buys happen at these auctions. The key to these on-line auctions is that they must be used as simply another avenue to pursue the best buy for you collection. Sellers wont always make the best sale and buyers wont always make the best buy.

As with many means of selling and buying collectibles there are both benefits and drawbacks. Today I find little beneficial difference between these auctions and those you can attend in-person but, in an effort to be impartial, let's look at the individual benefits and drawbacks with on-line auction services:

Benefits

1. There are lots of items with many categories. This makes for a large "inventory" to choose from and can often result in obtaining an item that you would otherwise not find or spend significantly more time looking for it. It may or may not cost more than it would with further searching so this benefit may result in a drawback. Some also say that this benefit is minimal as it can often be overwhelming and impossible to take full advantage due to the sheer volume of items.
2. It provides a relatively inexpensive way for new sellers to enter the market. Fees are usually fairly low and involve both an initial listing fee as well as a percentage based fee (based on final sales price) for the sale of the item.
   As prices for dedicated Web space continue to drop along with more reliable means of finding businesses on the Net, the long term benefits for a dedicated seller may be non-existent.
3. The collecting market has grown tremendously
. Both in terms of buyers and sellers, there are lots more people involved in collecting as a result of these services. This can, however, can result in a drawback which I will discuss below (see drawback #3).

Drawbacks

1. Time consuming item tracking. Some would say it's more convenient but I think they fail to see the convenience trade off. Not only do you have to track your progress over a period of at least 3 days but if you really want the item you have to also be there for the last seconds of the auction. The reason for this last second tracking is yet another drawback...
2. "Snippers"
"Snipping" is a term given to the method of bidding in fast repetition during the last seconds (literally) of the auction, often beating the last bid by pennies.
On-line auctions are full of opportunists who only show there faces during the last seconds (literally) of the auction. Though it certainly their right to bid in this manner, I find it underhanded and greedy. This method can only result in less return for the seller and no opportunity for other buyers to competitively bid. It's one thing to be there at the end to maybe shoot slightly over your maximum as the time ticks towards the end but it's quite another thing to only post your bids during the last 60 seconds of the auction (and do it on a consistent and exclusive manner). If you computer is the fastest you have the distinct advantage.
3. Lack of selling price consistency
The same item often sells for vastly different amounts depending on who's out there buying at the time of the auction and their motivations for wanting the item. If the same item you have sells one week for $100 it does not guarantee that you identical item will bring that much the next week.

When evaluating item sale potential (and market value), careful consideration should be given to the number of participants and their final bids as well as past identical auctions and a similar analysis. As with in-person auctions, bidding wars can break out between two bidders in the crowd and often result in driving the selling prices well above the real market values. This is happening A LOT on the on-line auctions. One or two sales do not establish the market value of a collectible.

This phenomenon can also effect sales if a buyer compares a prior sale significantly below market value and uses only this information when deciding to pursue an new auction or not. In the case where the buyer pulls out because "it's not worth that much", both the buyer and seller lose.

If you listen to the scattered gossip you would assume that there is no other way to get the most for your collectibles. The fact is that on-line auctions are not always a sellers gold mine.

Does this inconsistency occur among in-person auctions? Yes. The difference is that on-line auctions are today often used as a hard and fast price guide without the normal caveats that should be taken into account.

Using a "snapshot" method of determining value such as searching for the item within what is usually no longer than a month window of past and current auctions can, and has, cloud(ed) the collecting market with misinformation regarding some established market values. In-person auction results have always been scrutinized, and often noted as coming from that venue, in price guides. Since on-line auctions have drawn many relative novices into the market, this same scrutiny is often overlooked.

Though I'm not as diehard a fan as many people are about on-line auctions, I actually think the end result of their appearance has had a positive effect on the market. I use them, but not exclusively.

Many sellers in shops, shows and coops around the country have complained that on-line auctions have resulted in drastic drops in their businesses. These complaints have gotten press, I believe, because many people in our business don't often share their thoughts when business is good.

From my conversations with many in the business I think that any drop in business has been more a result of normal economic factors. In fact, I have found that many other non-collectible type businesses are also suffering.

Many businesses I've talked with, however, have seen a positive effect from these on-line auctions. Not only have they brought many new buyers into the realm but also more sellers anxious to turn a profit. More sales require more goods and they've got to come from somewhere!

The key to turning the on-line auctions to a beneficial venue is knowledge.

It's very important that sellers still acquire a basic knowledge of the collectibles market. Utilizing this knowledge, the seller should give careful consideration to the minimum opening bid. I'm not a big fan of reserves but if you utilize this in conjunction with a minimum opening bid you should also give careful consideration to this amount. It's also helpful to experienced buyers to have the opening bid have a close relationship to the reserve so that you don't tick bidders off (and shoo them away from your auction) by posting a minimum of $1 (presumably to save the $0.25 or so in listing fees) with a reserve of $50 or more (again, this happens A LOT on on-line auctions).

As time continues I certainly hope that the on-line sellers develop these "rules" that govern in-person auctions.

Buyer too should strive to become educated regarding the collectibles market. The more information and real sales results you know about the better. Always shop around and don't assume that the item your bidding on is the best value.

What does the future hold for these on-line auctions?
I believe that within a relatively short period of time they will simply fit neatly into the collectibles market patchwork. The auctions are already becoming faster as well as providing additional services such as automated searches (you get notification via E-mail for your most sought after regular searches). I'm hopefully that these types of value added features will continue to grown as competition between these sites increases and levels out.

Right now it's an uphill battle for other sites since many are reluctant to leave Ebay. Competition should win out and the end result for participants will hopefully be additional well featured sites with lower fees and additional membership benefits.

On-line auctions are not the end all location for buying or selling collectibles. As with other venues they have both positive and negative factors that need to be considered when using them either as a seller or buyer. They are, however, here to stay and should be added to any buyers or sellers bag and used with common sense to either make the greatest return on your investment or the best buy for new additions to your collection.

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Subject: What are the current trends in Collectibles?

So it is finally with the help of my readers, specifically Paul F., that I am forced to get off my butt and jot down some more of my thoughts about the Collectibles business. I hope that others take the hint and send me some more article suggestions. Sure, I have a lot of half finished thoughts on bits of paper and in small snippet computer files on my computer but I rarely get a chance to finish any of them. It keeps me rather tied up between answering all your questions (thank-you!) and doing the research behind them, inventory work and my few secret projects that I have brewing in the background.

Some people talk about trends in terms of specific items that are hot during that particular time of publishing their article. I think this is certainly a viable article but can tend to be based on a fairly brief happenings. As we all know, categories like stocks have their high and low periods and most of the well established categories never really go away but simply fade from the forefront. Many come back full force within a 2-5 year period. I would rather direct my comments towards the Collectibles market as a whole to tell you where I think this relatively new market is headed.

In terms of the aforementioned trends I think it's really safe to say that there are no real hard trends at all. The Collectibles market is currently in a "boom" stage and is ever expanding. There are ever increasing categories of viable, and well followed, Collectibles such that it's really difficult to say, for example, that collecting Art Pottery is a current trend.

Because of the "boom" and extensive small pockets of hard core collectors for new collecting categories, the saying "Buy what you like" has never been truer. Using my approach to trends I would certainly say that the first observable trend is that of expansion. Expansion refers not only the the ever increasing categories brought to light for both new and old collectors but also is refers to the huge numbers of non-collectors that are being baptised into the market.

The expansion trend is due in no small part to the Web. On-line auctions draw everyone, not just collectors but people looking for good everyday item buys as well. While they are there shopping, lets say, for a new hard drive for the computer they notice an auction for a toy they remember as a child. Upon closer inspection they realize that they have to have it. The collector is born! It's only a small step from this scenario to the next which is seeing if anything else rings a bell in the auction listings. From there its only a matter of time before the person is frantically searching all the categories in the auction as well as visiting every site he/she can find not only finding and buying their old items but also the items that they didn't have but wanted.

Scarcity is a second trend that ties nicely with the expansion trend. It goes without saying that as the buyer population grows, the availability of true, old, collectibles becomes harder and harder to find. As a buyer I have noted this trend really becoming clear within the last 5 years (though I first saw the tendency about 10 years ago).

With the boom that we are experiencing along with the growing collecting public and scarcity it brings about the next trend emerges: diversity. As the well established collecting categories get ever increasingly hard to find and more expensive to buy new markets are created. These include not only brand new collectible categories but also further splintering of established categories in what I call "mini categories". These mini categories can also be reversed when an established very specific category is broadened such as smoking collectibles from the established lighter category. Before any of you jump on me to tell me that you have been collecting anything I've mentioned for years keep in mind that I'm talking about both broad acceptance as well as recognition of the collectible by other collectors in other markets. For example, I for one have been buying cigarette cases, ashtrays and the like for many years.

The last trend is more about the collecting public as opposed the markets themselves. I have seen a trend towards a vintage lifestyle by the experienced collecting public. Collectibles and Antiques are once again viable options to traditional furnishings and in a bigger way than ever. Collectors want to live the collecting lifestyle and that includes not only hard goods for display but everything from vintage clothing to furnishings and appliances. The nice thing about the expanding markets is the mix and match potentials that it creates and an eclectic look was never more acceptable.

Many manufactures have already noted this trend and you can see it with the many retro designs and merchandise that has become available in the last few years. These marketing trends mirror what I see as this lifestyle trend as not only are toys, for example, rereleased but vintage clothing designs are being replicated, vintage appliances remanufactured, etc.. Often these items cost more than the originals and, I believe, tend to appeal more to the newer collectors who aren't quite as aware of availability and pricing as the experienced collectors are. Of course this appeal to the new collectors has a tendency to further the trend of expansion. There are exceptions of course and more and more items are being remanufactured that are simply too scarce or costly for many to afford when they are found and provides a nice opportunity to own the image of the original at least (something, by the way, that I have no problem with).

I'm guessing that this article may leave one with a sense of doom about the Collectibles arena but not to worry. These trends have the tendency to balance themselves. As the collectors expand and traditional items become scarce so too do the market categories that are available to both old and new collectors. Those living the true collectors lifestyle simply push the markets towards further expansion as the need for new surroundings.

No better example of this balance effect exists but the establishing of the Collectibles market as a distinct market from Antiques. As Antique categories over time followed similar trends, collectibles categories became established until the sheer number grew so large and the overlap with Antiques became ever blurring that our current market was born.

By the same token it's also not all good news. For the already established categories you can certainly look for, and already see to a large extent, increased prices and further scarcity of nice examples. Regardless, it's an exciting time to be involved in the Collectibles market and I, for one, wouldn't trade it for the world or the increased efforts I have to go to and sometimes increased costs for some items I collect or sell. It will certainly all come around in the end and you need only take a historical look at some Antique categories to see a mirror of many Collectible items today, don't miss the boat!

Thanks for the tap on the shoulder Paul, I would be a little more prolific if more of my readers pushed me to create articles for the future.

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Subject: Do remakes of classic T.V. shows and cartoons increase the value of related collectibles?
Question:Hi Gang!,
Elle here. This letter/article is to answer the staggering number of Charlie's Angels value requests I have received recently. Basically most, but not all, of them revolve around a similar question worded in different ways.

Basically, "Now that the new Charlie's Angels movie is out is my {insert Charlie's Angels merchandise of your choice here} worth a lot more?"
Answer:Me again,
I could answer this question with a short and simple no but that's probably a little too basic and a cope out on my part so I'll probably end up saying too much. That's why it's great to have a venue!

This issue really revolves around remakes of classics like Charlie's Angels and how the production companies go about it. Just like all my other articles it's my opinion and your not only free to differ in your thoughts but I would like to hear them too.

History shows that the vast majority of these remakes may get decent box office numbers but ultimately fail when it comes to the hard core fans and collectors. The reason is simple, they try to reinvent the wheel.

What we as fans and collectors really want is the old show. Redo it, flash it up, add special effects but give us the same show! Stay within the plot lines that would normally occur. Even revamping old plot lines is ok with a twist for the current day and age.

Not that it was a ground breaking movie but I think a good illustration of what I'm talking about can be seen with the movie "The Brady Bunch". This movie did actually significantly spark up the interest and, to a lesser extent, the values of Brady merchandise. Here the studio took bits and pieces of classic plots from the original series that we could all relate to and put in 90's twists that fit rather well. They didn't start from scratch and question the original character development and theme/plots but, instead, used the solid base that they already had and molded it for today's audience.

Do movies that miss this mark create other fans? Sure. These fans, however, are based more on the merchandising of the current film rather than the older items. Certainly they will buy older items if the price is right but they will usually fail to see the value in extreme (for them) priced items.

The phenomena of reinventing the wheel usually bleeds over to the merchandising end of things as well. While the new Charlie's Angels dolls, for example, are great star collectibles for the lead actresses they hardly fit the concept that most collectors of Angels stuff have for the classic 70's beauties. Too many manufactures of movie licensed toys and merchandise produce an image of the character/cartoon that are so modernized that they often don't appear to even have a connection with the older characters. The best success with these type of toys are ones that are strictly manufactured for collectors by detail/authenticity oriented companies. Major companies seem to try and go for both the young toy audience as well as older collectors and this usually doesn't work.

So though you may see people jacking there prices up on older Charlie's Angels items there will be few takers at exaggeratedly high prices. Of course as with other 70's toys today values have gone up in the recent years but this is not due to the release of the movie. In fact, the release of the movie is more in response to the popularity and collectibility of the 70's rather than the reverse.

So, though your item may surprise you in terms of value it is merely the normal function of time and growth of the collector market rather than the release of the new movie. In brief here are the values for the various deluge of questions I received. Many of you duplicated your requests so I'm killing a whole slew of questions with this one. Values are shown in a range from VG to NM to address the various conditions submitted.



Item	Retail value
Trading cards, set 1	$55-65
Trading cards, set 2	$40-45
8" Action figures/cards (as C.A. characters)	$70-85
Charlie's Angels Game	$35-50
Various puzzles/boxes	$25-45
Hide Away house / box	$80-$125
Cheryl Ladd record album	$25-45

Thanks for all your submissions,
Elle

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Subject: "Retro" vs. "Vintage", there is a difference

After viewing yet another special on a major cable network making the same mistake as so many people (and MOST televised shows) do, I can hold my tongue no longer. Certainly we understand what most people mean when they point at Vintage clothing or older Collectibles and say "..how retro" but this is not correct.

Many of you will think this subject minor but if your involved with the business it is as important as any other business's terminology. Stick with me through this short article and I'm hopeful you will be convinced.

Whenever I'm working at a booth or show and people look at my Vintage clothing and make similar remarks I politely engage them and point out subtly that these items are the real thing and not retro. Retro is defined as reviving a style that is suggestive of a style of the past. With the scarcity of many vintage styles, retro examples do indeed exist but they are distinct from the vintage originals. There are actually a small percentage of these people that really do not realize the difference.

To me this is not unlike someone in the Antiques business having people identify their items as Collectibles. Even though these definitions are not as clear cut, most people recognize the difference and would never interchange these descriptions.

Since the Collectibles business, as it's own and distinct entity, is fairly new I believe that such distinctions are critical. Further, I think it is the job of those in the business to educate the general public not only with regards to the markets and Collectibles but also but also about its terminology.

There is simply too much misinformation (or partial information) about the business from the media without basic terminology misunderstandings but it continues to happen on both cable and network channels. I'm just one person but things don't get changed unless you say something so I will continue to say EVERYTHING!

Call me hardcore but the subtleties of this business are important to its growth. I welcome your comments or you may make suggestions to create articles for the future.

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Subject: Are all Antiques and Collectibles dealers crooked?

Though it might be some time before this is published, I just finished watching a news magazine program that did a piece on "unscrupulous" Antique dealers. Grouped with crooked repair men, the image of Antique (no Collectible dealers featured) dealers was given a broad negative stroke that included a good deal of misleading information. While I certainly believe there is a good deal of negative and/or dishonest blood in the Antiques business, this piece lacked credibility.

The program was based on a "sting" operation in which certain Antique items that were previously appraised by "experts" were then taken to various Antique dealers to see what they would offer. Hidden cameras were used and items that were previously appraised by the experts were taken to various dealers to determine value and to sell them. They would then go back and buy them back at what they usually called an outrageous mark up. I happen to disagree about at least one of their appraisals but they were reasonably close and certainly close enough to try their experiment.

The appraisals were given by a team of 2 "experts" who were authors of a recently published generalized guide for checking out if you have anything worth some cash. I'm purposely being vague as my argument is based on their conclusions which have been reached, incorrectly, by others in the recent past and that is my point rather than having an objection with specific people (whether it is called for or not). However, I should note that no time during the program were the true expertise of the experts ever highlighted so I would assume that they have a general knowledge of the business at best. It should be noted to that the items utilized included Silver and plates/ceramics only.

The dealers featured often gave the impression that the items were worth significantly less than the market would bear and I believe that most of these dealers were a little (or a lot) underhanded about their methodology. They were not, however, dishonest in the true sense of the word. It is certainly not the procedure I would hope for in the business but it does exist and now more than ever it pays to do a little research on your own prior to selling your items. A decent ability to judge people and read the signs would help too since the demeanor and language of most of these dealers hit me like a slap in the face that said "Don't sell to these jokers at any price". You are not paying for an appraisal of your item when you go to sell it, quite the contrary. It is not in the best interest of the dealer to provide you with a free appraisal but so many people expect it. Our true value is our ability to see the potential profits in items and most of us have spent a good deal of time and money developing this knowledge to make a living. We are (well most of us anyway) professionals.

While I will certainly agree that some of the dealers featured were, in my opinion, high on the scum scale I completely disagree with the reason that the experts were so upset. The experts said that a fair profit for all items bought is 100% of purchase price (in other words, pay 50% of what an item is "worth or sell for twice what you pay). Now I can tell you that if all items coming in the door of a city antique business (let alone many other retail businesses!) were restricted to a 100% profit then they would likely be making a poor living indeed and this is based on my real life experiences.

Herein is probably one of my key points. Whoever these "experts" are they always make fatal generalizations. There are many other bad generalizations made in the media but I'll stick to the point for now. Suffice to say that these broad, uneducated, negative comments effect our business significantly.

There is certainly no fixed mark up and if anything there are only generalities that I would place in the purchase price of 20-33% of retail price with 50% being the maximum percentage usually reserved for rare items or items for which a seller is already in place. Consider for a moment that most consignment shops charge 50% and they never have cash out of their pocket. Does it make sense then for dealers to pay the same amount and hold the item for the same potential sale while the seller walks away with his/her money? In fact, I know of very few business that follow a 100% profit rule...been to get your car repaired lately? One of my biggest pet peeves is that the Antiques and Collectibles businesses are never seen as true businesses, even by many IN the businesses! These businesses have the same restrictions, costs, work and other variables that most businesses do.

As and aside that is still related to the concept of our business by the uneducated observer, here's an example that just kills me and should worry many in our business, even the casual dabbler, and still relates to the purchase of Antiques and "fair" mark-up. An original Titanic ticket with postcards was sold to a dealer for $1000. The price was, presumably, agreed upon by the two men involved. The dealer apparently gave what turned out to be a low estimation of a retail price but admits that his information and research were very much off the cuff. Regardless, a dealer does not have the responsibility to quote an exact selling price to anyone selling items to him. In fact, in this day and age I believe that someone who has something to sell needs to set his/her price and negotiate from there. This may involve some research but the information is usually out there. Anyway, the man spent a great deal of time and money to research and then advertise the Titanic ticket for auction. The auction resulted in a selling price close to $20,000. The man who originally sold the ticket to the dealer sued and won an award of $18,000, though the decision is being appealed.

Auction sales are more unpredictable now than ever. Even the greatest of auction houses is having its estimates of selling prices for desireable item blown away by the hungry public. Auctions are, by definition, an unknown. Even if the dealer placed a reserve on his ticket it could easily have gone unsold. Getting back to the issue at hand, does the dealer have a right to sue the seller if he can't get his 100% mark up in a month?, 2 months, a year? Of course not, anyone would say that is ridiculous but I see little difference when the shoe is on the other foot. When someone comes into a dealers shop to sell an item(s) it may be from any collecting field and one which the dealer may have limited or no knowledge. Dealers very often take chances based on vague remembrances and speculation, it is the nature of the business and few items (even in established categories) are cut and dry with regards to price.

Ok, then the team of experts say that it IS a "Business like any other" Finally a true statement yet they still hold to the 100% mark up ideology. At least they scratch one of my pet peeves.....kind of.

Now don't get me wrong, there are bad people in the business (My experience, by the way, has been that the growing Collectibles business is for the time being a little more scrupulous) but as with everything we need to stop making such broad strokes.

Today too many people have too little respect for the effort and cost of running an Antiques and/or Collectibles business. Many assume that we simply roll out of bed on a Saturday morning, hit a few yard sales, and we're done for the week with only a few dollars spent. Get over it!, those days are long gone. Dealers today have to spend at least as much time as they do selling buying items. Does their search take them to yard sales and thrift stores? Yes but this is far from the end of the avenues they must travel to get good saleable merchandise. Do yard sale and thrift store finds still happen? Sure they do but it is few and far between and these items are usually the items that show the greatest profit margin and help keep the business afloat.

Combine the buying factors with the research that is often necessary for many items and you have a full schedule indeed. The times that I am fully involved in the business my weeks were generally comprised of 80 hours dedicated to the business in one form or another. Not that I'm bitching because I love this stuff but it is food for thought for those who see our lifestyle and business as simple.

We are entitled to a fair profit and these profits often times average out with some items selling for double their cost and others selling for ten times their cost. This mix is necessary for anyone to make even a decent living in this business and believe me that most of us aren't getting rich. By the way, many items don't sell at all and we pay for those mistakes by often losing all or most of what we paid. These items may be sold below what we paid.

Even people off the street selling one or two items has to take some responsibility for their business, however brief. Use common sense and judgement with the people you deal with regardless of the circumstances and don't sell to dealers that don't stick you as "right" for any reason.

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Subject: World Trade Center items, collectible or not?

Question:I have a 2001 calendar that has the World Trade Center picture on the month of September. It also has a white truck on it with the American eagle on it. The other months on the calendar, only have pictures of big rigs on it. Do you think this calendar will be worth something, someday?

pattykaks

Hi pattykaks,
Kind of a slippery question and you probably wont be happy with my less than distinct answer. Certainly other disaster related items from the past have indeed become collectible to some. It really comes down to the nature of the disaster in my opinion.

For example, there are very strong feelings, in both directions, with regards to Nazi items and holocaust related artifacts. Some say that it is an important piece of history that not only needs to be preserved but displayed in order to prevent such atrocities from occurring in the future and so that future generations never forget. Others hold that the "collecting" of these items should be stopped at all cost, including the personal freedom to do so. Case in point is the banning of such items from most online auction sites. It is true, by the way, that there are some sickos out there who collect at least the Nazi related items for the wrong reasons. Personally I don't want anything to do with these types of items though I think that stopping all trading of these items is not right. The fact of the matter is that like any other restricted item, the people (sick or not) who want those restricted items will get them.

Will the intense, wide ranging, emotions related to the WTC disaster fade enough such that collectors will pay a premium for related items? Will the trading of these items fall victim to political correctness and be limited? Only time will tell but I would wager that your item, at least, will not yield a high value even if such a collecting trend occurs. I believe it is somewhat morose for me to place a potential value on your calendar though I don't fault you for asking your question. In fact, I usually shy away from speculating the future value of any collectible anyway.

Not only do I not fault you for your legitimate question but I'm grateful since your questions is an important one and raises a related issue that is already occurring and revolves around just such speculation. I find all of the following instances deplorable and the people participating as extremely low on the human being scale. Many people are capitalizing not only on the American flag shortage but also on the WTC, NY and threatened monuments market. Though you may think those vans that have popped up on the roadsides full of American flags and merchandise are backed by American pride I find them to be backed by nothing more than opportunist greed. As if this was not bad enough I can't tell you the number of instances where I have seen the jacking up of prices for all old/newer merchandise featuring the NY skyline.

Granted, this type of activity in the Antiques/Collectibles business has always had a large presence. Consider the death of a star, athlete, etc. and the prices on related items the next day. This kind of price hiking has little basis save for the rarest and oldest of items. Markets rarely work in such a manner that such drastic increases in prices are felt literally from one day to the next, it is usually a gradual increase. You may counter that it is simply a matter of supply and demand but I hold that most of these dealers have no concrete knowledge of the actual supply/demand of these items but are simply attempting to make higher profits from the equally uneducated new/novice collectors of such items. The American flag market both in person and online is a great example of this. I can only hope that those outrageous prices realized, mostly online, are followed by the donation of the lions share to a disaster relief fund.

So I leave it up to you whether your calendar is worth keeping for an extended period of time but I will add that even when disaster related items to become valuable that most commercial paper items receive the most modest values.

Thanks,
Elle

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