Anyone Into Antique Dealing?

[MarmaladeSandwich7]

I have suddenly found that I have a real eye for fine china, glassware etc. Loving the buzz of finding bargains but need to be careful as I won some money the other night & bought quite a lot of items. Trying to declutter the house too! The plan is to rent a cabinet in a local shop & maybe sell a few things on E Bay or Etsy. Wondered if anyone has any tips? This is a hobby rather than a job & I don’t have vast amounts of time to devote to it,hence the renting of a cabinet.

Anyone out there?

Ive been selling on Ebay for 20 plus years - mostly antique and vintage jewellery and accessories. I also sell on a couple of American sites and a Spanish one. Goods like glass and china are heavy and fragile to pack and do not sell well unless they are very high quality art glass or collectables. Sorry!

I would look at something else you have an interest in. Vintage clothing and accessories sell well and are easier top post. Also small collectables like toys and games, half dolls, etc.

It depends whether you are willing to post international. I have done since the beginning and about 90% of my stuff goes to the USA. As well as Ebay and Etsy there are also Vinted and Debop for the UK. All of these markets are different so you need to do your research and scope out the rules.

I've not done it, but I can only advise you to be very sure of the value of what you're selling. We've all seen the segments on Antiques Roadshow where they say they paid a tenner for something on eBay and the expert tells them it's worth £1,000.
Good luck!

DW did this with units at a number of antique centres. She made pin money but nothing more. It was great fun, and she loved it - especially going to auction - but unless you are very lucky you won't make a living from it.
She had to give it up when her health declined.
The only one of her friends in the trade who did make a living in antiques, gave up dealing entirely and opened a centre of her own renting out units to traders!
Give it a go, but keep the day job!