Abacus
Antique Dealers: Hunting for antiques
When
it comes to hunting for antiques this is the fun part
for both beginners and those who have had a passion
for antiques for many years and consider themselves
experts. Some antique hunters liken their obsession
with collecting and hunting for antiques to having
an addiction to shopping, you know an item is out
there and it is something which can be treasured and
it’s just waiting to be found and bought.
Antiques
can be found in a huge and varied amount of ways,
there are specialist shop and auction houses, estate
sales and garage sales, even car boot and jumble sales
have been known to oust an antique worth hundreds
if you are lucky.
It
is the diversity of this that keeps the blood flowing
for those who collect and indeed sell antiques, the
not knowing what is around the corner and what bargains
can be found along with going out intentionally to
an auction house to bid on something specific to add
to the collection. Antiques are for profit and for
pleasure and they are a fast raising interest among
people of all ages.
Auction
houses are of course one place where you can be sure
that you will find what you are looking for, they
will have listings of what’s on offer along with
descriptions and the only thing you have to do is
to turn up and hopefully out bid to get the piece
you have set your heart on. Of course you should always
have a budget in mind and never make the mistake of
going over this budget however tempting it might be
in the heat of the moment.
Bidding
can and invariably does end up going well over the
projected price if there are several collectors all
after the same piece, so set out with a limit and
stop once this limit has been reached.
An
estate sale can pose the same problem, bidding can
go well over what you are willing to pay or should
pay and great care needs to taken to stick within
your set budget.
The
smaller estate sales can be conducted without an auction
and this is where you can sometimes grab yourself
a real bargain, estate sales such as this are well
known for their wonderful antique furniture but you
have to know what to look for and bear in mind that
the furniture bought this way will probably have been
in the family for generations and will probably suffer
from wear and tear.
If
you know a little about antiques then some of the
best bargains can be found at such as car boot sales,
jumble sales and garage sales, items that have been
within the family for years and classed as antique
can be picked up for a ridiculous low sum of money.
You
do however have to rely on your own expertise when
hunting for antiques in this way and also be aware
that there are very clever antique reproductions out
there. Never take the word of the seller if they tell
you that an item has been in the family for generations,
it could well have, but then again the piece could
be nothing but a red herring meant solely to attract
you so buy with caution and a very keen eye.
