Antiques and Collectables for Pleasure & Profit SUMMER 2013 | Page 12

11 Rules for Collectors

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We can’t emphasise this rule too much: you really
need to do your homework. Luckily the internet makes
it a lot easier to uncover information these days, but
being informed also involves getting out and seeing –
touching – examples of whatever it is you want to
collect. Make yourself familiar with the market; know
what items are selling for how much and you’ll have a
much better idea of whether something is a good buy
or not when it turns up in front of you. Auctions are a very good way to keep
tabs on the market by tracking the sale price of items that interest you (don’t
forget to factor in the buyer’s premium). The internet is also handy for
research when something is listed as ‘rare’. If you can find several other
near-identical pieces offered for sale after a quick Google search,
it isn’t rare. It’s always a good idea to invest in specialist books
and magazines, go to exhibitions and consult museums. Your
chosen field of collecting may have been all the rage 150 years
ago but that doesn’t mean there isn’t new information being
uncovered all the time. Risk is reduced by information.

3

2

Do your homework

Pick an item up and look at
it! Feel it, put it down, pick
it up again, look at it from
the bottom, the top, the
sides and even get a
magnifying glass out if you
want a closer look. Make
sure you’re entirely happy with what you see,
especially if you’re buying at auction. A mistake
made when buying from a dealer can usually be
rectified but if you buy something at auction that
you later discover has
damage, missing parts
or isn’t what you
thought it was –
too bad. It’s your
problem.

Buy the best
you can afford

Buy it because you like it
In other words, don’t try to buy an investment. Don’t
expect your antiques and collectables to make you lots
of money, because the chances are they won’t. But
they’ll probably do something that anything you buy
brand new will never do, and that’s hold their value.
Let’s say you spend $5500 outfitting your bedroom
with antique pine. You could probably have
gone to Ikea and fitted it out for under
$2000. But when you eventually decide to
sell your antique pine and redecorate your
bedroom, you’ll more than likely get around
$5000 (or more) back for your antique
furniture. If you bought everything from
Ikea, you’ll be paying someone to take it
away. The rule is to buy it because you like
it, because if you’re probably not going to
end up making money on something you
might as well love having it \