Once a dealer commits to carrying moderate-to-high-end vintage items, the procurement game changes. He realizes that he can no longer rely on Craigslist and estate sales for his inventory.
That's not to say dealers abandon Craigslist altogether or quit scanning the estate sale photos for great pieces in the background. Amazing finds at reasonable prices still show up occasionally, but they're too hit-and-miss to keep a store or a shop on an online marketplace like
1stdibs or
V&M stocked. (For instance, V&M suggests that dealers start with a minimum of 60 items with an average price of $1500 and add new stock weekly. Many dealers on 1stdibs list far more items...and with considerably higher price tags.) It's simply too time-consuming to be on the constant prowl for that kind of inventory while trying to keep regular store hours.
So it's necessary to figure out fairly quickly what the heavy hitters in the business do. Fortunately, there are several nationally known dealers here in Dallas whose business practices we have been able to observe. They mainly buy at auction, have a few trusted pickers who bring them quality pieces on a regular basis and have built such reputations for themselves that people are constantly offering to sell them great pieces of furniture.
We're getting there. It's become rarer and rarer for my SIL to go to estate sales or buy off Craigslist. He finds it a much more efficient use of his time and resources to monitor the auctions sites or build relationships with pickers and vintage modern collectors who frequently have good pieces for sale than to drive around town or sit in front of an estate sale at 4 a.m. hoping to pick up something, although he will if he sees something too good to pass up. Here are just a few of the pieces we've bought lately:
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| Alvar Aalto wing chair, Model 41 |
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| Dunbar side tables |
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| J. L. Moller armchairs |
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| Nanna Ditzel style chair |
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| Vladimir Kagan chairs |
We've also bought a Scarpa style coffee table and a really cool chrome chandelier. All these pieces will be making their way to the brick-and-mortar store and online shop as soon as they are cleaned up/restored.
Thanks for the interesting insight, Dana! I've always wondered how dealers handled those things. Seeing how the market is like from an amateur's point of view, I've always thought it must be very time consuming. There's an awful lot of junk to go through before you hit the jackpot!
ReplyDeleteLovely pieces, I thought I knew my Aalto, but I've never seen the wing chair before!
You're right that there is an unbelievable amount of junk to go through in order to find truly valuable pieces in good condition. We didn't have much trouble keeping our antique mall booth stocked, because it was small and we were selling mostly inexpensive, kitschy 50s pieces. When we opened our first store, we had a source for teak pieces imported from England (G-Plan, Remploy, etc.), which we could sell at only a slightly higher price point than the booth merchandise, and we would make the occasional great find. When we moved to our current location almost a year ago, we made a decision to up the ante a bit and knew we'd have to find some new sources.
DeleteDo you ever worry it will run out? I worry all the vintage gems will disappear! Really.
ReplyDeleteWe talk about this from time to time. However, there seems to be a good bit of turnover, with people selling pieces in order to make room for new finds. In all truthfulness, I think Mad Men created a huge fad that will eventually die down. The Johnny-come-latelys will move on to the next fad and get rid of all their vintage pieces when they don't think it's cool anymore, and the rest of us will have more to buy!
DeleteYour comment on the "Mad Men" craze is so right on, I remember when my beloved midcentury taste was viewed as junk and I could furnish my house for nothing...People were giving the style away on the curb...Now, I ask how much on some non-designer lamp and they are like "$500," and then they say, "it's midcentury." What does that mean!? "it's midcentury?" I find it kind of funny and say, "good luck with that."
DeleteLike the previous commenter, I do wonder about "supply." I find it encouraging though that there seems to be no issue when it comes to demand. Mid2mod made me realize that there really is a market for vintage.
ReplyDeleteLike fine art, I believe that very high quality vintage furniture, like Wegner or Nakashima pieces, will always be in demand among serious collectors. And like Picassos and Rothkos and Pollocks, they will be bought and sold within that group. Eventually, I predict that the 70s and 80s will be the new 50s, and the people stockpiling those designs will make a fortune. :)
DeleteI do not believe this is possible for the 80's. Seriously.
DeleteIt will likely be awhile until I can play in that league. I'm constantly either working in the store, hunting new pieces or working on my own or someone elses stuff. I put in more hours now working for myself than I ever did working for someone else but I love what I do! I just need to clone myself! Those are some really nice finds!
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean. My SIL has worked harder (and put in longer hours) at the store than he ever did when he was working an 8 to 5 job. Unless some generous benefactor hands you a wad of money to start a store, I think we all start the same way, whether in a booth or a small shop...constantly hunting merchandise, restoring it and trying to turn it as quickly as possible. That can eventually cut down on the quality time you spend with family, though, so that's an incentive to work smarter, not harder.
DeleteThat's a constant topic around here...and the reason we're constantly tweaking the business model. :)
I like this day in the life post. I have been talking to vintage store owners lately (as you know). It is a difficult labor of love for sure. Smarter not harder is my motto too.
ReplyDeleteIf you're in a business like this for the long haul...and as your primary source of income...you have to keep thinking about ways to grow and evolve. You can't treat it like a hobby. That's one of the reasons my SIL has added several lines of new modern to his inventory. You have the expense of paying for floor models, but then you can sell and order 24/7 if you want to. Also, you figure out pretty quickly that you have to sell a boatload of $350 pieces (as well as find, haul and clean up every single one of them) to cover your overhead, while the sale of a couple of upscale pieces a month can be enough...with a lot less legwork.
DeleteHi Dana, This is an interesting post on the game change in high end collectible furniture. When I see something in an Estate Sale listing, I have to get out of bed at some ungodly hour to get a number at the sale so I get first pick of the contents. I collect and sell antique books and while I still have luck at local sales and thrift stores, the more experienced I get, the less there is to choose from at sales and thrift stores. Half the time I go to an estate sale the operators know nothing about books and condition, they think "just because it's old, it's worth something" then they try to pass that belief or advice on to me...Ha! So they are trying to sell some raggedy old book for way more than it's worth. You can't tell them any different because it's impossible to know the value of every old book and piece of paper. I've also moved on to auctions and trying creative ways to find private collections that never see the light of an estate sale or thrift store. That doesn't mean that thrifting and sales can't still be fun!
ReplyDeleteRose, that's a very good point. Estate sale workers seldom really know much about what they're selling. They tend to underprice tremendously, which is what we all hope for, or they ridiculously overprice things "just because they're old." We got tired of sitting in the car in the cold only to get inside and find the latter. The auction houses that specialize in the types of collectibles we buy seem to be a lot more knowledgeable, so pricing is more realistic, and you waste a lot less time.
DeleteYou're also right about getting creative and finding private sellers. The more you network, the more serious collectors you meet, and they're always buying and selling.
Thrifting and estate sales are still fun, and we still have several estate sale contacts who do their homework on items and let us know when they're having sales with merchandise we might like, but we don't rely on them anymore to keep our floor stocked!