GO AHEAD, TAKE A PEEK....... THE AUGUST ISSUE IS OUT!

OKAY, I SEE THE GIRL ON THE BEACH AT SALTAIR, BUT, WOULDN'T YOU RATHER TAKE A LOOK AT

THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE

NEW CENTURY COLLECTOR!

JUST CLICK ON THE FRONT COVER TO GET AN EARLY PEEK

AT OUR AUGUST ISSUE 

 

STROLL ON DOWN AND WISH ELEMENTE' A HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

in·sti·tu·tion (instiˈt(y)o͞oSHən)

a. A custom, practice, relationship, or behavioral pattern of importance in the life of a community or society: b. One long associated with a specified place, position, or function. c. Elemente'.

 

If you like your antiques served with a little common sense, and a side of amity instead of pretention, you're probably  part of the crowd that has spent years  filling their homes with hand picked furnishings from Elemente', Salt Lake City's hippest vintage/retro/resale shop. For more than two decades,  Elemente' has been dishing up the kind of things that were trendy before anyone else knew it.  Making my monthly pilgramage down town to see Kate & Teresa turns is something I always look forward to.  Happy anniversary !

 Stop by and congratulate Kate & Teresa 

Friday (July 19th) as Elemente' celebrates it's

25th anniversary. 

 

6:00 until whenever 

 

Elemente' is located on

Pierpont Avenue and 353 West in Salt Lake City

 

 

MULTI-DENOMINATIONAL WORSHIP..... FLEA MARKET EXTRAVAGANZA! or, God loves a good flea market

For those of us who find antiquing to be a religous experience, Sunday morning was nothing less than zen.  The Urban Flea market at 6th South and Main Street, and the Salt Lake Vintage Flea market on 1300 So. and 5th West both held the kind of services that make you want to set your alarm clock.

UNDER THE TREES AT THE URBAN FLEA MARKET

You couldn't ask for a more fabulous morning to wander around the shady Urban Flea Market in downtown Salt Lake City. Booth after booth offered a nice selection of antiques, and vintage merchandise.  The sun was warm, the vendors friendly, and prices enticing. 

THE MARKET STAFF -  (RIGHT TO LEFT)

 ALEX WOODRUFF,  KATE WHEADON & MICHAEL SANDERS

The farmers Market component added to this years Urban Flea market was offering a selection of early Utah crops, crafts and specialty foods.   

 

SUPER PICKER MICHAEL SOVIC WAS SHOWING OFF AN ANTIQUE

QUACK MEDICAL DEVICE HE FOUND AT THE MARKET

By about 10 o'clock, the sun was starting to get a little angry, and we had done about all of the damage we could do.  We had bought a few goodies, and snacked on fresh cherries as if they were popcorn. So it was time to move down the road for some indoor services

 

KEEP'N THE CONGREGATION COOL

By the time we got to the Salt Lake Vintge Flea Market, we found ourselves saying a little prayer for whoever invented air conditioning. It seems like you could melt just walking from the parking lot to the front door, but step inside, and you'll find they keep this chapel nice & cool.

 FLEA MARKET OWNER EMY MALOUTAS 



Flea Market owners Will Dator & Emy Maloutas can usually be found at the front desk welcoming their parishioners.  Housed in an old warehouse, the place is stuffed with just the kind of goodies that vintage & retro shoppers are looking for. 

AS USUAL, LYN WAS BUSY SHOPPING HER WAY TO NIRVANA

Antiques & collectibles, vintage clothing, records, jewelry, knick knacks & whatzits abound at the SL Vintage Flea Market.  Nice & cool in the summer, and toasty warm in the winter. You just won't find a better place to go to Sunday School.

 

The Urban Flea Market is open throughout the summer, from 9:00 to 3:00 the second

Sunday of the Month.

 

The Salt Lake Vintage Flea Market is open year round, Saturday & Sunday from 10:00 to 4:00.

And, you'll also want to check out

their evening auction,

the first Friday of every month.

 

 

 

 

 





GOING... GOING... GONE!

SINCE THE AUCITON AT THE SALT LAKE VINTAGE FLEAMARKET WAS CANCELLED LAST FRIDAY; WILL, EMY & THE CREW WILL BE BRINGING DOWN THE GAVEL THIS COMING FRIDAY ON WHAT SHOULD BE THEIR BEST LOT OF CONSIGNMENTS TO DATE.

 

THIS AUCTION IS A GREAT WAY TO SPEND A FRIDAY EVENING.  PEOPLE WATCH, EAT LITTLE AND IF YOUR THE BRAVEST BIDDER, TAKE HOME A TREASURE OR TWO!  SEE YOU THERE.

 

click to see a full sized image

 

THE BEST THINGS TO KEEP ON YOUR SHELF.....

Although most collectors share the same love and intrigue of old things, we all seem to approach collecting with different motivations and goals.  For someone it might be an old piece of pottery, just the right color to accent the kitchen, for another, an example to fill in a hole in a burgeoning collection. Some are intrigued by historical context, and still others collect with an eye toward investment. Having been at it for 25 years, I have accumulated objects that fit into each of these categories. And I long ago, learned that there is no "right" way, or reason to   collect. Each collector finds his own way.

 

As the years have past, our house seems to have become engorged with things we thought we just had to have. Shelves and cupboards house collections of things that caught our fancy at one time or another, becoming roommates of objects strewn throughout the house for decorative purposes. But, on a couple of shelves, in one small cabinet, lives a small menagerie of things that distinguish themselves from the others, and which for me, characterize the most essential part of collecting. You might call them our "memories shelves".  Residing there are Lyn's grandmothers watch, my fathers baby bowl; the sole survivor of a fire that took the family home in 1930. A cherished chalkware cow, which was a favorite childhood plaything, left to me by my grandmother, another grandmothers beaded bag, a collection of miniature hat boxes gifted to my ever bald grandfather by his haberdashers, and a 1950's rocket ship bank which ate coins as we amused ourselves around the kitchen table.  The house is full of things that we've acquired,  but these are the shelves that contain the things we value.Much like old photographs, journals and other documents, personal possessions left behind can help  preserve our family memories. 

 

 

I never saw my grandfather outside of his home, that he was not sporting a stylish chapeau.  Nothing could remind me more of him than the little collection of miniature hat boxes which I found in his bedroom dresser after his death. And don't forget, memories come in big packages as well. That dresser, along with it's matching dressing table, now reside in my bedroom, keeping my grandparents a constant presence in our lives. 

 

And if you're lucky, your affinity for old family objects will become trans-generational.  My grandson Alec keeps me   constantly aware of my promise to pass along that rocket ship bank.  He'll share a few memories too, we still take it out of the cabinet once in a while, and amuse ourselves as we sit around the kitchen table and feed it coins.

 

For our blog readers that follow Cathie's "Sincerely Vintage" column in the collector, here is her article from our July issue.

 

SINCERELY VINTAGE

  by Cathie Cox

I’m all a-flutter for junk. I just spent the past few hours with a bolt cutter performing surgery on a deliciously rusty set of bedsprings, preparing them to be used individually in all manner of DIY projects. At least now, the old bedsprings won’t be propped up against the side of the garage, and my house will look a tad less like a salvage yard for a few days – until I bring home the next deliciously rusty prop up in its place.  Actually, it might only be a day until the slot gets filled again, since we’re heading out in the morning for my second trip in a week to Nephi, home of Picker’s Paradise - Larry Ray’s Heaven-on-earth for junkers. I got to know Larry a little when he was a vendor at our flea market, fleattitude last month. Larry’s the guy with the twinkle in his eye and the good stuff that everybody wants in his booth.  Pedal cars, road signs, rotary telephones, traffic signals (yup, the real kind), rusty wagons and more rust – lots of rust.



 

After seeing what treasures Larry had in his flea market booth I just had to see “paradise” for myself. . . so a friend and I set out earlier this week with an empty SUV, some leather gloves and a few cold drinks and made the trek to Nephi. We were not disappointed. In the least. Here’s a partial list of our haul:

 

* Two old sewing machines, one totally rusted. Several faucet handles. A double bike basket, the kind that goes over the back fender. One wire shopping cart, the old kind. A basket full of ornate door knobs. Several glass bottles. Two Chevrolet emblems. Two feet for a cast iron tub. One rusty bucket. A couple of huge rusty hinges. A small painted wood drawer. A minnow bucket. Two rake heads, very useful for hanging jewelry. And a very old Frigidaire refrigerator.

 

Oooh – it was a good day for junkin’.So. . . what is this newfound attraction to stuff that used to be tagged to go to the landfill? Junk seems to be popping up everywhere the past few years, and in well-respected antique circles to boot. Take, for example, Junk Bonanza, Junk Salvation and Funky Junk. . . all flea markets ranked among the best in the country (in Minnesota, Washington state and Idaho, respectively). There are books about junking. A few of my favorites are the “Junk” series by Mary Randolph Carter; Found, Free, and Flea: Creating Collections from Vintage Treasures by Tereasa Surratt; and The Salvage Sisters’ Guide to Finding Style in the Street and Inspiration in the Attic by Hackett and Young. There’s even a Facebook page and blog that represents a guy’s perspective on junking, Junk Nation Review. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. . . or, perhaps a better analogy is that this is just the junk we can see from the curb, not even touching what’s in the garage, the yard or the shed.Curious as to exactly why junk is America’s newest antiques darling,” I put out the question to some fellow junkers. Their replies were eerily similar.* “Simply said, we live in a disposable world nowadays. I love collecting and junking because it reminds me of my grandparents and simpler times. Getting something new was a real treat back in those times. I treasure my vintage finds as they spark memories of my awesome childhood".

 

* “I think that our history and heritage is being lost in the new generation and it's so important. There are certain things that I feel like we need to keep in order for those who come after us know what it was like for those who came before us".* “My grandparents are gone and there were 90 grandchildren to share with, so I watch for things they had so I can have them too. My most treasured item from my grandpa is an old chew can. Smells like grandpa, I love it, cried when my sister found it".* “When I see a piece that resembles something we had when I was a child I want it. It is my "comfort quilt" in this crazy busy world. I miss Mayberry".

 

There was another stream of thought in the replies I got. This one along the line of how junking is “green” and affordable, and how we can turn our junk-treasures into something “more” than what they originally were: “The creativity of people absolutely blows my mind!! Junking is a new art form and I love seeing what people do with things that would otherwise be destined for the landfills.  Personally, I have always been a "Junkie,  but I think the recent surge has been spawned from the recession: people are getting more creative with less, to make money, or help make ends meet.  Or, just finding fun and inexpensive ways to feed their addictions, create art, etc. Right now I am making some very cool bathroom towel hangers out of cement finishing tools. . . ha – who would of thought?!".

 

So. . . what do I think about all this? I love antiques that show their age. Love the rust, the dents, the chipping paint, the frayed edges. I love things that are not perfect. Things that have earned their place in the world by having been here for a while. I love my “new” rusty sewing machine that was likely cast off when a newer, sleeker model came along. I think I’ll hang onto it to remind me of all good things from years past. I miss Mayberry, too.

 

WHAT? MARILYN MONROE WITH THE COLLECTOR......

ISN'T THAT ONE OF EARL MORAN'S MARILYN MONROE PIN UPS? READING THE NEW CENTURY COLLECTOR?

WELL, IT DOESN'T SURPISE ME.....

EVERYBODY READS THE COLLECTOR.

 

Check out the new July issue, and find out all about

Marilyn Monroe & famed pin up artist Earl Moran.

 

THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE  NEW CENTURY COLLECTOR WILL BE IN YOUR FAVORITE ANTIQUES OR VINTAGE SHOP THIS WEEKEND!

 

But of course, if you just can't wait, to ahead and take an early peek at the new issue right now!

 

JUST GIVE THE FRONT COVER A LITTLE CLICK

 

 



A LITTLE INSANITY GOES A LONG WAY TOWARDS HAPPINESS!



I got my first taste of collecting, when my wife began dragging home a few old rusty kitchen gadgets that she had acquired at the local flea market.  I was amused, but not surprised, since during the 1980's, everyone seemed to be gleefully riding along on the antiques decorating bandwagon. I was also not surprised that she had chosen kitchen collectibles to take her first collecting baby steps. The fact that she had been appointed the families chief cook and bottle washer, and was attending to the feeding of our three kids, their menagerie of friends, and a hungry husband, meant she was spending an inordinate amount of time in the kitchen.

Kitchens are after all, the axis of our daily lives.  It's inevitable, that when you visit family or friends, eventually you end up plopping down in the kitchen.  It's no surprise then, that kitchen antiques are among the most popular collectibles.  Nevertheless, be careful; collecting these shiny little decorative objects can become just a tad obsessive.

Curiouser and cuiouser. The hunt for kitchen collectibles has a way of turning us into amateur sleuths and anthropologists. "Have you ever seen one of those?", “what do you think that was for?”, "is that plastic or Bakelite?". As I moseyed along the path into the wonderland of kitchen collectibles, no one warned me to keep an eye out for the rabbit.  It wasn't long before I found my life had become increasingly populated with whatzit’s and thingamajigs, with each new discovery providing more questions than answers. The search for some new gadget was occupying more & more time. If I had only known that with every new acquisition, I was edging myself closer to the rabbit hole.  

Before I knew it, I found myself spending every weekend at estate sales, peeking into dreary, greasy little kitchen drawers, discovering within each cubbyhole a cacophony of gadgetry as exotic as the artifacts extracted from King Tut’s tomb.   It was as exciting as examining a time capsule, "Who made this thing?" "Ooh, What’s that?", "Is it patented?, where's the number? Where's the date?". Is there hidden meaning surrounding the difference between red and green handled kitchen tools? What are these white handled doohickeys?  Who's watching me?  I gotta get this stuff. Where’s a box.

I didn't even think about the old lady I had pushed aside trying to be first in the door.  leaving, I found her still crumbled up in a pile by the porch, I lithely stepped over her; the next sale was miles away, and it's almost 9:00.  I was no longer at the edge of the hole, I was having tea with Alice.  

I had to face it.  I had become an ECKO junkie. Most of my free time was now spent franticly searching yard sales, flea markets, and antiques shops & shows in search of my next kitchen utensil fix. I had also come to recognize that the task would be far greater than I had first thought. I was living in a world containing an endless variety of vintage eggbeaters, can openers, fruit bottles and alluring chrome gadgets. I cringed. There were probably kitchen gadgets I didn't even know about. On cue, the heavens opened and the truth revealed itself; what I needed was a research library.

God I love this book. 300 years of kitchen collectibles, 644 pages, the bible of kitchen wizardry. I locked myself in the bathroom for 3 days, and emerged an expert on can openers and corkscrews. My crusade was obvious. Get one of each.

It's getting hard to sleep the night before an antiques show, the anticipation is brutal. It keeps my stomach churning like a lump of butterfat in a 2 quart Daisy. I might as well get up.  Since I can't sleep, or get into the show before ten, so it only makes sense to hit a few yard sales on the way.

This is a catastrophe. This is bull#$*%, I should have past that last sale, all I got anyway was a crappy old Becker's church key. Now here I am, stuck in the back of the line, and all the best stuff will be gone before I even get through the door.  Geeez, that guy is coming out with the sweetest little pie bird you ever saw. I should have stayed in bed.   Note to self; start setting your alarm for 5:00 am on Saturdays.

Time passed, and I became an advanced collector. My library had    expanded, and I had wisely read all of the price guides. Unfortunately, I had begun to perceive my can opener collection to be my biggest asset, and the core of my retirement plans. My IRA could now be seen sitting on shelves, and dangling from nails on the kitchen walls, giving the place a kind of surrealistic Christmas tinsel look. Kitchen gadgets now completely dominated my life. To celebrate 20 years, I gave my wife an old A&J beater for our anniversary.  "Come on now, it’s a hard one to find".

As she put her stuff in the moving van, all I could think about is how many shelves I could fit into her sewing room.

I’ve worn the same underwear, and there hasn’t been dinner on the table for 5 days. Turns out I do miss the wife, but she'll never take me back unless I give up my collection.  I  begin to wonder if there's a twelve-step program for this.

I was Encouraged, having found a local Antiques Anonymous chapter.  However, sponsors are scarce. As you know, it’s not easy to find someone disciplined enough to give up collecting. Nevertheless, I persevered, and eventually located Tom, a recovering Mouli Grater collector who was willing to be my sponsor. The next Saturday morning Tom and I found ourselves climbing over the back wall at the local swap meet to get an early peek at the goodies. Flashlight in hand, he quickly located a pair of stunning green handled slotted spoons.

"Well, that doesn't surprise me; the jerk kept them both for himself". I shuffled away angrily. Antiques Anonymous is a friggin' racquet. My relationship with my sponsor was certainly over, however, later in the morning I happened upon a mint condition Fisher Beer church key, and started feeling a little better. And, as it turns out, the trip to the swap meet wasn't a total loss.  While I was there, I signed up for my own permanent stall. Now I can shop early during setup every Saturday. That's how you get the good stuff you know.

Life is pretty sweet now. The collection is coming along just fine, and the wife even allows me to occasionally visit the cast iron beater collection that she took with her when she left. She even asked once about a date, but when I started looking on a handle for a patient number, she just shrugged and left the room. Que Será, Será". Still, life has its moments. As a matter of fact, last Saturday at the flea market I picked up a nice 1940’s cast iron ricer for only four bucks.  Suckers, these guys don’t even know what they’ve got.

 

 

 

 

 

A FLEATTITUDE SALE..... COOL, PICTURE THAT

IF A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS....

WELL, I GUESS I'VE GOT NOTHING TO SAY

 

A couple of years ago, I wrote an article for the New Century Collector, chronicling an afternoon I spent yard sale-ing with my grand daughter Sarah Lyn.  Although the primary theme of the article revolved around the idea that the antiques and collectibles business was among the "greenest" of industries, I also spent a considerable number of words concerning my amusement with my grand daughter's bewilderment over an old red rotary desk phone. "What's this grampa?" the education of this child had obviously come up a little short.
 

Well, as it turns out, what comes around does go around, and I confess to being relieved that Sarah Lyn wasn't there to watch as her grandfather found himself equally perplexed at the Saturday morning Pleasant Grove FLEATTITUE sale, when having forgotten my camera,  I found myself face to face with my wife Lyn's "smart phone".  
 

She handed it to me with the phase "you can take a picture with this".  However, my apoplexy must have been apparent, as she immediately began assuring me that "you can do this".  My first question left me even less confident, when "how does it work?", was countered with "I just make phone calls with it". 
 

I hadn't fumbled with the phone very long before I decided that this was all a step or two above my pay-grade, when, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted some likely help.  An amused twelve-year-old girl sitting at the booth next to us.  I was direct.  "Can you show me how to take a picture with this thing"?  "Just press the camera icon".  "Which one is that?"  I could almost hear her condescending thoughts "geez.... they let this guy out of the house".
 

However, as a strong believer in the concept of the happy accident, I persevered, and after testing an icon here and a button there, voilà, a nifty little camera aperture appeared on the screen. I gave Lyn my best conquering hero look, bashfully ask my 12-year-old guru which button to press to take the picture, and snapped off my first pic.  Don't call me techno-challenged.
 

Okay, now I was ready to roll. The idea was to take a photograph of the sign on each vendor's booth, and weave them into what would be the great FLEATTITUDE collage. I was a photographic juggernaut as I moved from vendor to vendor, snapping picture after picture, capturing every image I would ever need for the project. Now, all that stood between me and the ultimate FLEATTITUDE photo, was an hour or so with Photoshop.
 

An hour or so later I was sitting at my desk, and eager to get started, but had just one question.  Humm... how do I get these photos from the phone to the computer?  Lyn just shrugged her shoulders at the inquiry.  But now, as master of the phone camera, I came prepared, I instinctively knew that all I needed was one of those little cord doohickey's that hooked into the phone, and plugged into the thingamajig on the front of the computer. We found one with two likely looking ends, and hooked the thing up like a couple of kids.  Are we the bomb or what?
 

I was ready to go.  After all, wasn't I now a cell phone pro. It was easy to locate the icon that would take me to stored photographs.  One little click, and ...... hey..... what the hell?  No pictures.  None, nada, zero, zip, zilch, not a hint that I had spent the morning recording the FLEATTITUDE vintage sale in all of its glory.  Whatever. Shucks, am I embarrassed?  Naw.  I suspect this is all part of a Chinese conspiracy to take over the world.  I hear the things are made by 12-year-old girls in Beijing.
 

Like most stories, you just have to look for the silver lining. At the Fleattitude sale, I met Debra Washburn, from "Relic Mercantile" who had a booth at the sale, and had offered to send me a couple of pics. So here it is, my complete photo record of the event.  Next time, don't count on me...... get down to the sale and take a look yourself.
 

 

You can also find Debra at RelicMercantile.etsy.com



WHERE TO HIDE OUT DURING CHURCH THIS SUNDAY....

Like many obsessed collectors, I prefer to take my Sunday morning religious services in the sunshine, snooping around a flea market for bargains. 

 



And, as it turns out, nothing feeds the soul more than the discovery of an unsuspected treasure.  So,  as you could expect, this coming Sunday I'll be in downtown Salt Lake City,  partaking of services at the season opening of the SL Urban Flea Market.  Here a couple of photos of the revival tents pitched at the markets 4th South location Last year.

There is a new location this year, 6th South between

Main Street & West Temple

 

IF YOU'RE IN NEED OF A LITTLE COMMUNION,  HERE'S EVERYTHING

YOU NEED TO KNOW



 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kate Wheadon 323.687.3995

fleamarketslc@gmail.com
www.fleamarketslc.com

Third Annual Urban Flea Market in Downtown Salt Lake City
on Five Sundays in 2013, June 9, July 14, August 11, September 8 and October 13

Salt Lake City, Utah (June 5, 2013) – Downtown Salt Lake City welcomes back the Urban Flea Market, Salt Lake City’s biggest downtown flea market, a great place to find and sell antiques, vintage, secondhand and locally made treasures.

The 3rd annual Urban Flea Market kicks off the season this Sunday, June 9th! The Urban Flea Market is a great opportunity for attendees to shop, browse and enjoy this fun and family friendly event on Sundays in downtown Salt Lake City. It also provides a great

community outlet for vendors to sell unwanted items that will be inexpensive treasures for others. Admission for visitors is free and the event is open to the public. The Urban Flea Market will be held the second Sunday of every month through October 2013. Selected dates are June 9, July 14, August 11, September 8 and October 13. There will be 10’x17’ booth spaces for up to 70 vendors to rent. The event will be held from 9:00am – 3:00pm.

New for the 2013 season, the Urban Flea Market has a great new location. The markets will be held at 600 South between Main Street and West Temple, across from Little America Hotel and on one of Salt Lake City’s busiest thoroughfares. This new location has grass

areas, mature trees, over 100 free public parking spaces and is conveniently located near TRAX stops. The Urban Flea Market is also happy to announce that the Downtown Farmers Market will be joining the markets this season and will provide fresh produce at select dates.

This Sunday’s kick off market will feature a wide variety of vendors, music by KRCL DJ Bad Brad Wheeler, and the Utah Animal Adoption Center will be featuring animals available for adoption.

Sponsors include: Salt Lake City, Downtown Farmers Market, Now & Again, Third Sun Productions, City Weekly, Edible Wasatch Magazine, Metro Display, Molding Box, Our Store, Q Salt Lake, SLC Flyer's.com, SLUG Magazine and Unhinged.

Event and vendor information is available at
www.fleamarketslc.com

NO FLEASON NOT TO SPEND SATURDAY MORNING IN PLEASANT GROVE

Well, unless you're implacable about grabbing a little extra shut eye on Saturday mornings, there is no reason not to jump up with the roosters and head to Pleasant Grove for a little "FLEATTITUDE" shopping.  All of the hippest fleas will be scouring the old gymnasium in hopes of snagging just the right chotsky to set their heart aflutter.  Mensa international fleas will of course get to the sale by 8 am, and fork over the extra couple of bucks for an early admission.  See you there.



TAKE AN EARLY PEEK.... SINCERELY VINTAGE COLUMN JUNE 2013

WE THOUGHT THOSE WHO FOLLOW

CATHIE COX'S COLUMN IN THE NEW CENTURY COLLECTOR MIGHT WANT TO TAKE AN EARLY PEEK, SO.................. HERRRE'S CATHIE!

 

SINCERELY VINTAGE

While running flea markets for the past few years a concern I’ve often heard from new dealers is, “How do I price my items?” They are often stymied by this – and rightly so – since the price of an item can make or break the sale. What’s a dealer to do? If you price too high you’ll lose sales. But if you price too low you’ll lose profits. So – just how do you figure out if “the price is right?”. Remember, an item is only worth what the customer is willing to pay. So even when the collectibles guide says that my tomato juice pitcher is worth $25, if my customers look at the price tag and walk away, it’s not worth that much. Here’s how I decide what prices I can realistically get for my items:

 

 1. My favorite source for pricing is eBay’s“ sold listings.” This will show you what people actually paid for items, not just the asking price. When I looked up my tomato juice pitcher, out of about 150 completed listings, only 10 had sold and most of those were between $3 and $10. This tells me that the pitchers are not a hot item and if I price it at “book value” I’ll be sitting on it for quite a while.

 

2. Scour flea markets and antique stores looking for items that you need prices for. Keep in mind, though, that every dealer has their own ideas about what the “right" price is.

 

3. Talk to other dealers or collectors who know the category you need a price in.  They know the local market.

 

4. Be very careful about pricing your items based on TV shows such as Antiques Roadshow or American Pickers. These shows are entertainment, and not practical for use as pricing guides.

 

5. Don’t overspend when buying merchandise, it will come back to haunt you when pricing. I recently spent too much on an awesome industrial office chair because I was drawn to its interesting design elements. Customers passed it over for two days at a recent show after looking at the price tag. So now I have to choose – take a loss or find a spot in my house for it. . . .

 

6. Don’t price your items based on sentiment. Have you ever been to a sale where you ask a price and the seller tells you the story about how his grandma used that bowl to make buttermilk biscuits in?  If it's sentimental, keep it don't sell it.

 

7. Where are you going to sell your item? People will often pay different amounts at antiques shows than flea markets. Remember to leave a little “wiggle” room in your prices since many customers like to haggle.

 

8. Lastly, put a price tag on everything! My pet peeve is having to ask the dealer the price of an item I’m interested in. I don’t like asking prices – if items aren’t priced I tend to move on to the next booth. Don’t lose sales because your items aren’t priced!

 

Have fun while pricing your vintage treasures. You’re pricing them to go to a sale, after all, and isn’t that the reason we collect in the first place.

                                                                                            Sincerely, Cathie

 

THE NEW CENTURY COLLECTOR...... YEAH, WE GOT YOUR NUMBER

NOW THIS IS WHAT I "CALL" SMART!  
YOU CAN TELL THAT THIS GIRL KNOWS WHERE TO FIND THE MOST COMPLETE AND UP TO DATE LISTINGS FOR ANTIQUES, VINTAGE AND RESALE SHOPS, ALL OVER UTAH.

IN THE NEW CENTURY COLLECTOR
OF COURSE. 
 
YOU'LL FIND EVERY THING YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE ANTIQUE & VINTAGE SHOPS, SALES, AUCTIONS OR MARKETS. TELEPHONE NUMBERS, ADDRESS, SOCIAL MEDIA, BUSINESS HOURS, WHATEVER YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, YOU CAN FIND IT IN
THE NEW CENTURY COLLECTOR
 
SO, STOP BY YOUR FAVORITE SHOP THIS WEEKEND,
AND PICK UP THE NEW JUNE ISSUE..... OR

 

IF YOU JUST CAN'T WAIT, YOU KNOW THE DRILL.  JUST CLICK ON THE FRONT PAGE BELOW AND GET AN EARLY PEEK AT OUR LATEST ISSUE RIGHT NOW

 

 

 

GET EM' WHILE THE GITTIN'S GOOD..........

THE MAY ISSUE OF THE NEW CENTURY COLLECTOR IS WILL BE OUT BY THE WEEKEND...........  BE SURE TO GRAB A COPY

 

THEY'LL BE FLYING OF THE SHELF

 JUST CAN'T WAIT?

YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!

Just give the front page a little click
and you can read the Collector on line