Some pickers have items for sale in display cases in antique malls. This is a profitable way to sell your items. One of the main problems I have seen is when you are moving through a store, and see a locked case, and you find one or more items you may have interest in. But, you can’t see the price! Dealers need to put a very visible price on every item in the case! As a collector, and a picker, I usually just keep moving, never to return, because it is just too big of a pain to ring for the shopkeeper to bring a key. Then they stand there watching you look at one or many items. I hate it when you can tell there is a price sticker ON THE BOTTOM of the piece, but you can’t see it. Books are usually the biggest problem, as the seller prices it in pencil on the inside front cover. Books should have a bookmark type if tag, plainly marked with the price out the top. Everything should have a visible price on it. In a large mall especially, people zoom through the store, glancing only, scanning the case. Here’s the secret: You usually have one or two seconds, to tell them about everything you are selling! These malls are frequented by antique pickers and book scouts too, all moving fast when they are there.
Another of our secrets, and a very nice touch, and a way to add value to your items, and a WAY TO KEEP CUSTOMERS IN FRONT OF YOUR CASE, is to print a small card. Include historical information, descriptions, dates, etc on the card, with an obvious price on the card. If you need to reduce the price, don’t show it on sale with a cheaper marked down price. This is a way of telling the customer, “Something is wrong with the item, and I just found out about it, so now it’s cheaper.” Always print a new label.
I went to an estate sale put on by a savvy dealer. He did something I have never seen before or by anyone else. He attaches a piece of blue painter’s tape on each item, and puts his white price sticker on the blue tape. First of all, every item is plainly marked, and your eyes readily find the well marked price. He personally is an antique picker, dealer and collector himself, and knows how important it is to protect the item, with the painter’s tape. It is easy to remove, and will not mark or deface the finish, or cover, etc.
Nothing is more frustrating to me than item’s not being priced or easily accessible. I have straight up left stores and estate sales because I didn’t want to go through all the extra effort of talking to the seller about each and every item I had my eye on. Shopping should be a leisurely experience.
I couldn’t agree more. Yard sales frustrate me so much because of this. I hate it especially when you ask how much and you get a long winded answer about what it is, how old it is and who it belonged to. I wouldn’t be asking the price if I didn’t already know this information.