by Isabelle Esteves

Created on: May 05, 2008   Last Updated: May 22, 2012

Working as an antique dealer can be one of the most exciting jobs in the world. It is also one of the hardest. In order to be good at it you need to become an expert in at least one area.  It is always a good idea to love what you sell. This way if you end up with pieces that are not sold, you won't mind owning them.

One of the hardest things about working as an antique dealer is finding the items that you will be selling, correcting identifying the items you are selling and then pricing them correctly.

Where are you going to find the items that you want to sell? There are several places that I personally used.

 Auctions

As a dealer you need to know where the best local auctions in your area are. Not only do you need to know where they are but you also need to know how to bid and what to bid on. Learning to do this well involves a lot of experience. New dealers always make mistakes, bidding too high, not previewing and buying something that isn't what you thought it was, not bidding on the right items. There are a million things that can go wrong but don't worry it usually isn't fatal, just learn from your mistakes.

Estate Sales

This is a great way to find items to sell. It is important to try to get to the sale as early as possible because the choice items will go quickly.

Tag sales

This can take up every weekend but part of being an antique dealer is being dedicated to what you do. Some of the most amazing buys are found in piles of other people junk.

Networking

Make sure everyone knows that you are an antique dealer and use these connections to get to estates before they become available to the public. I have had people ask me to come to their homes and appraise items for them. While I don't know everything I do know what the choice items are.

Where are you going to sell your items?

Have your own antique store.

This is a major financial investment and unless you have another source of income may be beyond what most people can do.

Have a booth at a multi-dealer shop.

Depending on the size of booth you have this can be the best and easiest way to get you feet wet in antique sales. You pay a monthly rate and sometimes also a percentage of what you sell.

 Doing shows.

This is the least expensive way to start and can give valuable experience but there is a lot of work setting up and taking down and items may be damaged in the transit.

The best way to answer how antique dealers work is to say hard. It takes a lot of hard work to succeed as an antique dealer but it is a job that many, many people find very rewarding both financially and emotionally. Start small and don't over extend yourself, build a reputation slowly and you are on the way to finding out for yourself how antique dealers work.

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