by Kimberly Munsey-Carlton

Created on: May 07, 2008   Last Updated: September 19, 2011

Inside every dealer there lies a great adventurer and gambler; the spirit of the great treasure hunter. Due to some tainted reputations, one may think it is all about the profit unscrupulous pirate-like dealers seek from acquiring a piece from an unknowing seller and retiring on its profit, but in fact no dealer could possibly subsist strictly on the money. This is a business with too many risks coupled with dry selling spells for money to be the main draw. In other words, there are much easier ways to make a living. A true dealer's love of the game is greater than the cash reward, and in fact the dollars, while paying the bills, are more of a point system to validate your being a true player. No matter if he or she is a casual seller at a local antique mall or a high end dealer in Europe there is the commonality of the hunt deep within that wont allow them to do anything else. As a dealer, appraiser and antique collector, whose family has been in the business for more than 40 years, I have dealt with the many faces of dealers and have learned how the antique business and the antique dealer works from the inside.

The term "antique dealer" has grown into an almost blurred venture between antiques and collectibles. As we amass tons of junk over the centuries and dealers have learned that collectors will pay more for a piece of 1960's acrylic than a beautiful French side table from the 1700s, the lines have been crossed. The consumer speaks with their money no matter what the dealer defines himself as. There is, according to a loose definition in Wikipedia, genuine antique pieces, vintage items or collectible objects and antiquities that are commonly used to refer to the remains of ancient art and everyday items from antiquity, which themselves are often archaeological artifacts. Most dealers never touch antiquities and quite frankly can be less money making than baseball cards. More often than not the majority of the U.S. dealers handle more retro or vintage pieces and collectibles than real antiques. These pieces suffice to supplement their inventory while on the search for a real antique which is considered generally to be over 100 years old.

A dealer's place of business can vary from the inside of their car to a high end showroom available by appointment only. While some run their businesses with low overhead from living with their inventory (which while cost effective can be a nightmare!) and selling to other dealers or via e-Bay, others have high rent and

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