One of the most challenging aspects of operating a resale business for antiques is determining the price at which to sell items. Each piece often requires an investment in time to research the asking and sale price of similar items. It is important to find a value for the item that honors my own investment, without overpricing it and losing potential buyers.
It is easy to find items and even easier to fall in love with them. Each piece has its own story and energy that attracts me to it. Some are harder to let go of than others. For these, I will often catch myself attempting to assign them a higher value than they may truly be worth. Others carry less attachment, and I am willing to part with them as quickly as possible.
After over a decade of collecting beautiful things, my home is full of items of value. I was reminded of this when a group of friends stopped for a visit for the first time. The young son of one of my friends, after walking through the house, commented to me, "Your house is like a museum! Everything is so old-timey!"
His youthful perspective allowed me to see my home and its countless
treasures with fresh eyes. I realized that, though I appreciate every family heirloom, each original piece of artwork, and all the beautiful glassware that adorn the rooms of my home; none of it mattered in comparison to the value of the friends and family
(including our four-footed companions) that filled my home and heart in that moment. The only truly valuable items in my home, are the ones that have a story; the ones connected to the people and places I love the most.
After my friends departed, I walked through my home enjoying the energetic imprint they left behind. As I did so, I was drawn to one item in particular. I am blessed to have an original photograph of my great-grandparent's farm and the birthplace of Two in the Attic Antiques. It was taken sometime in the late 1930s or very early 40s, not long after
their marriage. Holding it, I knew that of all the items in my home, this one, despite its minimal monetary value, is priceless to me. For me, it is a physical representation of my connection to my family - and to a place that will always be my home.
The value of antiques is entirely subjective. In choosing to sell them, you are less a proprietor of goods and more a keeper of memories. My job, as I see it, is to pass the item on, in the hope that it will alight a spark of recognition in someone else; to create in them a connection to another time, place or person. It is in the success of doing so that the value of the item then becomes priceless.
It is easy to find items and even easier to fall in love with them. Each piece has its own story and energy that attracts me to it. Some are harder to let go of than others. For these, I will often catch myself attempting to assign them a higher value than they may truly be worth. Others carry less attachment, and I am willing to part with them as quickly as possible.
After over a decade of collecting beautiful things, my home is full of items of value. I was reminded of this when a group of friends stopped for a visit for the first time. The young son of one of my friends, after walking through the house, commented to me, "Your house is like a museum! Everything is so old-timey!"
His youthful perspective allowed me to see my home and its countless
treasures with fresh eyes. I realized that, though I appreciate every family heirloom, each original piece of artwork, and all the beautiful glassware that adorn the rooms of my home; none of it mattered in comparison to the value of the friends and family
(including our four-footed companions) that filled my home and heart in that moment. The only truly valuable items in my home, are the ones that have a story; the ones connected to the people and places I love the most.
After my friends departed, I walked through my home enjoying the energetic imprint they left behind. As I did so, I was drawn to one item in particular. I am blessed to have an original photograph of my great-grandparent's farm and the birthplace of Two in the Attic Antiques. It was taken sometime in the late 1930s or very early 40s, not long after
their marriage. Holding it, I knew that of all the items in my home, this one, despite its minimal monetary value, is priceless to me. For me, it is a physical representation of my connection to my family - and to a place that will always be my home.
The value of antiques is entirely subjective. In choosing to sell them, you are less a proprietor of goods and more a keeper of memories. My job, as I see it, is to pass the item on, in the hope that it will alight a spark of recognition in someone else; to create in them a connection to another time, place or person. It is in the success of doing so that the value of the item then becomes priceless.