“ Is it from Outer Space ? “ - Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Blog – Golf from Outer Space.

Scotty Cameron - Thanks to www.a1golfclubs.com

I was going through my garage and saw some instruments that have the appearance of something from outer space. After closer examination, I was able to identify them but it wasn't easy. These items seem to appear out of nowhere about this time each year and they seem to have mutated over the winter each time. You may have guessed what I found because if you are an avid golfer there is no doubt I am talking about a putter.

Yes the humble putter that brings the mightiest men and women to their knees. I have seen putters with shafts that reach over my head and designs that would challenge the best of engineers, but often they land in a lake after a missed putt. I have seen men that looked like the hulk that could hit a golf ball 400 yards but couldn't get the ball in the cup from 12 inches. This is an instrument of great pride when the curling putt from 50 feet settles in the bottom of the cup, but don't speak to a golfer that has missed one from under 3 feet. It is no wonder that these misshapen instruments have become some of the greatest of all collectibles.

This being said there can be a good deal of money made by finding the rare and unusual putter. I would like to give you some examples of putters that could bring a huge smile to your face. Often the worth of these clubs can be attributed to a special player that uses this model or maybe it is the model that won a tournament for an unknown golfer. Either way collectors want to own them.

Let's start with putters made by Scotty Cameron because he seems to be the man of the hour. Scotty Cameron's putters can reach over $8500 but here are a few that have records on eBay. Kombi Cicle T $4000, Titleist Prototype Tour $2500 and Select Tour Hula Loops $2000, not bad for something that is hard to figure out what it is but you know someone must like them. Just to mention some others, you will find the Ping Scottsdale coming in at $3000 and the Jack Nicklaus Slazenger not far behind at $1500. Even Tiger Woods is in this group that use these strange weapons and one of his favorites is the Bettinardi selling for $1500. This should make you look into every corner of the basements and garages where you are looking for treasure.

Since Scotty Cameron is the man here is his Biograhy.

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Check out the new Paintings and new items in our Gallery and Marketplace here.

“ Going Home “ - Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Club – Things are different in the South.

My Old Kentucky Home - Thanks to neilsgallery.com

This will be my first time back home in awhile and I hope to make the best of it. I know for sure that I will visit Nashville and the shops, malls and markets there. It will be interesting to see if I can keep my record alive because I have never come home without treasures when I take these trips. A must is to stop and visit my 90 year old mother and also deliver a few paintings to Cecil that will sell very quickly there in Kentucky. This will be a very interesting trip because I feel like I am doing interstate commerce. Taking things to the Southerners that meet their fancy while returning hopefully with pottery, glass and painting there that aren't as appreciated there but they meet the Northerners pallet just fine.

There are several lessons to be learned here the first is try to find things where you are that would be better served in another local. Second you should know the differences in value for items from one location to another. In the South primitives can bring price that would knock your eyes out but in the north often you can't give them away. I just wrote about the Jackson press, sugar chest and sideboard that a member is going to be selling soon. These pieces in the North would struggle to bring a modest price but in the South I can assure you they will be sold at a very heavy premium. But often in the South a painting that isn't a regionalist from that area can be purchase for a song. I have long since stopped enjoying these long buying trips but if I am traveling anyway so why not pick up a few shekels.

It is going to be difficult keeping up the blogs because I will be traveling but the biggest problem is that my partner is having a knee replacement this weekend. Ondre Huston has been my solid rock by keeping me on schedule but she will be out of pocket the same time as I am traveling. I would ask that all our members keep her in prayer for her well being and also her family's. I have to admit I will be praying harder than most because I don't think I can do without her.

The new plans for the 31 Club are beginning to shape up and I am keeping my fingers crossed that within two weeks you will not be able to recognize it. The name change alone will make a whale of a difference. I just want to thank every member for their patience during this transition period but I don't think you will be disappointed. I also ask for your prayers for my family and me as I travel. You know I am celebrating my birthday today and since I am now 68 I hope that I will be able to find my way home.

My 220 page book about how to make money buying and selling antiques & collectibles is FREE with your membership in the Daryle Lamberts Antique and Collectible Club . Join Us Today!
Check out the new Paintings and new items in our Gallery and Marketplace here.

"Wish upon a Star" - Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Blog – But what can it be worth?

Maxfield Parrish Stars - Thanks to sandowart.com

I haven't been a big fan of prints but there can be exceptions. The Maxfield Parrish prints would fall into this category for me and for pure beauty I don't think they can be surpassed. I believe that Parrish was a true visionary and wanted to have the best art in the world present in every home regardless of the family's wealth. On many levels I think that he was successful in this endeavor because during his years of producing prints of his outstanding paintings there was hardly a home without one being represented in it.

I began to be educated in prints and other paper items when Cecil Roeder took me under his wing even though I am twice his age. He taught me that people would pay big bucks for certain prints, document, signatures and watercolor paintings when I had shied away from them for years. The first time I had my eyes opened by Cecil was at a antique mall when he spotted a very large Maxfield Parrish and said we should purchase it. To me the asking price of $250 seemed rather high but I gave in to his knowledge on the subject and offered $200 which was accepted. If you ever have the privilege to meet Cecil and ask him about me, this is one thing he will share "Daryle will always offer less than I tell him the item is worth and usually he is successful with his offers." This piece was sold later for close to triple our purchase price. Lesson well learned and I will never forget it and neither should you.

This was brought back to my mind today when I received an email from a gentleman asking about the value of a Parrish print “Stars.” I immediately went to my Parrish book by Coy Ludwig and found the print but not much about its value. You guessed it. I called Cecil and he re-educated me about this print. Asking questions about its size, condition and other questions that would be relative to its value he said that it had a range from $1500 if it were mint a year ago to only a few hundred today if there was foxing, fading or other damage. It turned out to be the largest size for this print and collectors are always on the hunt for it in mint condition. Again you can see what Daryle Lamberts Antique and Collectible Club can offer you. I have found that all our members are more than willing to share their knowledge with other members and when you send in questions to me I often go to others in our group to check my answers.

If you aren't utilizing these resources it is a shame because it is there for your taking. Working together we will be set ourselves apart from the usual dealers and this will keep us ahead of the trend. That is where we want to be if success is our goal.

My 220 page book about how to make money buying and selling antiques & collectibles is FREE with your membership in the Daryle Lamberts Antique and Collectible Club . Join Us Today!
Check out the new Paintings and new items in our Gallery and Marketplace here.

"Use your Noggin" - Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Blog – They belong together.

Great Look - Thanks to www.brittanicantiques.com

I try every day to lead you in a direction that will ensure your success. Yesterday one of our members of the "Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Club" shared something with me that I just have to pass on to you. He had a vision that most wouldn't have imagined and it had to do with selling several pieces of furniture at the same time.

If you were lucky enough to buy a wonderful cherry sideboard from the mid 1800's how would you merchandise it? Would it end up in an auction where the auction house would receive up to 50% of the selling price or maybe on eBay where most likely it wouldn't come near the true value of the piece because of the depression on the online auctions today? This isn't saying that these auctions don't serve a purpose but today it is difficult to get top prices on them when people are holding on dearly to every penny that crosses their palm. Even less attractive is putting it in a mall when their traffic has been reduced to a dribble. I don't think that any of these alternatives are particularly inviting today. So what then?

Well let's make this scenario even more intriguing. Let's say you also have a cherry Jackson Press and an early sugar chest. Are you beginning to get the picture? Yes, this extremely innovative dealer will set up a room in his house or building that takes on the look of when these items were originally used and invite upscale buyers to see them together as they would be in their homes. Wow! This sale would be a great beginning to the year and someone will have greatly enhanced the appearance of their home.

You see when times are difficult it is time to think outside the box. Don't do the things you have always done because that is what everyone else will be doing and guess what, their success will suffer because of it. If you have great merchandise it will sell at great prices if your presentation is different than what they see every day. Even when the collector is saying to himself, that's a great piece but maybe if I wait it will be cheaper, he will change his mind if your presentation sets your merchandise apart from everything else he has seen.

The greatest part of the strategy that is mentioned above is that each sale completed in this manner will return you twice as much money as any other way of disposing of your merchandise. We don't mind that do we? Twice as much money and no more work. That sounds like a winner to me, how about to you?

My 220 page book about how to make money buying and selling antiques and collectibles is FREE with your membership in the Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Club. Join Us Today!
Check out the new Paintings and new items in our Gallery and Marketplace here.

"What is It Worth?" - Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Club- Have you readjusted the values?

You have to Know.

I have written many times that we as members of the Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Club need to know when and how to adjust to market conditions. The first thing I would tell you is that you don't want to get behind the curve in the different markets. If you do you will soon be out of these businesses. But what do I watch for?

First how long does it take you to sell rare or unusual items compared to earlier times? Why is this important? Because it should show you that the market for those items is decreasing if the time between sales has increased. Also watch to see if sellers at the Antique and Art shows are displaying new merchandise or are the same things being shown at each show. How about at the flea markets? If the dealers are carrying merchandise from week to week it might mean they have overpaid but won't reduce their prices and take a loss. Their only hope and prayer is that someone will come along who doesn't know that prices have dropped and overpay them for their items.

I think that I may fall into that category some of the time and not want to admit that my treasures have decreased in value. The only advantage that I have over most people is that I try to follow the rules set out in our club. I look to buy at 25% of what I think the retail should be for an item. This has saved my skin on many occasions when I ended up making a profit when others would have suffered a loss.

Our old standby eBay is also an excellent source to judge markets by and I think you will agree that prices as well as number of bids on that site have dropped. Some of this can be attributed to competition but not all. Be sure to check prices for the better items like Rookwood, Grueby, Newcomb in the pottery lines and Tiffany, Lalique, Daum Nancy, Galle, Steuben and Quezal in the glass lines on eBay to see if there have been any price movements. Also check the art sites like Askart, Artprice and Artnet to see if current sales by the better artists are increasing or decreasing in value.

Last but not least, go to the websites of the better auction house and see if prices at their auctions are decreasing or increasing. Over the last 6 months I would have to say that prices have declined but the members of  “Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Club" don't hold their items more than 90 days so these moves shouldn't affect them, right? Don't be fooled. I too have gotten caught with some merchandise, but not like most. Since we turn our inventory it is much easier for us to adjust to the moving markets. Our upward journey to success should never depend on the market conditions because we will stay ahead of the curve and use that to our advantage.

My 220 page book about how to make money buying and selling antiques and collectibles is FREE with your membership in the Club. Join Us Today!


Check out the new paintings and collectibles in our Marketplace here.

“Foreign Markets can be Happy Hunting Grounds.” - Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Blog.

Kiwi for Me - Thanks wwwchem.cmu.edu

It is never too late to expand your vision into other markets. I just received an email from Michael, one of the members of our 31 Club. He shared with me how he made several great trades on eBay UK. In one case he spotted several photos by Richard Manard listed on that site. Due to most of the bidders not being familiar with Mr. Manard's work, Michael was able to pick these photos up for a song. The one he listed for me to see brought $355 but due to its historical value the picture should bring many times that when sold here.

I have also been very well rewarded by dealing in antiques and collectibles from other countries. Back when I thought I had to own every piece of Royal Doulton ever made, I often was able to purchase rare pieces of Kingsware from sellers from Australia. I would purchase these pieces from there but then list them back on eBay with my address in this country. They would sell for sometimes three times what I had to pay for them. Why was this, you are asking? The reason I think was because people were fearful of sending money out of the country. I have to admit that I never made a bad trade overseas and every person I dealt with was honorable. The only bad trades that I have ever had were from people here at home and there have been very few of those. I find most people that deal in antiques and collectibles are honest.

Believe it or not Canada is a terrific market for us here in the United States. I am not sure of where the currencies stand today but I have often made trade in Canada where the difference in the exchange rate assured me a more than fair return on my money. I have purchased several paintings by American painters from Canada and I have never failed to at least double my money. There isn't a reason to fear dealing with others that live outside the USA and I would encourage it because I find it very profitable. Once I purchased a Rosenburg tile in Florida and the next day sold it in Canada for a $3500 profit. You just can't do better than that and I had established a client for life because I would deal with him, even though he didn't live in the U.S.

I have bought and sold items from Japan to South America and the people seem to be more gracious than most because they felt trusted. So don't hesitate to bid on something that you think will meet your requirements for purchase just because of where it is located.

My 220 page book about how to make money buying and selling antiques & collectibles is FREE with your membership in the 31 Club. Join Us Today!
Check out the new Paintings and new items in our Gallery and Marketplace here.

"Papa's Pride" Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Club - “ Joshua is the best.

" Very Proud Papa "

I am just going to take this blog and dedicate it to my 10 year old son. There is no amount of writing that I could do that would fully express my gratitude to God for giving me a son at my advanced age. In the process of trying to find people that would help me extend the reach of the 31 Club, I have been told that I needed someone who could produce and edit film for us and that is a must. I think that I have found that person.

Yesterday I was working on the end of the market day and Joshua said “Dad, will you come downstairs? I want to show you something.” Really feeling that I didn't have the time, but wanting to show my son that he was important to me, I followed him to the living room. Wow! To my surprise he had set up a complete studio for the filming of sections for our website. I had purchased professional equipment for Cindy to use, but, through no fault of hers, we never got around to using it. We have the lighting, sound systems, camera and other components that are required to do a very complete film that will enhance our site even though it has sat idle for awhile.

Joshua started directing me as to how I was to position myself and he also made sure the indirect lighting fell in the proper places. The most exciting thing for me was when he gave me the count down to start filming. I had to take a second glance to be sure that this was truly being done by a 10 year old. After I had completed a few sequences and thought I was through, he told me that he wanted to film a few of the stories that he had heard me tell over the years. So back into the chair I went and enjoyed recanting, as my wife Vickie says, my old war stories.

If these first attempts work out there should be many more to come and it will even be a better way to communicate with our members. They will not only be able to read the information that I share but also see the items being discussed. This will only be one of the many additions that are coming to our site and hopefully I will be able to reveal more of them to you in days to come.

I tried something new on you in this blog and I hope you will respond with your opinion about the change that I am considering. All of us make mistakes even if we have the best of intentions. The name for the Club was my idea and I wanted to follow one theme throughout the site and that was the number "31" which related to the 31 steps to success. Many have told me that was a mistake because it had no reference to what we do but I was hard to convince. Finally I can see the wisdom in this advice that I received and today I am inserting a new name to try on you: Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Club. Please send me your thoughts because I will be looking to you for the proper direction in this matter. The most recognized image that is being picked up by the search engines is Daryle Lambert so using the name should increase our traffic to the site and that is the most important thing that we need at the present time as the site is improved.

Please, as we transform the site, give us your ideas because we are becoming a family and every person's opinion in this family is important.

My 220 page book about how to make money buying and selling antiques & collectibles is FREE with your membership in the 31 Club. Join Us Today!
Check out the new Paintings and new items in our Gallery and Marketplace here.