MIX and MATCH - This Can Prove Profitable in Antiques & Collectibles

How often have you seen something for sale, but it wasn’t complete and passed it by? You may have found a pedestal but not the jardinière, or a mechanical bank missing a part and thought that these had no value. But you would have been wrong. If it is rare, it will still have value if the condition of the piece is good.

Let me give you some examples. I spoke to Cecil this week, and his story gave me the blog for today. Cecil found a Weller Flemish pedestal and bought it for $179. Knowing the pattern, and seeing that the piece had a heavily carved surface like Newcomb pottery, there was no doubt that he was going to buy it and put the piece into inventory. After returning home to search the Weller book, to his amazement the piece listed for $750 - $1,000. If he can find the matching jardinière, this combination might well bring over $2,500 in today’s market.

I went to an auction and found a Daum Nancy lamp that was missing the wiring and shade, so very few people were interested in it. I was able to buy it for a small amount of its valve, which I think would’ve been somewhere around $5,000 today. You see, the value in Daum Nancy is in the glass, not the lamp base. The base can be replaced but not the acid etched glass.

The Tarzan book that brought $18,000.00 was bought for $2.00. However it was without the cover, so the buyer had to pay $1,000 or more for a matching cover, but look at the results.

The best thing that I will ever teach you is rarity is where it’s at. I may repeat this until you are sick of hearing it, but I still won’t stop saying it over and over again. This is the area of the market we will need to be working toward as we climb our 31 Steps. When we focus here, money will be made. This is the goal. To be working the steps through the beginning stages so we can be dealing in the rare and valuable items soon enough. It won't take too many steps to get there, either. By Step 4, you can already be making a $1,600 purchase (on an item that can sell for at least $3,200) My experience tells me that once you're into making a $1,000 and up buys, there's not quite as many people to compete with. How many pieces do you think you'll have to buy and sell if you're working with the rare? Not too many. You can now take your time doing your reasearch and homework before you decide to buy.

Remember, always look at what a piece could be -- not what it is when you find it. Common things can’t be improved much to bring higher value. But the finer items, if they can be brought back to whole, can still bring top valve.

Be sure to visit our web site for more information about how you can join the 31 Club and start your own race to your millions! Read more about it here!"The Guy in the Red Tie" --- Daryle Lambert

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