Meissen or something else?

It doesn't get better than this!

“Alert! When is Something too Cheap? “ - Daryle Lambert

Meissen - Thanks to www.flicker.com

My answer to that question is very simple and here it is “When people throw the baby out with the bath water things have become too cheap.” I was talking to a friend this morning and during the conversation I realized that my life really hasn't changed with all this economic upheaval and the same can be said about quality antiques and fine art. Yes, my 401K has lost value and the equity in my house is lower but still I continue to live as I did before all these things happened. So how, you must be asking, does this apply to antiques and fine art?

Well, a painting by Picasso and a Rookwood vase are still as rare as they were before this downturn and the people that wish to own them are thankful to buy them at cheaper prices but if the price hadn't dropped they would have still have bought them. So what has changed? Only people’s fears. This is causing them to throw away real treasures at under valued prices and this is great for us.

I received an email about several Meissen figurines and so to check what the market had done to Meissen I went to eBay where I was startled by the prices. Only a few months ago the same pieces would have brought two or three times as much as they do today. Meissen is still the number one porcelain for collectors in the world and I think it will always be.

So here is the ALERT! It is time to buy Meissen and even good pieces should be considered that are listed on eBay. Scour all the garage and house sales for these pieces and if they are priced comparable to the prices on eBay put them in your sack. There are very nice pieces that are selling on eBay that you can sell on other venues for double if not more. This is happening because of the lose of viewership at eBay. More and more pieces are passing under the radar screen undetected. Be sure that you are familiar with the Meissen marks which can be found in Kovel's New Dictionary of marks.

The drop in the prices for the lower end items is explainable but the drop in the price of quality antiques and fine art isn't warranted. This is an opportunity that I doubt will last long and we should take advantage of it while it exists.

My friend Farad found a Meissen cup and saucer and I don't know what he paid but I am sure it wasn't much. His sale price, however, will surprise you: $3500. Remember the three figurines I told you about that we sold for the 31 Club? They were bought for $170 each and sold at an average of $600 each. This is the time that you can enhance your bank account by purchasing Meissen so keep your eyes open.

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Daryle Lambert: Porcelain to buy and sell.

Thanks to www.flicker.com

I am wrapping up this series on my four favorite ways to make money and have fun by discussing porcelain. I started my journey into the Antique and Collectible business with pieces of porcelain many years ago. I very quickly found that the best porcelain was made overseas in Great Britain and Germany.

The first items that I showed real interest in were the Royal Doulton lines of figurines, both ladies and canines from Great Britain. At one time I had over 500 Royal Doulton lady figurines in my personal collection. If you can find figurines that say “potted by” and the name of the artist, they are earlier and will bring more money. Also, if there is a small number next to the crown mark, that is important to the date. All you have to do is add that number to 27 and that is the actual year it was manufactured. Thank goodness several years ago, when I thought the market for the figurines had topped. I sold all that I owned, including my prized dog collection. In fact, a gentleman drove up from Texas and took the dog collection home with him because he was afraid that they might get damaged if they were shipped. Here is the good news for me and the bad for him. Today I could repurchase my entire collection back if they could be found for twenty cents on the dollar. You may recall my rule about selling and it is that everything I own is for sale if a person is willing to pay my price. The way I look at my possessions is that I only have them for a short time anyway and if someone is willing to pay my price I hope they enjoy them as much as I did. Now some things, like the paintings my wife Vickie likes, may cost you a dear penny.

Doulton hasn't been the only porcelain that has proven to be worthwhile for me over the years. Meissen, from Germany, is perhaps the best known porcelain in the world and their pieces from the 18th century would reduce the size of anyone’s pocket book. The chances of finding the early pieces are slim but the pieces from the 19th and 20th centuries can be found at house and garage sales, even today. There were three Meissen figurines In the inventory of the 31 Club that helped the Club make 7500% profit in only six months. By the way the 31 Club has updated its inventory and now is at the almost $14000 on its $100 investment in less than two years. Can any of our members top that? If you can, please email me your results so that I can share them with the members. Meissen is perhaps the best merchandise in the world to help you fulfill the steps in your million dollar race, because almost without exception, you can double or more your investment on pieces of Meissen.

I personally have made thousands of dollars selling the Meissen figures of both people and animals. The best buy was when I purchased a collection of twenty pieces for under $8000 and then sold each piece individually for a total of almost $30,000. You will never have to hold your Meissen very long because the are so many avid collectors around the world.

I have only mentioned a couple of porcelain companies but there are many others that can prove valuable to you. In England you have Royal Worcester and Royal Crown Derby and some others in Germany are Nymphenburg, Hutschenruether and Rosenthal.

Porcelains will be the most consistent items for you to make money with and there are enough pieces for you to find that they will make your efforts worthwhile.

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

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

High Profit Day - Adventures in the Antique Business

I am reporting to you from the back-seat of a 2001 Ford Wind star. This is our last ski trip of the season, and we are traveling with three adults and three kids. The last trip like this that I took ended in one of my better days for treasure hunting. Here's what happened:

While everyone else did their own thing, I decided to venture out to see what I could find. Believe it or not, at the first place I stopped, there were some great Royal Doulton figurines from the 1940s. I soon began to bargain with the owner and used the technique that I have taught you in past blogs. I put about twenty figurines in a group and calculated the average price per piece I wanted to pay, then made the offer. At first there was a negative response, but as I started to walk away, the woman ask if I would pay any more than my offer. I explained why that was my best offer. You see asking if I would pay more, she told me that we were very close to closing the deal. Sure enough, after a few minutes she agreed to sell them to me for my original offer.

Putting that many figurines together meant that the total offer was rather substantial. Sometimes that's hard to refuse. Money talks, and the higher the amount of money offered, the harder it is for the seller to turn it down. If I had tried to bargain on the figurines one at a time, I would have probably left the shop empty handed.

Since I had spent over $5000 with the woman, she knew that I was a serious buyer. So, when I reached for the door she asked if I was interested in any other figurines. I thought that she was probably talking about Hummels or Lladros, but still I said “sure." The rule is not to ever stop a person from telling you of other things they have for sale, even if you have a doubt that there will be any interest.

The next thing that I knew she was locking up her shop, and we were headed to her home. Arriving at a rather modest home, I have to admit I wasn’t too excited. Walking through her living room, I did see some Early American furniture, but nothing that really caught my eye. Then we entered the family room and my eyes almost popped out of my head. There in front of me was one of the largest collections of Meissen figurines I had ever seen. I was looking at a good $100,000 worth of Meissen. I had to get a hold of myself because I didn't want to show the excitement I was feeling inside.

Looking over the collection and trying to conceal my unbelievable desire to purchase each every one of the pieces, I ask how many of the figurines were for sale. Her answer almost knocked me down. "All of them for the right price." I was like a child in a candy shop, but I had to control myself. I proceeded to pick the pieces that interested me most. I knew without a doubt I had selected over $20,000 worth of figurines at the price that I was willing to pay. I made the offer, and this time, without hesitation, she said that seems fair to me. You see, I had established credibility with her on the first trade. Now she accepted me as the expert.

I treated her fairly and purchase the pieces at a price that fit my standard rule for buying, so you know that this was one profitable day for me. There are many great lessons to be gleaned from this experience, but perhaps the greatest is that you must always keep your emotions under control when you are trying to make a purchase. Also, you must appear as the person who has all the facts at his fingertips.

Do you need college funds, retirement funds, or want a larger stash of cash for you lifestyle? The 31 Club uses a wealth building plan that can help you accumulate enough funds to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, collectibles, and fine art. Join the 31 Club. Learn about Art, Antiques & Collectibles. Learn How to Invest in Art, Antiques & Collectibles and build lifetime wealth. The plan is in my book. When you join today, you'll receive my 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles, FREE, plus MENTORING from me whenever call me. Or, order 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles and your membership is FREE and you still get mentoring. Either way, you're in. I know it sounds crazy to get all this for about $20, but I assure you, I'm offering this. If you've read this far, why not hop aboard.

"...I spent about 15 years in the antiques and collectible field
and I can tell you this is one of the best books you will ever
read about making money with art, antiques and collectibles."
-Skip McGrath, Auction Seller's Resources & EBay Powerweller

"It has been a great pleasure knowing Daryle for more than
10 years. I share his excitement in releasing this book. He is
a man of his word."
Riley Humler, Cincinnati Art Galleries
Consultant, Antique RoadShow

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If you haven't yet had a chance to see what we've got listed in the 31 Gallery & Marketplace, click on over and take a look. You might even find a real bargain. We've got many high quality items priced reasonably. If you have a high quality piece you'd like us to find a buyer for, why not consign your item to us. No high fees when you sell with us.

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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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Out of the Gate - Sky is the Limit!

Yahoo! The 31 Gang has broken out of the gate in the $1,000,000 Race.

Our enamel on copper painting, that was purchased for $35.00, just finished on eBay for $313.00. The Doulton figurine that was purchased for $65.00 finished at $80.79 and the music box didn't sell. Our $125.00 invested returned a net of $335.63 after fees, definitely more than double and completing our first step in the race. Plus, we still have the music box to sell later!

We will be listing the two Meissen figurines that we purchased for $340 on eBay, and hopefully, we will be making one or more steps on them. Patience and consistency will get us across the finish line, and I hope that there are a lot of you there with us.

Yesterday, I was able to purchase three miniature Lotton vases. But before I let the person off the phone, I asked if she had anything else that I might be interested in buying. Her response was, "I have several other Lotton pieces, and I would be glad to sell them to you whenever I can find them."

The lesson here is to never leave a person after a purchase without asking if they have other things to sell. They may have other pieces. If they do, you can buy them at a price that is acceptable to you. How do you know this? Because you were able to purchase the items from them already, at a prices that you could accept.

As you can see, The 31 Gang isn't making just one purchase to meet its goals, but multiple ones. In our first purchase, only one piece out of the three reached our goal, but the combination of their sales prices got us over the top. It is fine to put all your money in one item, but it isn't always necessary to do so for you to take the next step.

Now that the weather is changing, there may not be as many house sales and garage sales for you to attend, but there are still more places to search than you will ever be able to visit. Auctions, Consignment shops, antiue shops, shows, just to name a few. There will be newspaper ads to answer, ads in the for sale section of the Antique Trader, AntiqueWeek, Maine Antique Digest, and The Bee will provide happy hunting grounds for you all winter.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your concern and support as we work our way through the death of our friend.

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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