Blanchard – Fahnestock – Curran – Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Blog – What has changed.

THESE LITTLE BUNNIES HAVE A NEW HOME - FAHNESTOCK

Do you recognize these artists' names? If not, then you haven't noticed the art that members of our club have been listing on eBay. Cecil and I have listed paintings by these artists many times on eBay without receiving a single bid but as I have been saying, things are changing. Over the last few months I have seen a huge increase in items sold at auctions and on the internet. What do you think the contributing factors are for this movement?

In my opinion, the first factor is that people realize that their money is being deflated and that true treasures are increasing in value. Second, the prices for items have decreased until there are real bargains to be had if you search for them. Third, due to the recession, there is a tremendous buildup of buying demand that is being filled today.

The paintings that I mentioned in the title have now been sold at double or triple what they have been offered for over the last year. This should be very encouraging to you and all those items that you have attempted to sell with no success should now be dug out of your inventories and put back on the auction block. I believe that a lot of the results you get will surprise you in a good way. This should also signal that it might be time to buy and that the bottom of this market might have been achieved.

I know that many of you who joined our club as this recession started have found it difficult to execute the “31 Step” plan but stay tuned because your opportunity is coming. In the future, my hope is that all members will become active members in the formulation of our game plan and that we will be sharing more success stories with each other. There isn't anything that encourages me more than hearing that a member has made made a wonderful buy and then reaped the rewards from its sale.

The three paintings in the title that six months ago would have been losers just produced over five thousand dollars in profit. Don't tell me things aren't changing. I don't want to hear that. My question is how much of this resurgence in buying is yours?

I hope that in the future we will be able to receive comments on the blog but that doesn't seem to be happening at the present time. I would appreciate if you would send all comment to www.31corp.com until I can solve this problem.

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

eBay vs. Paypal – Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectibles Blog – Sunset for eBay.

That Magic Word

Most of my readers know that many months ago I wrote that eBay must change its ways in order to survive. It is now doing the things I suggested but it may be too late, “It's all about the sellers, stupid.” This company had it all but its greed might have been its undoing. It is forecast that Paypal may become larger than eBay and I don't doubt it. Remember my words, “If eBay doesn't start pampering its sellers then the sellers will go to where they are pampered.” This is happening and as other venues open up and gain traction, eBay will continue to lose its advantage.

There are other changes in the wind and I predict that “The Antique Trader” will be the next casualty of this new and exciting market re-figuration. The printed word is too slow when everything you need to know is on your computer. Publications like the Trader are yesterday's news and seldom worth reading. People in the Antique and Collectible business are looking for information that will increase the money they are making and as the pages continue to shrink in the Trader, there is less and less information provided that is of benefit to its readers.

All this being said, it only encourages me that the future is in groups like ours, “The Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Club.” Why do I say that? First, our Club isn't in competition with our readers and wishes only to help or partner with them. Second, there are no secrets that are kept from our readers or fees paid for the information and advice that readers receive. Third, we are building our own markets that will help in our success.

The last transformation in the re-alignment of the markets will be when auction houses start to compete with each other for business and the commission rates begin to adjust to lower levels so that you the seller will be able to receive more of the profit from items you sell. Don't be afraid to ask for the commission to be lowered if you sell items at auctions. To your surprise, you will find that the competition for inventory to sell by the auction houses will force the lowering without even a whimper. This business is near a turning point where it will be fun and profitable again for the ones who survived this downturn.

Now what do you suggest, I know you are asking. First, if you are still selling online take advantage of all the special offers from eBay and the other auctions because today there is one out there that is nearly giving their service away to get your business. Second, keep just one publication. I think the best is the “Maine Antique Digest”. With your savings, add to your library because this is where your knowledge can be advanced so that your money will be increased. Third, work with your Club to take advantage of the knowledge provided to you through our daily blog. WE WILL SURVIVE.

I hope that in the future we will be able to receive comments on the blog but that doesn't seem to be happening at the present time. I would appreciate if you would send all comment to www.31corp.com until I can solve this problem.


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

Thanks – Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectibles Blog – Thanks

Good Night

I just returned home after consulting with the doctor's and the news isn't good. Mom only has a few days to live but 91 years isn't bad. I have had one hour sleep since Wed. at 4:00 AM so I will be going to bed soon.

I do have to share some news with you however and it is that my friend Owen is closing his Antique shop and I ask him why? “ There are only lookers” was his answer and believe me he has some fabulous things.

This is the trend today, fix locations are closing at an unbelievable rate but guess what, that is go news for us. There is still the same amount of items to buy so by so many shops and malls closing it will give us more opportunities to purchase the better items.

This was just a quick note but hopefully tomorrow I will be back up to speed.

God's Day – Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectibles Blog – Please pray for me.

God is Good.

I was going to blog about the new toys that are making the Toy Hall of Fame this month. The first was going to be the Game Boy but that will have to wait until later. God's timing often changes things for us and this day is one of those times for me.

My mother in Kentucky had a massive stroke yesterday and I will be traveling there to be at her side. My daughter's husband, who is a doctor, said that it was best if the family came together so I will be driving most of the night. Please keep me in your prayers. If the Lord takes her home she will have earned her rest putting up with me for 68 years. Mom just celebrated her 91st birthday and was able to tend to herself right up to this day.

I will still have my cell phone and if you need my attention please call 847-867-7162. There may be times that I have the phone off but leave me a message and I will return your call when I can.

God Bless and Thanks for your prayers in advance.

Paintings – “Condition is Everything” - Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectibles Blog – Be Careful.

Maxwell Armfield - In Our Gallery

It is aways better to be safe than sorry when it comes to buying paintings. What you think might be worth $10,000 may prove to only be worth $2,000 due to its condition. I have seen too many paintings sitting in someone's closet after they were purchased because the price that was paid for them was way out of line.

What do I mean by condition? First, if it is unframed and the artist who painted it used vintage gold leaf frames, it will cost you an arm and a leg just to purchase the right frame for your painting. Here is a personal example of what I'm talking about. I have told the story about my best purchase and sale of a painting that brought over $100,000 many times but there is more to the story. When I went to Cincinnati to have my friends look at the painting, they said that it would never sell with the frame it was in, so I purchased a better one for $3,000 before taking the painting to New York to be sold. Upon arrival at Christie's, they examined the piece and informed me that before they would sell it there had to be a better frame than the one I had, so they put a $25,000 vintage frame on it and the buyer was told that they would have to buy the frame separately. The final bid was about $115,000 but the sad part about the transaction was they never returned my $3,000 frame. That was back in 2001 I believe but something like it just happened today.

I received an email asking if I was interested in a William Snyder painting and the person sent a picture along with the email. After looking it over quite thoroughly, I called the phone number. A gentleman answered and I introduced myself and asked for more information about the painting. In the photo, the painting looked to be about 24 X 36 inches but in reality it is 9 X 18. Also, it has no frame and needs a good cleaning plus some in painting. At this point it was time to ask the price that was being quoted for the painting. The gentleman informed me that people had told him the value should be at least $1,000 and he was hoping to get that. I then shared that to have the painting cleaned properly would cost $300 and a proper frame for it would likely be $250. Now I shared with him that in top notch condition it might bring $1000 in this market but maybe not. However, if it were sold, there would be commissions to be paid and the auction house might not even have an upcoming sale for several months.

So what did I do? I told him to check all his other avenues to sell it and then call me back and I would pay $250 for the painting. He may find someone to pay him more but I doubt that there is money to be made at a higher price. Again, I say it is better to be safe than sorry when you're buying something that needs work. If you don't put your pieces back in their original condition, then don't expect to get top prices.

I hope that in the future we will be able to receive comments on the blog but that doesn't seem to be happening at the present time. I would appreciate if you would send all comment to www.31corp.com until I can solve this problem.

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

Collector's Friend Auctions– Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectibles Blog – It could be you.

" BUYER ASSOCIATES "

I continually try to think of ways that our members of the “Daryle Lambert Antique and Collectibles Club can be more successful. It occurred to me that perhaps I have been oblivious to something that was right there in my face.

Have you heard the phrase "Buyer's Associate" and if so do you know what it means? My friend in Los Angles and his wife use a buyer's associate for almost everything they buy. It is much easier for them with their busy schedules to have someone else do their buying than to take the time to do it themselves. What a novel concept and my question is can that work for us?

In the past, I have talked about how our former customers should be our best future customers but how does that work? First, we need to keep lists of the items people buy from us and search for other similar items to present to them. That sounds something like being a "Buyer's Associate", doesn't it? Second, if your customers are real buyers then it is up to you to keep in communication with them to see what they are in the market for.

Here is an example of how this just worked for me. I have a customer that has a very large collection of Steuben glass for her table. She was looking through an auction catalog and saw a compote that matched her set and asked me my opinion. Going to the site and finding the piece listed for $500 - $800 it seemed reasonable to me so I contacted her and asked if she would like to be represented at the auction. Her answer was “most certainly” so I made the arrangement to bid by phone for the compote. I had just become a " buyer's associate" but would this be good for her?

The auction house agreed to call me when the compote's number came up and I was to be near the phone. At about 1:00 the phone rang and a gentleman asked if I was ready to bid and my answer was “Yes”, but I didn't want to bid until someone else bid first. The season for that strategy was so that the price would start as low as possible. On the phone I could hear "I have $325 do you want to bid?" "Yes, $350" but that didn't last long and the new bid was $375 and I bid $400. Guess what? That is where the bidding ended so I ask you, did I do a great job for her or what? You see the auction house knew who I was so there wasn't any funny business and I purchased the piece below the low estimate where if the customer had been bidding the price could have been several times what I purchased it for.

In cases like this I will assure you that your customers will be more than willing to pay your commission and thank you for your service. Here is the best part. Yes, you could have purchased it hoping that the customer would buy it from you and exposing your capital but by being the "Buyer's Associate" it required no money outlay by you. Just another way of skinning a cat. You cat lovers please don't be offended.

I hope that in the future we will be able to receive comments on the blog but that doesn't seem to be happening at the present time. I would appreciate if you would send all comment to www.31corp.com until I can solve this problem.

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

Gold That Glitters – Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Blog – Cashing In.

These are for You - Thanks to Jewelrytelevision.com

Here we are again with people all over the place saying that gold will go to $5000 an ounce. But you know my feelings about gold, that it is no longer a hedge against inflation, but just another commercial metal. In fact I believe it will soon top out near where it is at the present time, around $1100 per ounce. That old saying "If everyone is on the same side of the boat go to the other side", will prove right again as gold retraces its rise and declines back to $500 per ounce.

How can we make money with this huge increase in the price of gold you may be asking? The answer is that the best way to profit from this artificial rise in price is to find gold where others pass it by. I was talking to my wife's stepmother yesterday because she was visiting our home for Vickie's birthday. She asked if gold coins had any value today because she had several of them. Rather than just answer her question, I took her to my computer and brought up the completed sales of gold coins on eBay. You should have seen her eyes as I showed her where $20 gold pieces were bringing $3000 and more. Even the $5 and $1 coins were selling for $500 to $2500 each. I could see that adding machine in her head doing its job. Her next question was where can I sell them? It didn't take me long to inform her of what I thought the best way to dispose of these coins was and all she had to do was depend on me.

Have you asked anyone recently if they had coins that they might want to sell, because in your opinion this was the time to sell them? Probably not, but it still isn't too late to start, You may want to buy these pieces outright or charge a commission for your services selling them. Either way you will come out way on top. However, why stop there? Ask if they have any gold jewelry or ink pens that have gold included in their construction? With this gold market where it is, you need to make hay while the sun is shining. I heard that from my grandfather.

Most house sale conductors will know what they have in the way of gold and they usually overprice the items they are selling. You will have much better luck at garage sales and consignment shops. Never go out without your jeweler's loupe because you will never know when the opportunity to purchase these objects might occur. Please don't forget to ask the people you run into if they know of anyone who has gold items to sell and if they do, be sure to deal with them honestly. Our plan isn't to take advantage of anyone but to do a fair service for them. Since this price for gold has risen to such high levels, every snake has slithered out from beneath their rock and I am sure you have seen their ads for buying gold. There are even gold parties where they tell you about how wonderful the opportunity is to bring your gold to the party and what a fantastic price you will receive for it but you will be deceived.

Yes, this is a special time to own gold objects but I believe it will be short term so now is the time to strike while the iron is hot.

I hope that in the future we will be able to receive comments on the blog but that doesn't seem to be happening at the present time. I would appreciate if you would send all comment to www.31corp.com until I can solve this problem.

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