If you love collecting antiques, whether to keep or to resell, then you are probably looking for ways to save money on your purchases. After all, a vintage couch looks a lot better when it was a steal at $100 rather than a mistake at $1000! Follow these tips to get better deals on antiques.
Seek out garage sales.
If you only ever shop at antique stores, you'll be buying solely from people who know what they have and what their items are worth. Sometimes, you can find better deals at garage sales, where the sellers may have a treasure without knowing it. For instance, they may be selling an old chair for $10, not knowing that it was made by a famous designer and is therefore worth much more. Search for garage sales on online classified ad sites and in newspapers, or just by driving around your neighborhood on the weekend.
Shop at the end.
For garage sales, you may want to show up first thing to get the bargains before anyone else does, but at estate sales and antique stores, try the opposite strategy. Show up at the end of the day, as the sellers will be getting anxious to unload anything they have left. If you find something you like, offer them half the asking price for it. They may bargain up a bit, but chances are, they will accept a lower offer than they would have earlier in the day just because they need to get rid of the item.
Buy several pieces at once.
Instead of shopping for one item at a time, aim to buy antiques a few at a time. This way, you can make sellers offers based on a group of items. They're more likely to accept a lower offer overall since they're getting rid of several items at once. For instance, they may not take $60 for a chair on one day and $50 for a sofa on another day, but they might take $100 for both items at the same time just because it creates more room in their store and means they don't have to seek out another customer.
In addition to following the tips above, always make sure you check multiple sources for items you're looking for. Do your research to make sure you know what the items you're buying are worth before you make an offer to the seller.
Visit a site like http://www.crissy.com for more help.
Do you love art? If you do, it can be hard not to spend all of your time painting, drawing, sculpting, and sketching. Because almost anything can become a form of art, many art lovers incorporate art concepts into their daily lives, creating beautiful art whenever they can. I started focusing more and more on art a few years ago, and it was really incredible to see how much of a difference it made with my attitude. I began seeing things in a different light, and it genuinely made my life happier. This blog is all about finding better art pieces each and every day.