Antiques
Both the collector and the
antique dealer devote their time to researching antique objects, collector’s
items. What makes them different is that one will keep the objects while the
other will resell them in his shop. Weapons, porcelain, books, furniture,
silverware, sculptures, paintings etc.. There is no limit to collecting…A
collector is a passionate person who gathers objects corresponding to the theme
of his
collection
. For some, it can be a hobby: the person who builds
and stores the collection is then a collector but it can also become a
profession, for example an antique dealer, library curator…Obviously one can
ask oneself what are the main ideas that guide a seasoned collector. We can say
that accumulating does not necessarily mean collecting. The collector is
orderly and careful and likes to socialize his collection by showing it while
the segmented and unordered accumulation, without any sense of the quality of
the objects or pieces collected, is part of a kind of psychopathology. In
“the system of objects”, it is necessary to differentiate between a
lower level of accumulation of material, a second level which consists in
keeping objects in series, and a third level which would be that of the
collector because a collection is something that emerges towards culture. The
collector, unlike the antique dealer, does not seek to resell the objects they
collect. The collector seeks to share and enjoy the pleasure of his collection.
Most collectors like to show even more than they like to find. This desire to
socialize is very strong and often produces a lot of frustration. But, in any
case, collecting is good and beneficial on many fronts: because it offers peace
and the satisfaction of finding, and it allows one to look at objects one
likes; because it makes it easier to get to know the objects and to value them.
Collecting can be a way of learning to deal with frustration because it often
takes patience to find the object you want. In this sense, collecting helps us
improve our self-esteem. A collector is, therefore, a living and passionate,
orderly and careful being, with a constant point of obsession over time. He likes
to share and enjoy the moments of pleasure that his collection gives him.
Therefore, the collector and the antique dealer have points in common but the
final objective is not the same.
Doing good business
How to make good deals in
antiques? Simply put, it is about buying when the price is low and selling when
the price is high. Perhaps you’ve seen TV shows about people looking for lost
treasure in old farms or flea markets, hoping to make a profit from it? These
quests are exciting and can be addictive, as can the search itself. And this is
not a recent activity; already in the 1970s and 1980s, this kind of research
was very popular. As fashions changed, people were throwing away old objects,
like furniture, for example, because styles are always changing. What wasn’t
fashionable ten or twenty years ago may well become fashionable again, and thus
gain in value.
https://www.etsy.com/market/antiques
