How to learn to make money part time with collectibles and antiques.

Know the value of what you have or what you inherit.
As in every thing else knowledge is the key. Get books and learn. Again like anything else this business is so vast that it will be better if you confine your self to learning about some special items that you can afford to buy and sell. However keep your eye open for the big score. A guy bought a frame from a flea market for 4 dollars and he discovered that under the matting was hidden an original first edition of the declaration of American independence.He sold it for over 200,000.00 dollars. This guy sold it for over 2 million and finally it is valued at over 15,000,000.00. I have not known anyone make such a score. So don't get into antiques thinking you will find the golden fleece. However I did see one man buy a painting for 500.00 dollars and he sold it for 325,000.00 dollars. I and many others passed over. The guy who bought it was the one with the knowledge. It is knowledge that made the difference so learn, learn and learn.

Let me explain the antique trade by the following example. In NY City you can have coffee on the side walk for a dollar. You can go to a neighborhood deli and get it for a dollar fifty. At Starbucks you can get it for two fifty. Then you can go to a fancy restaurant and pay eight dollars for coffee. Similarly in antiques the same stuff is available for different prices. The fancier the neighborhood the more expensive the price of the same items.

I have an antique store on East 59th Street in Manhattan. I go all over the tri-state area to find antiques. The farther I go away from New York the cheaper the price. However the best bargains I get when there are garage sales and when people are moving and want to sell stuff, especially those who move into smaller apartments. Another place you can buy collectibles is at flea markets.

As you learn more you can start going to auction houses. A real good place to learn is to go and sit the whole day learning from an actual auction taking place at the famous auction houses in the city. You will learn a lot. In fact if you find some good piece you can take it to them and they will tell you for free how much they can sell it for you.

Another place to learn is to go to collectible shows and flea markets. I know a friend who buys at flea markets and garage sales and then once a month he brings every thing to the famous Annex Flea Market on 25th Street and off 6th Avenue in Manhattan. He has a regular job as an engineer and does this on the week ends.

If you are away from any big city then you have the internet. In fact the best place to learn is on eBay.com. Even all the auctions take place live on the internet. And you can see what is selling for how much. In fact the internet trade has overtaken all the auction houses combined. There is a trader who is getting rough emeralds from war torn Afghanistan without leaving New York. One dealer has found a collector from South Africa. He cannot find stuff fast enough for his client.

As in every thing else knowledge is the key. Get books and learn. Again like anything else this business is so vast that it will be better if you confine your self to learning about some special items that you can afford to buy and sell. However keep your eye open for the big score. A guy bought a frame from a flea market for 4 dollars and he discovered that under the matting was hidden an original first edition of the declaration of American independence.He sold it for over 200,000.00 dollars. This guy sold it for over 2 million and finally it is valued at over 15,000,000.00. I have not known anyone make such a score. So don't get into antiques thinking you will find the golden fleece. However I did see one man buy a painting for 500.00 dollars and he sold it for 325,000.00 dollars. I and many others passed over. The guy who bought it was the one with the knowledge. It is knowledge that made the difference so learn, learn and learn. A good place to learn about original quality is at the mesuems.

Another time a friend bought a painting by Ruben from a woman who gave it to him for 200.00 dollars she said she was no way that lucky that she would have an original Ruben. She under estimated her own luck.
She should have done her homework and she should have had it appraised.

However you must beware that there are a lot of fakes; in fact for the original stuff there are lots and lots of copies. So always take a receipt. And ask the seller if it has been repaired. Some people will not buy if it is not perfect.

We antique dealers make the most money because people inherit valuables and don't do their homework when trying to sell. If you inherit antiques then look up their value on the internet. Find out from the yellow pages about who is selling similar stuff. Go in as a customer and try to find out how much a similar piece the dealer is selling. This way you get a good idea of how much your own item is worth. You can ask him if he is interested in buying a similar piece. If he offers you 50% of his price for the similar item it will be a fair price.

The next time you are going somewhere and on the way you see a garage sale you might find something you can sell for more on the internet. Or even to antique dealers. Your local papers will give you a listing of the garage and estate sales. Even consignment and thrift shops are good for buying and selling collectibles.

In the meantime don't give up your regular job. This part time job will only pay if you really put your heart into it and in spite of all the experience even we make mistakes. So hold your money until you are really sure. Sometimes you can take a piece on consignment and try to sell it and if it does not sell you can give it back. Make sure the piece is not damaged. For the dealer may say later that you damaged it so you bought it.