antiques dealer Archives - Midcentury Jewelry

My sister and I went to an auction a while back. It was the kind of household auction with box lots of miscellaneous household items stacked on long tables. At the same instant, we both spot a large cardboard box loaded with Lenox dishes.

My sister, who is a sometimes antiques dealer but mainly a collector, says “Oh, those plates are soooooo pretty! They would look so nice on the sideboard in my dining room”.

Meanwhile, I’m looking at the plates and I see dollar signs shooting out of the box….dollar signs like little shooting stars. I want that box of dishes, not because they are pretty or because I like them. I want them to resell and make money. Mwaaaaahahaha.

So, bidding for the box of Lenox begins and I follow my sister’s bid with a surprise bid of my own. She was so outraged by my betrayal that she stopped bidding. I won the box handily.

After I retreived the box, my sister hissed “I can’t believe that you bid against your own sister for a lousy box of dishes. I turned to her and said, “Sorry, Sis, but it’s the Antiques Business, not the Antiques Friendness”. Needless to say, my comment put a damper on sisterly love for a few weeks!

Seriously, this story DID happen but I have learned since that once you invite a friend or family member to attend an auction with you that you’ve turned the potential business outing into a social outing. At least it’s that way for me. I may want to bid on an item but I feel like I have to be a nice person and not hog every bidding opportunity.

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Darrell is my favorite antiques picker. Let me tell you how I met this guy….

I was at an auction a few years ago, purchasing jewelry for resale. Bids were low and I was raking the jewelry in. I love it when nobody shows up for an auction! Anyway, this little guy approaches me and asks me if I want more jewelry. I say “Sure!” and give him my number.

Days later I get a phone call from the guy. Now, I don’t know him from Adam, but he’s ready to meet. So, I say to him, “Well, is there a McDonald’s near where you are and maybe we can meet in the parking lot so you can show me your stuff?”. Darrell doesn’t like that idea. He says, “I’ve already got all the jewelry laid out on tables at my house. That way you can see it better“.

Wouldn’t you think I might decide that this idea is possibly not prudent? But, nooooooo, that’s because as an antiques dealer, I live in mortal fear that I’ll never find good stuff ever again so I’ll go just about anywhere for that next find.

I called my husband at work to let him know my whereabouts. “Honey, I’m going to meet a total stranger at his house to buy jewelry. So if I don’t come back, his name is Darrell and his phone number is 555-XXXX”. My husband grunts and I hear the clicking of a keyboard in the background. “Did you write this DOWN?!!!!” His response gives me no confidence that he’d be helpful in locating my remains, so I hang up and call my best friend. After telling me I’m crazy, she takes down the info.

Well, Darrell’s house ends up being a moldy 1970s split-level on a large lot, isolated from other houses by trees and undergrowth. I knock on the door and hear fervent rustling behind the door. As Darrell opens the door, I take a gander and realize that jewelry is no-where to be seen. “So, where’s the stuff?” I ask. Darrell chuckles, “I’ve got it all laid out the basement. There’s more room down there!”

So, here we go down into the basement. Holy Moley, it’s the Mother Lode! And you thought Darrell was going to kill me, didn’t you? Well, you will have to stay disappointed. Darrell turned out to be totally legit. After that initial buy, Darrell became my picker. He goes to auctions and garage sales as a hobby. I can’t be everywhere all the time so it’s nice to have someone out there looking on my behalf.

Darrell likes to do business on his terms, and that’s OK with me. He calls me when he has a large group of jewelry and miscellaneous items to sell. When he calls, he wants to meet RIGHT THEN. Sometimes I get the feeling that Darrell’s motivation to sell is directly related to his immediate need for cash. I have to buy it all…good, bad and indifferent. Sometimes I get the better of him and sometimes he gets the better of me. It’s been a good thing, though, and Darrell has come through for me when I have felt like things had dried up and there was no vintage jewelry to be found.

Would I meet a total stranger at his house again? Probably not. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it! I’ve cultivated other pickers from my goings-about and didn’t have to resort to meetings in dark places.