.

How's that? :) Being a seller of anything is sort of like being an L.E.O. or teacher...you'll never know until you've been one, I guess. You have to cut the taste of the commonness with a little vinegar (or honey, depending on the situation) once in a while.

[ Edited by: Basement Kahuna on 2003-03-09 19:34 ]

Aw, c'mon BK! Give us indecisive folks a break! Sometimes we really CAN'T decide right away, and really DO have to go home and measure, and really DO come back and buy! I'm one of those - guilty. And I guess it's the Southern Woman thing in me, that I want to be polite and not openly reject the item the guy is showing me (without my having asked him to) if it only vaguely interests me; I'm trained to compliment SOMEthing!

But I guess from now on when I can't make up my mind immediately, I'll just LIE, saying that I don't want it at all! :wink: Ha!

I am now afraid to ever go into an antique store again! Who knew there was so much venom lurking inside?

I guess I am guilty, I actually do try to ask the hubby if I am going to spend more than a few bucks on something I might love. Pleasing him is a little more important than not frustrating an junque dealer.

I guess I am guilty, I actually do try to ask the hubby if I am going to spend more than a few bucks on something I might love. Pleasing him is a little more important than not frustrating an junque dealer.

Hmmmm....You know lots of people just know what they are looking for and what to expect to pay, come in, and buy. Amazing.

Basement Kahuna,
I think you should consider that all of the "dreaded" lines you mentioned could also be interpreted as pleasant ways of saying "No, thanks".
I say that because I've used variations of all of them -- even when:

1. shadowed by the owner/vulture who follows you around the store until you finally leave without buying anything because you have the creeps,
   2)the owner/huckster who keeps asking if you have seen this or that even though you are trying your best to look completely bored and disinterested,
   3)the owner/gouger who announces everything is 20 percent off when you walk through the door, but also overprices their merchandise by 50 percent,
2. the owner/with no prices unless you ask about an item and they immediately announce it is three times what you would expect to pay because "the same thing just sold on e-bay at a higher price",
3. the owner/pack rat who has so much crap piled up in their store you can't move without breaking something (which is probably how they make most of their money).
4. the owner /trash picker who is selling -- you guessed it.
   Maybe someday I'll summon enough nerve to just look one of these guys or gals in the eye and say "I drove all the way over here because I thought you might have something I'd like at a fair price, but after looking around I see all you have is a collection of over-priced junk. You know, it's amazing you can stay in business. No thanks."
   Of course, I also encounter many sellers -- of which I am sure you are one -- that have well-lighted stores with things clearly in view, prices on them and merchandise semi-organized by category. These people usually let you walk through the store unmolested and have at least a few things that are of interest. Even if I don't buy something, they seemed satisfied with a "thank you" as I walk out the door, knowing a well-run business doesn't need to brow-beat or attempt to trick customers into buying merchandise. In fact, these are the businesses I usually go back to repeatedly and buy things from.

Aloha from the Sunshine State!

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2003-03-08 07:31 ]

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2003-03-08 07:33 ]

I like the lady who tried to tell me her $30 Fu Man Chu mug was an 'antique chinese vase'. When I told her what it really was, she got annoyed and terse with me. (I bought it anyway for $15).

Some people!

Here's what I never tell a dealer: What I'm looking for. If they know you want it there's no bargaining room. And in the case of Tiki items the majority of them have no idea what Tiki is anyway.

Kailuageoff brought up many of my peeves with dealers (by the way, unless you deliberately break an item you don't have to buy it whatever the stupid little "Lovely to look at..." signs claim), here's a few more: The dealer who can't answer the question "How much is the _____?" without a lengthy preamble about what the ____ is, and how rare they are...The word "old" on a price tag...The dealers who snap "We're closing in ten minutes!" when you walk through the door (A friendly "You and your money can go to Hell!" would be preferable)...Items so wildly misidentified one can only assume it's an attempt to scam someone...Things priced on assumption (I collect tobacco pipes and there's a broad sweeping belief that all pipes are old and rare)...Items without prices...The dealer who acts put out when you ask her to look at something in a locked cabinet and the unlabeled keys to the locks which means 5 minutes of waiting just so a price tag which has been purposely put face down (due to some bizarre dealer notion that if you have to ask to see the price you may be more inclined to buy) can be turned over...And finally (Kailuageoff already mentioned this but it's becoming more common) the "I could get a million dollars for that on eBay" line. Then why the hell aren't you selling it on eBay?

Although I generally say nasty things about dealers (becasue it's fun to hate) I'd like to say that I've been shopping for junk since I was 11, and over the decades (!) I've met some great dealers who are in the game because they love junk as much as their customers. These unusual folk spend a lot of time researching antiques and collectibles, are often friendly and like discussing items, and usually price their items fairly. And their cabinet keys are clearly labeled.

I never browbeat...it's just not my style. And if it looks like I've got a serious customer in you can bet a dollar to a doughnut you won't catch me near the closed sign.(You can usually tell by that T-Rex "Hunter-Killer" vibe they exude as they walk around). But I don't small talk much either, because I have always had a passion for the antique game, knew my stuff, and never felt any need. And I don't even look at sub-condition or lower quality stuff. It's in a dealer's best interest to carry the best of the best of whatever he/she deals in. Fortunately most people I deal with have the same passion whether they be other dealers or collectors, and recognize the effort that goes into presenting quantities of decent items in a way worthy of their uniqueness. But there is always the clown that despite those efforts wants something for nothing, or wants you to give forth a college degree's worth of information about things they have at home (free appraisals). That article is strictly a humorous one...A steam killer...you can ask anyone in the retail field and they will quote you these same six lines. They get so repetitive that they remind me of the Macarena or Achy Breaky Heart. And you all know how you felt by the thousandth time you heard either one of those :)

[ Edited by: Basement Kahuna on 2003-03-08 17:24 ]

P.S. Woofmut- I pick pipes when I see one that's unusual or decent...Next time I get a nice Ben Wade I'll drop you a line.

One more thing I have to acknowledge...the antique business is replete with amatuerish-dumbass "priceguide" dealers. These people tend to covet everything like the Jewel Of The Nile, either because they are so afraid of missing out on a penny in the small picture or because they are playing "I got". Most of these people don't make a living at it. They do it because Martha Stewart told them it was a cute thing to do. They tend to undermine the business as a whole and keep a decent item from making it to dealers who actually are knowledgeable and passionate about it and want to sell it to someone.

Of course the one good thing about dealers that really don't know their junk is that Tiki items often get low priced by these folks...Such as the Tiki tumbler from the Outrigger on Cannery Row that I picked up last week for $2.75. In this case they probably could have gotten more for it on eBay.

On 2003-03-07 20:00, Basement Kahuna wrote:
Hmmmm....You know lots of people just know what they are looking for and what to expect to pay, come in, and buy. Amazing.

Even more amazing is that MOST people do NOT know what they are looking for.

I have found that the most rewarding way to have success and fun when I go antiquing is to have an open mind about what I might find - that way you might find more cool stuff. It's called serendipity. As a result, I have said every one of the phrases you have listed.

I might visit 2-10 stores in an afternoon and then reflect on what was my favorite white elephant and go back to retrieve it... I need a card to remember where I saw what. And some of us actually DO know a guy who is into this or that and DO email them - or even post items on messages boards when there is cool stuff available for sale!

Lastly, some antique dealers do have wonderful collections - too much for one person to buy, but I always thought telling a good dealer their eye for good finds is appreciated? Doyu really want people to stop being polite and appreciative?

Granted there are people who lie and bullsh*t saying things they don't really mean and I think that is what you are objecting to.

Get some cheaper home-made laser printed cards (or go to http://www.vistaprint.com cards) and take a vacation dude!

[ Edited by: Futura Girl on 2003-03-09 18:44 ]

H u m o r o u s.... H-u-m-o-r-o-u-s Take a drink, dudette.

[ Edited by: Basement Kahuna on 2003-03-09 18:53 ]

Gone....let's all get drunk and... (I refuse to quote Buffett) get our bang on.

I don't know myself... not being a hardcore antiquer, I have said all those things at some time... and an antique dealer shouldn't discount the income from random walk-ins like me.

Being that the nature of any business is to sell products or services in some niche, it is an incidental hazard that the business owner will hear certain things over and over. For some people, it's "does that come with salad". For some people, it's "how much for a lap dance". For me, it's "I can't upload my pictures."

Antiquing and thrifting are both trades that are by nature ripe with stories of good and bad dealers and customers. And there's a ripoff story for each serendipitous find story.

I can see getting tired of every time someone tells you their grandmother had one, or how they used to have one and sold it. But you know what? It means that you have some item or article that caused a reaction in them. Which means you're doing the right thing.

As far as the six offensive statements go though, it's part of the cost of doing business... and given how many shops I've seen go under lately, a shop owner shouldn't be objecting to bodies in the store.

-mig
(feeling quite talkative today)

No Fair BasementKahuna - put 'em back...