1 Year Anniversary Selling Antiques

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SELLING ANTIQUES IS A LOT OF WORK BUT CAN BE VERY REWARDING. THIS IS OUR ONE (PLUS) YEAR REVIEW OF BEING A VINTAGE BOOTH RESELLER.

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It’s actually been a year and a half since I started a side business selling vintage and antique furniture and home decor. I shared about my antique booth when I first started but so many people are interested in this that I thought I’d do a follow-up about it.

I started this because vintage and antique home decor has become such a passion of mine. To be honest, I jumped into the selling side without doing much research on the business. I tend to do that when I get excited about an idea.

So the entire first year was a learning curve for me.

While it is fun because I love antiques, it is absolutely a lot of work. Especially if you are reselling furniture. Lots of heavy lifting involved. Many resellers focus primarily on small items but I love antique furniture so I will continue doing big items in the future.

Fortunately, the antique shop where I am in does have guys there I can hire to help me with bigger pieces. I couldn’t do this without them.

costs associated with having a vintage booth

As far as making money, for the first year, I’d say I just about broke even. There are a lot of costs involved in having an antique booth to consider. Such as:

• Monthly Rent
• Moving fees (if you hire help like I do)
• Costs of items (you need a plentiful inventory)
• Cost of time involved
• Storage space rentals
• Travel costs
• Business licensing costs
• Taxes
• Display items (price tags, plate holders, picture hangers, etc.)

One thing I did not have to consider was the location. The shop I sell in was my favorite location to shop in so I knew that’s where I wanted to be.

To sell in a retail store, you will need a business license – at least in NJ. And of course, you’ll pay sales tax on items sold and then federal taxes at the end of the year.

Pricing for reselling is tricky too. That has been a big learning curve for me. You need to mark things up as much as possible to make any type of profit but you also want to be fair and reasonable so people come back.

sourcing items for selling antiques

Having a plentiful inventory is important too. I’m constantly sourcing items. Because I don’t have any storage space at my house, I also rent a storage unit for my overflow. It’s helpful to have backup inventory or a space to store a great find that you can’t bring into the shop yet.

Many resellers travel all over to different antique shows and markets to keep their booth stocked with desirable items. Some go all over the country and others go outside the country to find fabulous antiques.

When selling antiques, sourcing can also be competitive. You need to get up and out early and move fast when looking for items because the best finds always go quickly.

Rather than simply strolling these markets as a social event with friends, now you’re working to find the best items at the best prices before someone else does. For me, this is the most fun part of selling antiques. I love the thrill of the hunt.

But it can be very time-consuming and expensive with the traveling.

Additionally, when you have an antique booth you constantly want to change things up. Hopefully, inventory is moving out quickly and you’re bringing new things in. Otherwise, if things sit too long sellers will remove them so it doesn’t look stagnant to regular customers.

When I take an item out that hasn’t sold in a long time, I’ll usually sell it cheaply on Facebook marketplace to get rid of it. If it’s something I think is really great, I will leave it in the shop no matter how long because usually the right buyer will come along eventually.

One example of this is the big white pediment in many of these pictures. It was such a beautiful and unique find, I didn’t want to let it go so I priced it high enough that I’d be less sad parting with it. Many customers made offers but I wouldn’t let it go until I got what I was asking.

vintage booth displays

Another thing I learned is that some antique furniture pieces make for a better store display than others. For example, this beautiful dresser below. Those two bump outs on the top made it challenging to style for display.

But this pretty step back hutch was great with the three open shelves. This hutch was one piece I was happy didn’t sell right away.

Many antique customers know to ask for discounts. It can’t hurt, you may get lucky and find an item the seller is ready to let go of in order to bring new stock in. But on the selling end, we have to keep that in mind when pricing. Many people will barter the cost.

In addition to keeping your antique inventory fresh, you also need to keep up with the seasons. This picture below is the most recent picture of I have of my space.

Just like any other store, you want to have fun and fresh items for fall, Halloween, and Christmas.

I’ve been brainstorming Christmas ideas since August. You have to plan way ahead because it is retail. I didn’t plan far enough ahead last year so my display, shown below, wasn’t the greatest.

The antique shop I’m in has an upstairs and a downstairs. I had a space upstairs until May of this year when something opened up downstairs. That helps to make bringing things in easier. It also helps get more eyes on my space because not everyone will go upstairs.

more ways to sell antiques

Additionally, many vintage booth resellers will take their items to sell at antique and vintage markets. This can be an insane amount of work. I don’t see myself doing that but it is a great way to supplement your income in this business.

Of course, there are costs associated with that as well. You have to pay to rent space, you will need a trailer to haul everything to the show, and helpers to set up and break down.

I will occasionally do a small local sale with another vendor friend of mine. We did one last year (shown below) and have another planned soon, happening in October.

If you’re local and want to know more about that, keep an eye on my Instagram page. I also have a separate Instagram account for my antiques business.

Lastly, many sellers are also selling smaller items online. I have yet to try that because of the hassle of shipping but it is something I will likely add in the future.

With selling antiques, the more effort you put into in, the better you’ll do. Like any other business. Much of this year I was tied up with my husband’s health issues, but now that he’s better I’m looking forward to putting more effort back into the business!

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