Antique Trading is basically the art of processing and setting up an item in such a way that it attracts a suitable market. After which the process proceeds to the eventual transfer and disposal of the item to where and to who has the most need for it in exchange for a price that you deem fit.
Click on any link below of your choice to view finer details of tips to help you in your antique trading journey :-
Antique Trading can at times be extremely complex, confusing or even hectic if a collector is unaware or lacks the basic skills and knowledge of the trade. In these guide we will highlight several important tips that can better prepare an amateur collector and also encourage a professional collector to fly to new antique trading heights.
1. Personality
As all other businesses, antique trading is a universal activity that involves dealing, mingling and communicating with other people who are participating in the affair.
With these fact at the back of your mind, it is very important to season your mindset and personality attributes in such a way that you are easy and flexible to work with other different personalities.
Firstly you need to be passionate about antiques. You need to nurture yourself to love what you do and always be aggressive and determined to achieve the goals of your heart no matter how elusive or hard it may be.
As much as you are hardworking, you may also need to be soft enough to allow yourself to be teachable and able to be guided, informed, directed, corrected or even commanded. If you get angry or irritated easily or you are disobedient in nature then your passion will be null and void and you will not be able to reach your set goals.
You may find a need to be a good listener, a good communicator, a team player and also be very inquisitive with a need to know, learn and follow each step carefully. A good plus is if you can be extremely great in having a keen eye and ear for every small detail.
Just like the rest of the world, being able to handle pressure is essential. Being level headed is a positive mindset and also at times you may need to accept defeat that your antique has not been shortlisted or selected for business yet other peoples items have been taken and paid for.
If you lack these essential personal attributes and mindset, you will encounter very many hurdles and conflicts. You will end up finding out that other people are too busy and no one has time to teach you these basic principles. Eventually you will be sidelined and ignored and finally find yourself being pushed out of business.
2. Resources
Once you have set your mind and energy to engage in antique trading, you may realize that there are some add-ons that may give you a better spot of preparedness to tackle the activity with assured positive results.
Arming yourself with necessary tools, equipment and accessories can better position you for a life long successful and profitable business engagement. These items may make your endeavor less stressful, easy and very enjoyable.
Tools may include and not limited to measuring rulers, calipers, magnifying glasses, weighing scales, light weight or heavy weight workshop tools, make up tools and any other tool that may make your work easier, better and more professional when setting up your antiques.
Equipments may also come in handy so to better prepare you. These may include cameras, a good source of light and generally any other equipment or accessory that may better your activity depending on the type of antique that you are dealing with.
Last and not least, have a good communication gadget. Ensure you have a good high quality phone to facilitate swift, smooth and permanent communication. Always ensure you have a permanent contact phone number. Avoid changing your contacts as these will ensure you can always be reached at all times and at anytime whenever there is need.
3. Knowledge Base
It is a widely known and accepted fact that knowledge is power and lack of knowledge is a direct recipe for failure. When you add knowledge to your passion then you will definitely have the power to achieve a successful, life long and fruitful trading engagement.
You can be far much more advantaged if you have prior and proper information of the trading procedure from the first step all the way to the last step.
From the first step of which is preparation of your antique whereby you should properly condition your antique so that it attracts potential market. Ensure it looks good and has an excellent and visible eye appeal. You may also engage the services of a reliable and professional appraiser to help you in valuation of your item.
Presentation should also be done in a standard manner whereby you ensure you take clear, bright and visible photos in a well lit environment. Marking and labeling your presentation goes a long way in giving you a head start advantage.
Prepare yourself with a good payment service by having a stable, up to date and active banking service or a reputable money transfer system. These facilitates swift transfer of payments for your item. In case of cash transfer be aware of safety precautions and measures to keep in mind.
Prop up your preparations by setting up a good, honest and reliable delivery service. Choose a service or method that will ensure your antique arrives at the end point in its best desired condition as it was.
Finally, a wise collector ensures that their item is well documented and proper records are kept for reference purposes.
4. Join Our Antiques Club
Another excellent trading tip is joining and linking up with other antique collectors. These strategy is superb as it allows collectors to work together to achieve certain goals especially when a set of different items or collections is on demand.
If these type of trading strategy can be good, conducive and comfortable for you, then you are most welcome to join our established and free for all platform called SHIKANA ANTIQUE TRADERS CLUB.
Shikana is a swahili word that loosely translates to mean joining or coming together to achieve a common aim, goal or ambition.
Trading as a group is advantageous in the sense that different members can come up with small portions of a set to make up a full collection to meet the specifications of the required items.
SHIKANA Antique Traders Club offers many advantages to members including availing latest and up to date trading information like which antiques are on demand, their specifications and prices.
Members are also trained and made aware of the latest trading techniques so they are better positioned to engage in a meaningful, successful and fruitful business engagement.
It is not mandatory to join our club so as to be able to sell your antiques since these is just one among our many platforms that are aimed to nurture and grow willing collectors who have an ambition of moving their passion from a hobby to a life long activity.
5. Take Our Online Course
Different types of people understand issues at different paces, speeds and clarity. Some people may require added effort to get certain points correctly.
In the same length, certain personalities may have a shallow desire to venture into any particular activity whereas others may be in need to have a deeper, wider and more elaborate understanding.
Whether it is an amateur collector or a professional collector there is always more room for further, deeper and incisive information ahead.
Each single aspect of antique collecting is extremely wide and may take a long period of time to exhaustively cover it in detail.
It is in these regard that we have set up an extensive online tutorial that deeply covers a step by step guide on all aspects of antique collecting.
Under our TAMBUA ONLINE TUTORIAL, we freely offer all antique collectors an opportunity for them to learn and discover more inside facts and information that are crucial when maneuvering the world of antique collecting.
TAMBUA is a swahili word that loosely translates to the English word discover, identify or know.
Taking a Tambua Online Course is not mandatory. It is among one of our platforms that we use to grow and nurture antique collectors who wish to further deepen their understanding of the industry and better prepare themselves for trading and a life long business venture.
Once you have considered all of the above basics of antique trading then you are assured and guaranteed of engaging in a successful, profitable and enjoyable life long journey.
Last but not least, passion for antiques is the most basic and most crucial aspect of the industry. These is what makes antique trading thrilling, exciting and worth taking part and participating in the activity.