Why are antique and collectible dealers so rude and dismissive?
Shouldn't people in business be polite and attentive? I found some items in my parents estate that I thought a local sports memorabilia and ephemera dealer, who advertises on the local radio, would be interested in. Old post cards and some baseball player caricatures. He told me nothing was of any real value and added that even if the caricatures were artist originals and framed he wouldn't buy them. I thought old postcards were very collectible right now. I have about 100 and am asking for the - that's only 10 cents apiece! The ones in his store he's asking anywhere fro to . On his ads he says he buys anything old. What is his game?
well his attitude speaks to his character. no worries, people like that arent worth your business… try posting your items on ebay or craigslist. you should find someone that will see your items as a treasure -
This is routine for dealers and has been going on for centuries. There’s a saying amongst collectible dealers - "I buy junk and sell antiques." If they can make you think your items are of little value, you’ll sell it to them for much less than they are worth, thereby increasing their profit margin. Don’t sell to dealers. Do your own research - the Internet (Kovels, Ebay and Worth Point) and libraries are good starting places to find values on older items. Set your piece and advertise to find end point collectors (those that are buying for their personal satisfaction and not to re-sell). This is where you will get the most money from.
What’s rude about what he said? He was stating the fact that what you have is either not worth much, or not something he wants to buy. Was he supposed to buy stuff he doesn’t want to buy so your feelings wouldn’t be hurt? Not everything old is worth something. And how can you make a general statement like you just did, based on an encounter with one person? You’re being illogical and very oversensitive.
he might have too much stuff similar to what you have at the moment