If you have already read our book, "The Complete Money Saver's Guide to Garage Sale Shopping," then you know what incredible bargains are out there for the dedicated garage sale shopper. These can include some of those rare, vintage and retro items you may be seeing at your local antique store.
So, if the antique dealers are finding things like you are, at garage and estate sales, and maybe for bargain prices, why would they cost so much more in the antique stores? Are the dealers ripping us off?
We'd have to give you an absolute "no" on this one, and here are some of the reasons why:
- Dealers have spent a lot of time, sometimes many years, learning what sells, researching what things are worth and are certainly not out of line for pricing accordingly.
- For every treasure a dealer may be selling in their store, there may be many items that didn't move that they have lost money on. It is always a gamble for them.
- Dealers are spending many, many hours hunting for these items wherever they may be. If they actually added in their time, the prices would be much higher than they are.
- Many dealers pay a monthly storage fee somewhere for storing their inventory that is not yet in the store.
- Dealers are paying for rental space in an antique mall or paying for the building itself if they are the owner. Often, they are working some days in the store as well. They often pay the building owner a percentage of every sale on top of that. There is a lot of overhead that might not be visible to the shopper.
The next time you are browsing through your favorite antique shop, we hope you'll have a greater understanding of what goes on behind the scenes. When you think about it, maybe that dealer price is a pretty good deal after all!
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