Antiques Offer Appeal to Hearts and Wallets
By Laurent Clow
Linda Lepore and Hansi Herrington are looking for things they don't need.
Browsing through the Antique Exchange Mall, at 2535 Central Ave., Herrington spots a massive iron birdcage that she figures dates back to the 1800s.
"Look at this, Linda," she said. "It's beautiful. You could put a lot of plants in there."
Lepore winds her way through a labyrinth of clown paintings, collectible plates and colored glass to look at the cage, which looks large enough to hold an entire flock of birds.
"When all else fails, make it a planter," Lepore said.
The two women, driven by what Lepore calls "the thrill of the hunt," are out searching for early 20th century copper, knick-knacks and other bargains.
"You don't know what you're going to find," Lepore said.
Whether they are looking for massive Victorian armoires or a fish sculpture made from an animal horn, buyers such as Herrington and Lepore have made antiques and collectibles a big business. Although by industry standards antiques are classified as any item more than 100 years old and collectibles are anything less than 100 years old, the two categories almost always overlap. According to the 1997 economic census, there are 17,990 antique and used merchandise stores in the United States, with sales totaling more than $6 billion.
Since then, the industry has grown to approximately 34,000 stores with estimated sales of $25 billion, according to Jim Tucker, president of the Antiques and Collectibles Dealers Association. With 1,307 stores, Florida has the third-largest number of antique and collectibles stores in the country, falling close behind Texas (with 1,346) and California (with 1,895).
On any given day, it is not unusual to see a mix of serious collectors and casual browsers combing through the remnants of history on display in the 25 St. Petersburg antique shops listed in the 2004 Pinellas County Antique Shopping Guide. Compelled by a love of history, a sense of nostalgia, and the hope of finding a killer bargain, dealers and buyers are making sure the past stays alive in a world they say is full of cheap merchandise that lacks quality and, most of all, heart.
Hand-Me-Downs and Empty Bottles
Rick Hunt, 40, got his start in the antiques world by digging up empty bottles.
Hunt, owner of Dead People's Junk on 2063 Central Ave., said that, as a child, he would go into a field next to his house and collect the vintage bottles buried there. Although he started out just displaying the bottles on his windowsill, Hunt soon began going to antique stores and auctions with his father and learned more about the bottles he was unearthing. Veteran dealers would tell him about rare bottles and other desirable items to watch out for. He started reading books on antiques and collectibles and combing through yard sales looking for potential finds.
"The more I read, the more I wanted to read," Hunt said. "I've got to experience a lot of everything since then."
Hunt said love of antiques stems from an appreciation of quality handiwork.
"This country is making things cheaper," he said. "Go into Wal-Mart and try to buy an appliance that you'll get more than a few years out of. You can't."
According to Hunt, today's furniture companies are making increasingly bad furniture and that 30 years from now, antique furniture from the 1980s and '90s may not exist.
"It's gonna get to the point where stuff's not going to survive," he said.
Nostalgia also draws people to antique stores, according to Bart Swett, owner of Doc's Place Antique Store at 2646 Central Ave.
"People are looking for things their grandparents had, what was handed down in their family," he said. "We never had much new (things) in my home…it was either hand-me-downs," or items brought home from the auction house where Swett's father worked.
For others, it's the potential for profit that keeps some people going.
"The bottom line is the money," said Hollis, a salesman at the Antique Exchange Mall.
Hollis, a former flight attendant, started dealing in antiques and collectibles after auctioning a painting at Sotheby's, a well-known New York auction house. The painting, which had hung in his apartment "for years," brought Hollis enough money to purchase a house in Maine.
He's quick to point out that money isn't always the most important thing to dealers. A chewing tobacco sign/thermometer from 1932 hanging inside the store has a price tag of $175 on it; Hollis said the sign is easily worth $700.
Knowing when to hold on to an item and when to sell it is key, according to Hollis. "It's like being an actor. You have to know when to leave your role on stage," he said.
Unlike other industries in which each new trend is tracked and marketed, Swett said it is difficult to identify what is popular in the antiques and collectibles business because every collector is looking for something different.
At the moment, items from the '50s and '60s are generating a lot of interest, according to Hunt.
"Twenty years ago, '50s stuff was being tossed out in the garbage," Hunt said. "You could have furnished a house by picking through the trash."
And though he says thinks '60s stuff is "horrible," he's trying to change with the times.
"I'm buying stuff now that I wouldn't have picked out of the trash" a few years ago, he said.
Forget Stocks; Invest in Stoves
While a sense of history and quality work is valued in the antiques and collectibles world, the lure of a good investment is what drives many antique buyers. According to Hunt, if a person has the time and money to furnish an entire home in antiques, it's worth it.
According to Hunt, he paid $300 for 1947 Roper stove; a modern equivalent would cost more than $3,000. While modern furniture and appliances have a low resale value, Hunt said buyers generally recoup on their investment when buying antiques.
"When you leave (the antique store), you're leaving with a $1,400 dining set. But in 10 years, you're going to make money," he said.
At the Gas Plant Antique Arcade, at 1246 Central Ave., a person could theoretically furnish an entire home in antique furniture and appliances. The Gas Plant is an antique "mall" where more than 150 vendors put their wares under one roof. The third and fourth floors of the sprawling building are packed with Deco dressers, Victorian beds and tableware from the 1950s. Stoves, appliances and kitchenware dominate the back of the second floor. Scattered over the first three floors are items that cover a spectrum of history, from a modern "Let it ride!" casino marquee to a $2,500 walnut panel Victorian bed.
When people furnish their homes with antiques, Swett said they often do so according to a particular theme or period. Some prefer an Oriental theme while others go for Art Deco items from the '20s and '30s.
The asking price for a bedroom furnished in Art Deco furniture from the Gas Plant would cost $1,385. That includes a bed, dresser and armoire. An equivalent set purchased from Ikea.com would retail for $1,318. The difference, according to Hunt, is the resale value.
"In 10 years, you're gonna make money" if you resell antique furniture, he said.
Older furniture is generally made of solid wood, according to Hunt. Solid wood furniture is sturdier and better made than modern furniture made of particle board, which Hunt said is susceptible to disintegration and termite damage.
The investment isn't limited to furniture. A toaster from the 1950s retails for $20 at the Gas Plant; a tag attached to it claims the toaster "works better than any you buy today." However, a Cuisinart "Classic style" toaster lists for $84.
"People appreciate the beauty and quality of old stuff," said Alan Lew, owner of the Gas Plant. "You can find everything we have today in older stuff."
Hunt said his house is furnished in an "eclectic" mix of antiques. His Roper stove will "last forever," and his VitaMix blender is "indestructible." Even his pots and pans are vintage, dating from the 1920s to the 1940s. "When you own the stuff, you get a sense of quality," he said. "Most everything you look at today is based on an old design."
For those reluctant to buy vintage appliances for fear of missing parts and future break downs, groups like the Old Appliance Club (www.theoldapplianceclub.net) offer how-to guides on rebuilding old appliances as well as copies of the original instruction manuals.
Hunt cautioned that if it's impossible to track down a vintage item, buy it new.
"If you don't have the time to look for it, pay retail," he said. "If you figure your time up at 10 cents an hour, you're going to lose money."
When looking for potential investments, it's also important for buyers and dealers to keep an open mind about what can be collectible. Hunt said his mother once threw out some old wallpaper decorated with French poodles sitting in a salon. A fellow dealer told Hunt the wallpaper was worth "a fortune."
"You can take some of the ugliest things ever made, and if there's a demand for it," it can be collectible, he said.
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The Internet, Reproductions and Other Pitfalls
Depending on whom you listen to, eBay, the online auction service, is either a "big joke" or has revolutionized the business of buying and selling antiques and collectibles.
"A lot of old dealer say the Internet is bull," said Hunt. "But it's changing a lot. I also think it's got a lot of people into collecting."
According to Hunt, eBay and the Internet "made the business global" and caused antiques and collectibles dealers to re-evaluate the rarity and value of some items.
"A lot of things we thought were really rare turned out to be not so rare, and a lot of things we thought weren't so desirable are desirable," he said.
Hunt, a frequent buyer and seller on eBay, said the Internet has made the industry more competitive.
"You get a couple things, put them on the Net, and one or two things might hit," he said. "Some people have a jump over dealers."
Use of eBay is not dominating the industry, however. A 2004 Nielsen survey on collectibles conducted for eBay found that while 59 percent of those surveyed used the Internet, only 20 percent use eBay to buy antiques and collectibles. According to the survey, the most important source for finding items is still "regular stores.
Other dealers think eBay is a "joke."
"You can't examine the merchandise," said Hollis. Reproductions are harming the market, he said, and it's difficult to tell if an item is a reproduction of an antique item based on a picture alone.
Reproductions of furniture, glassware and china are making their way into stores and "are causing problems in the antiques markets," according to Swett.
"People looking for the real thing are being taken," he said.
The best defense is education. Swett said it's important for buyers and dealers to "study" antiques and collectibles publications. A shelf behind the counter of Swett's shop is packed tight with volumes on early American pottery and Heywood-Wakefield furniture.
"Study magazines and books," he said. "I'm always referring to them."
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