It doesn’t come to anyone’s surprise that you experienced an issue with a vet or the process of vetting. Perhaps if vets would put their name on the program as to which dealers they had vetted, it might make for more disclosure about the opinion of an item.

First it’s new and of the era,then it becomes passé, then it becomes tacky or just out dated enough to be a bit shabby, then a languishing period where everyone dismisses that terrible fad and it’s thrown away, bought cheaply, etc…to own it shows you can afford to update to the new decor of the era.. Then slowly it is rediscovered, renewed appreciation, and slowly becomes a valuable antique.

There will always be some people who want heavy, highly ornate, antiques but they are decreasing in number every year. The modern design movement continues to grow in popularity because it is good design with a modern aesthetic. If these old antique dealers think the computer babies are going to fill their houses with heavy, dark Victorian furniture or take a page from the decor of 17th century France – they are sadly mistaken. The majority will be drawn to a more modern look. The mid century period will attract them because the good stuff is incredibly well made and will last – just like the good antiques of previous generations. It is furniture you can both use and invest in. Unfortunately, with the shift to overseas cheap production of the last 20 years there won’t be many sought after antiques from the 1990-2012 period, too much poorly made stuff with inferior design. So the up and coming buyers (35 to 15) will either buy mid century modern and/or cheap new stuff.

As for buying from a dealer, I only do that if I want to overpay. The Internet and libraries have provided enough information that you can research anything if you have the desire and motivation. With that you can go on eBay or any place online and buy things at much cheaper prices. While antique roadshow was the boon of the early 90s for dealers, it was followed by eBay which has become the bane of their existence. eBay, and other online site brought the real market home – we could finally see just how much stuff was out there and get a good idea of true market value. I walked into an antique store run by an older man who probably priced the majority of his things in 1995. They were all still there because of eBay, which offers the same items at a fraction of the cost. He refuses to get online, hates mid century modern. I’m glad because I bought a “mid century modern” item from him for $100 that he had shoved in a dusty corner, things piled over it. this same item sold for $11,600 last year at auction.

Whetting their appetites can come with good branding, slick web design that stays ahead of the curve, and attractive social media campaigns. Pinterest, Flickr, and other photography-based sites are definitely great places to showcase the beauty of the antiques business, provided that you have access to a studio and a competent photographer.

The trouble with renewing interest in antiques every generation comes from the fact that we are essentially trying to infuse “newness” into products that are by definition quite old. Thus the avenues for selling our products often tend to be old-fashioned–for example, antiques shows, galleries, and auctions. Increasingly young affluent people are turning to the internet and to slick retail locations (like up-scale malls) for their shopping needs. The antiques industry is already realizing this and moving more and more into the online market, which has the added benefit of reaching far outside of local geography into the global (or at least national) scope.