Selling In An Antiques Mall Booth...Items That Are No Longer Hot

Items trending down, they were hot, and now their not

In my last post I covered items that were hot sellers here in Florida, but of course times change.  When I started selling in my booth at Orange Tree Antiques 9 years ago, many of the following items where good sellers.....But not anymore 

 I sat down with Sherrie Hershone the owner of Orange Tree Antiques in Winter park, Florida and the Manager Lynn Coporoso.  Between these two ladies they have over 60 years of experience

In no particular order here is a list of some items that are now slow sellers.

Sets of china and stemware

Since people are doing less formal entertaining there is less demand for formal dinnerware, full sets of china and stemware are a tough sell.  We are seeing china and stemware only used for holidays and very special occasions.  

Porcelain figures and vases

Many of us remember porcelain figures and vases sitting around our grandmothers houses...Oh, don't touch!  If you think about it, the majority of homes do not have china cabinets (Except for us Shabby Chic Girls) or figurines sitting around their homes making these hard to sell.

Clear and milk glass

Many customers have stopped collecting clear glass, including pattern and etched glass.  Milk glass goes through phases and right now the phase is trending down for milk glass.

Dolls

Newer porcelain dolls made since the 1970's by many different companies are hard to sell.  These dolls where advertised in newspapers and magazines, so many were bought, making them easy to find on the internet.

Collectable plates and figures

If it says collectable, it's not!  Everyone bought them because they were advertised in many magazines and newspapers. Many different companies made them and they where available in whatever interested you; such as Norman Rockwell, Gone with the wind, Barbie Dolls, Cat and Dog lovers, and military branches.  These items are very hard to sell on the secondary market.

American Art Pottery

McCoy, Roseville, Weller and other potteries have cooled off.  Many of these pieces are being reproduced in China, which has ruined the resale markets.  If you are going to buy pottery, know the dealer you are buying from and do your research.  Since these pottery pieces are readily available on the internet and there are thousands for sale, the prices have dropped.

Hummels and Precious Moments

Many serviceman stationed in Europe brought Hummel's home for their wives and mothers, thus starting a collection.  The only place you could find them were in antique stores.  Now, you can go on the internet and find thousands of Hummel's with different marks.  This has brought the prices down, and fewer customers are buying them as a good investment.  Precious Moments were given as gifts to mark every event in a persons life.  As with Hummel's, there are many listed on the internet and therefore the prices have gone down on these too.  Over the years these pieces have been reproduced in the millions, so there is no scarcity and therefore, not a hot item anymore.

These are some observations in the Florida market.  I would love to know what's happening in your neck of the woods!

Happy Selling!

Carol