Have you ever wondered how booth owners come up with their prices? I know a lot of people compare booth prices to EBay or other online sellers. There are some things to help you price right in your antique booth.
- Prices are affected by the location of the antique mall. Prices in Alabama are much different from prices in New York. Even city to city can make a difference. For instance in a smaller town things are usually going to be priced lower than in a big city.
- Items sell differently from city to city and region to region as well. Like Mid Century Modern furniture is a huge seller in the big cities like Atlanta or Nashville, but in the smaller towns (especially in the south) Farmhouse still rules. And in California, Florida, and other coastal areas brightly painted furniture is popular. So if you want to sell, you have to price accordingly.
- When we price we look at the value of the item. Then we have to consider what the market will actually bear. Fenton glass, for example, back in the 1980’s, was extremely expensive. Today, it doesn’t bring nearly as much. We have to consider the market for the goods that we sell. What size is the market in which you are located and what is the median income. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what it cost when it was manufactured. What will consumers pay for it today.
- Which brings us back to EBay and other online sellers. They are located all over the world and sell all over the world. They are reaching a much broader audience. Therefore, they start out asking a high price. Note the word asking price. This is what they ask not necessarily what they get for the item. You can always ask any price you want, but what people will pay may be a totally different story. There is an option on EBay where you see what people have actually sold items for. This gives you a true idea of the value of an item.
So, you can see, there are a lot of things to consider when comparing prices. And the location of the antique mall must be considered as well. In bigger cities booth rent is higher so in turn, prices will be higher.
Enjoy your antique shopping!