NH Antiques Dealers speak out...
What's the "State" of your Market?

   The idea for this article first occurred in July while on a sales trip to coastal Route One in Maine. While over the past year or so, we’d been hearing dire reports of terrible sales, shop closings, group shop bankruptcy filings, initially most of it appeared centered in the mid-West and southern states. Then this past winter “the Gavel” was hit with a group shop filing for “bankruptcy reorganization” from an advertiser on Route One in Maine, which eventually became a straight bankruptcy write-off.
   When reports showed up in other trade papers last fall and winter about shop closings in Texas and Florida, I’d wondered at the potential fall-out for New England shops. Both of those states have been winter hunting grounds for “snow bird” dealers, who bring their newly-found winter treasures back East to exhibit in some of the finest seasonal shops in New England. Moreover, if sales in other states were as poor as some articles relayed, would those dealers travel East this year to shop?… if you can’t sell the merchandise you already own, why buy more.
    But the spring shopping season started with a bang on May 1st in NH’s lakes region with record sales being reported all over. From small, privately owned shops in the Wolfeboro area to the large scale economies of Burlwood in Meredith, NH, merchandise (smalls in particular) was flying off shelves. Initially, other shops around New England reported excellent sales as well. Then, just as quickly, sales at some shops slowed to a trickle. And there appeared to be no rhyme or reason.
    One shop owner called in mid-June to say their small group shop only took in $12 the previous day - and an hour later I heard from a private owner shop a half hour’s drive away from the first who was elated as they’d sold almost a thousand in furniture the previous day to a dealer from Florida…go figure!
    But as I thought about it, I realized the first shop carried little furniture, while the second shop carried an assortment of furniture from “used” to high end, and the buyer had bought at both levels. And the private owner shop could “dicker” while the group shop was limited to their “dealer markdown” on the dealer tag.
   Many shop owners relayed they were holding out hopes for Antiques Week in NH, adding they weren’t seeing a lot of their “regulars” this summer from states further away.
    One shop owner in western NH said, “Regular shoppers aren’t coming thru like usual. So some days I see no one, then someone will come in and buy heavily. If they’ve traveled a distance this year, they’re serious buyers.”
    And repeatedly I kept hearing that furniture sales were way off. By July many auctioneers around New England were reporting that furniture prices at auction for general, run-of-the-mill pieces like oak commodes and pine chests were way off. “Now’s the time to buy,” remarked one long time auctioneer.
   Yet, the State of NH reported record Rooms & Meals tax revenue, and almost nightly the parking lots at the chain restaurants in Concord and Tilton, NH were packed. Numbers passing thru the major toll booths hit all time records this summer and weekly, we found ourselves restocking the State of NH tourism info centers, particularly in Hooksett. We went thru more “Gavels” at the Hooksett state rest area/info center this summer than in the past fifteen years. So what gives?
   And then I went to coastal Maine in July, the general Boothbay/Wiscasset environs, and was amazed at the lack of shoppers for ALL businesses. Everywhere I went dealers lamented how terrible business was … and the motels were 1/3 off in room rentals. The motel where I stayed had room vacancies the entire week I was there… this at the end of July when normally they’d have been booked ahead for months, the owner told me.
    The further north we traveled, the worse it got. Local newspaper articles discussed how sales of homes, including second homes, was strong. Construction was everywhere - condo’s, luxurious homes, waterfront property crammed in so close I wondered how anyone had a view. The Bar Harbor area reported 50% reduction in hotel/motel room rentals. Of course! Those who could afford to travel were buying property, not staying in hotels. And they generally weren’t buying antiques to furnish their new homes. I saw more BMW’s and Lexus and Lamborgini’s and other fancy sports cars that I can’t spell, but they weren’t loaded with highboys.
    An enjoyable afternoon at the 24th Annual Camden-Rockport Historical Society Antiques Show and Sale produced by Goosefare Antiques & Promotions enabled me to speak to some of the superb dealers that John & Elizabeth DeSimone always assemble for their events. Donald Harford of Falmouth Foreside, ME reported, “Decorating and drapery stores are hurting my business. They have the look but they don’t have the history!” Donald, who specializes in tie-backs and other antique window treatments, had a wonderful assortment of Sandwich glass. But he elaborated, “I don’t bring as much of it to the shows as I used to. Years ago I could sell this stuff all day long.” He pulled up the front of the drape on one table in his booth and revealed many more boxes of merchandise he hadn’t put out. “I bring it as reserve, just in case they sell.” Sadly, they weren’t buying a lot of window treatments this day. Donald explained this was the case at most every show at which he exhibited lately.
   The Tunbridge boxes in the booth of D.J. Petrick of Rockport, ME caught my eye. I went into his booth to discuss the economy with this twenty-seven year veteran of the antiques business. “I’m once again finding interest in case pieces,” he remarked. “The interest has been phenomenal at this show as well,” he added, pointing to an exceptional sideboard in his booth. “I have several couples interested in that piece and I expect I’ll have sold it before the end of the show.” He went on to say in his experience higher end buyers from the cities such as New York and Boston weren’t going out to entertain with their friends as in the past. “They’re afraid of another terrorist attack. So they’re entertaining at home; having in friends. And they want the right furniture to do it in style.”
    On the drive back to NH, I learned MAD (Maine Antiques Digest) and the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association (NHADA) would sponsor a panel discussion on Friday, Aug. 13, at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, at the close of Antiques Week in NH. The topic: “The State of the Market: Looking Up?” I knew this was one event not to be missed during Antiques Week in NH.
    Still, it seemed like I was missing the boat when it came to answers on “what’s going on?” in the antiques business. I wasn’t even sure I was asking the right questions. I knew some shops in NH were having a great summer, while others languished. I heard a lot of grumbling from other shop owners about “Burlwood’s” record sales. Several came right out and said they thought the numbers were fake… cooking the books, so to speak. Yet, I knew that wasn’t the case as every month I take the pictures for their ad and the owners are more than willing to turn on the computers when we arrive before the shop has opened and pull up the sales results for the previous day - or week - or month, right in front of me. Computers don’t lie and I’ve seen the figures. Moreover, I personally know many of the Burlwood dealers, and across the board, most of them have had a good summer.
    I thought, why not ask our readers what they think is going on in the antiques “economy” so I emailed every shop owner and auctioneer in our email address book, close to 1000 in New England alone, not to mention individual dealers. What follows is some of “your” responses, verbatim. We tried to pick a good cross representation that typified what many others wrote to say. Other than spelling and minor grammatical changes, what follows is unedited responses.
      Early in August, Russ Jones wrote to say, “Hi there - Cottonboro Farm is having a great year.  Since the Yankee Travel issue arrived on the stands we’ve seen an increase in first time customers.  We also did a radio ad this year (a first for us) and have seen an increase in first time customers from that, too.  Sales of furniture and antiques are up this year.  We’ve found that customers seem to be staying close to home and re-decorating their homes, which is great for all shop owners.  The weather has been against us with our gardens, but the customers have been very understanding.”  Pam and Russ Jones, Cottonboro Farm, 145 Stoneham Rd., Wakefield, NH (Ed. Note: they’ll be holding their annual Holiday Open House Nov. 6 & 7 - do stop in 10-4, lots of fun and great merchandise)
    Then I heard from John Woodard, owner of the Freedom Flea Market on Rt. 25E in Freedom, NH on the Maine border. “Hi Kathy, So far the market has been doing as good or a little better than last year, but I have a household variety including antiques, which may be the reason.  I have more dealers set up this year, some have done good, some haven’t. The volume of people shopping seems to be down this year, Many dealers who stop in have said they were off 50% or more and are hoping for a busier August.  Keep up the good work on the paper. I got 3 bundles last delivery and have given out most all of them already. Hope the info helps.” (Ed. Note: the Freedom Flea Market is open thru Columbus Day weekend, 7:30 to 4)
   Over twenty auctioneers responded to our email. Gary Wallace of Gary R. Wallace Auctioneers on Rt. 16 in  Ossipee, NH, seemed to sum up their comments the best. “This Summer season my attendance has been about the same as last year - but I have noticed very few antique shop buyers and hardly any second hand dealers, if any at all, in attendance.
    “I have noticed a fall in prices on Victorian and oak furniture, dolls and toys, oriental carpets, wicker, cut glass, some china. The exception would be the highest quality in these categories. What’s selling is fresh estate merchandise right out the house. What’s not selling is what we call dealer re-treads; items previously offered for sale at a show, auction or shop, now consigned to auction.
    “The biggest complaints we hear - Dealers are not selling - Not enough buying cash.
     “One of the common requests we get - Can you hold my check? Consignments are slightly down from last year reflecting a slow down in the real estate market. Complete estates are rare, for relatives pluck them clean before selling them off.
    “My opinion on the state of business - Because there are so many options open to buyers and sellers, the most knowledgeable persons succeed and carry on. When the economy slows down you see a cycle. This happened back in the early 1990s, and is happening now. People come and go in the business. Some even get out and then jump back in again.”

   For a mid-West perspective we heard from Reyne Haines, with whom we occasionally share the radio air waves on the Gary Sohmers Talk Show.

Greetings from Cincinnati Ohio!
 
Thanks for the email.  Here are my observations from a few different standpoints:
 
1) JustGlass.com
Its summertime and folks are not spending as much time indoors. They are traveling with their kids before the school year starts again. It is notoriously a slow time online until around September. Nonetheless, we are seeing good steady sales, many of them going abroad. I am not sure if European countries are making it cheaper for their residents to surf the web (before it was very expensive) meaning they spent little time surfing like Americans do.
 
2) Reyne Gallery - the gallery in its second year has experienced a surge in traffic.  We are located on the 3rd floor of a brownstone. We are open to the public but do not heavily advertise we are here.  We are not a typical antique shop.  However, with the increase in interest with the arts in Cincinnati, the re-opening of the Taft Museum, and the opening of thr Contemporary Arts Center 2 blocks down, more and more people are coming out to visit galleries and see what they have to offer.  Sales off our internet site are also up about 30% from this time last year.
 
3) Auctions - occasionally we buy things in estates that are not typical for what we sell in the gallery. Those items are consigned to auction. The last handful of items we have consigned have sold for considerably more than their estimates.  It also seems like everything we have tried to buy at auction has gone for considerably more than what we were willing to pay.  Good for the gallery, as it makes our pricing look cheap, bad for us trying to stock inventory.
 
I hope this helps.
Our information:
Contact:  Reyne Haines
Justglass.com
Reyne Gallery
www.reyne.com
17 East 8th Street
Cincinnati OH 45202
(513) 651-4198
reyne@mindspring.com
 

    We were happy to hear from one of the group shop owners along the “antique trail” on Rt. 101A. Lucinda Koleh, along with her husband Matt, own and operate the Antique Warehouse on Rt. 101A in Nashua, NH.
    “I have been in the antique business for many years. I grew up watching my Mother sell. Times have certainly changed and I am a firm believer that you must rethink your methods of pricing to be successful in today’s market,” she wrote
    “That is the key issue right now, both dealers and the retail public want the “best buy” they can get. They will usually shop at large mall shops like our Antique Warehouse because there is a good selection to choose from. We see more and more dealers shopping here, so the prices must be workable.
    “As for the dreaded word (economy), I don’t think anything has been back to normal in America since 9/11, especially for private businesses. Our spirits were wounded and our economy skipped a beat or two, but the people are spending more now.
    “My feeling is that business is certainly growing. In the last three months I have seen a significant growth from the dealers in our shop that want to sell. We all know this business is more than filling a booth and letting it sit. You must change and rearrange your stock to give your area a fresh look.  If price is the issue, rethink the way your mark your merchandise. Learn to sell more quantity at a smaller profit margin, therefore turning over items and getting fresher stock in! Let’s face it. . .  if it sits and doesn’t sell, it costs you money! I know dealers that have been in the business for 30 years or more, I call these survivors. Not because they are barely getting by, but because they have learned to survive in any economy. They have learned to make it work for them, it really can be done!
    “Our consignment floor is ever changing, I can see the difference in our customers as they enter the shop. There has been so much positive feedback on our look as we are now carrying clean quality used furniture and other home items. I personally check in all consignments, since the pricing is also done by me (with the acceptance of the consignor); items are priced with the thought of selling. This is one of the changes that we made to attract retail customers. The Antique Warehouse has 170 booths with a huge selection of furniture, glassware, pottery, jewelry, books, milk and soda bottles and records. Not to mention the collectibles, coins, dolls and clocks. Wow, I’m sure I missed some. It’s huge!!
     “The Antique Warehouse runs two annual sales, one in the summer and once in the winter. Most of our dealers participate because it moves along a lot of merchandise that was on the edge for price. Stop by and shop us, we are open 7 days at 10am. We rent space, sell on consignment or buy outright.  We see a lot of traffic on Rt.101A, customers like to shop where they can make a day of it. Speaking of antiquing for the day. . . visit 4 large shops in 5 miles, see our web page for details: www.nhantiquewarehouse.com and come on down!!”
   Having run into a number of older dealers this summer doing shows who told us they don’t own a computer and aren’t interested in selling online (but who also told us their shop wasn’t doing well so they were doing more shows this year), we thought sharing the thoughts on an online dealer *(former shop dealer) was intriguing.

“Hello!
     This is Golden Goose Antiques. I sell only on eBay. I am looking for another internet venue to sell on that is successful. Ebay sales are slumping terribly fast for antiques. I have 100s of items on, and no bids at this moment. My feedback is 99.8% which is higher than many.
    I have gotten robbed on eBay by unscrupulous sellers, sending either nothing for my hard earned money, or sending damaged goods, claiming they did not see the damage. Some then say they won’t refund the shipping (either way, even though THEY made the mistake). In a recent  instance I am stuck with a cracked 40.00 vase, that started at 9.99 with no reserve, but seller saw that I was a dealer, and feared I was going to make money on it, and said not to contact her again. She reneged on the partial refund, no apology, no nothing!
    “My current state of the market report: BAD. I was in 4 different NH shops at one time. My sales increased 400% on eBay in 1997, so I pulled out of the shops to keep up with eBay sales. I had sold over $50,000 in 1997-98. Currently, sales are just about at a crawl. I filed an $18,000 loss with IRS. Property Taxes are stupidly high in this state, making for high priced booth rent, with little traffic. This is draining me, the customers and many other sellers.
    “I can no longer afford booth rents in shops with no foot traffic. I closed my last remaining booth last year. Shows are a joke. I saw VERY FEW bags of purchased goods at the last few Antique shows I went to. I have come away empty handed many times from shows. I do better buying at group shops and local auctions. Thankfully eBay does have a good market for used clothes, CDs, and DVDs. This helps pay the bills, but is not enough income to buy GOOD inventory. I have a lot of excellent antique inventory I have stuffed away, hoping for things to get better. I can no longer afford to keep re-listing them, at $4-$5.00 a whack on ebay for 7 days. Ebay has offered a SHOP where you can list stuff for pennies a month, but there is not a lot of traffic to the antiques. If I wish to unload stuff in a hurry, and at a loss, I run it through the local auctions.
    “I am looking into relocating to the South, where quality inventory is even more scarce. The taxes are lower below the Mason Dixon Line. Booth rents are lower. I had hoped to sell all our inventory, THEN move. But I fear I will be wrapping it up and taking it with us.
    “I have been in the antique and junk biz MOST of my life, (since 1969) and this is the worst I have ever seen it.
    “I will be changing jobs when we move. I am going to make antiques just a hobby, and farming a lifestyle. I look forward to the change. At least I won’t end up with any cracked animals from the livestock auctions.
Sincerely,
Crystal Snape
golden.goose.antiques on ebay
Local expert on RS Prussia
Winchester, NH

     Of course, hearing from Betsy Hutchins, owner of Latchkey Antiques, in Winchester, NH is always a treat… “If I had known then what I know now, I don’t think I would have put down roots in the “quiet corner” of New Hampshire....it’s just not that busy tourist-wise and I’ve seen a steady decline in tourist traffic since 9/11.
   However, that being said - we’re small, we get good fresh stuff therefore we have a steady stream of  traveling dealers who buy from us on a regular basis so we’re doing ok.  Just ok, though-nothing grand or even consistent at all.
   Buying at tag sales, flea markets & house calls (I never go to auction) has been way down, not really the major quantity of overstock I like to see by this time of year, just the “usual” load every weekend.
   I have noticed that certain merchandise prices have dropped this summer- you sell it for what you can get -  that’s one difference this year.  I’m not talking about the good antiques - they sell fast, for decent money - but I’m talking about what I consider to be staples: Fiesta, Jadite & all types of 20th C collectibles -  dead dead dead.  That has to be the Ebay effect...why go around looking for something you can have your pick of delivered to the door in a  few days?
    As usual, the variables are endless & there are no definitive answers that I can see. The upshot is, for us, our small percentage of retail traffic has dwindled alarmingly & that shaves off the comfortable margin we like to see going into the fall & winter. Who says the economy is getting better?  Go Kerry!”
    ED Note: on the off chance we won’t offend anyone, we had to include Betsy’s letter as she represented the Vast Majority of writers who commented on candidate choice when responding to our email. Note I didn’t say party affiliation. This editor quite honestly hasn’t decided who she is voting for, which will no doubt PO a certain # of our readers … and while this is not a political editorial…it struck me that perhaps someone should let Kerry know he appears to have a strong base of support in the antiques industry… now if he could just get you all to REGISTER and VOTE….
   Hearing from the “older generation” was represented by comments from one of my favorite couples, Bruce and Audrey Gardner of Contoocook, NH. Their private owner shop, located on Rt. 103, just minutes from Hopkinton, and a half hour’s drive from the capital city of Concord, NH, is always changing. I got the biggest kick from their “tandem” responses via email, sent individually. Audrey first.
   “This is a small non-group shop in a Contoocook village. In light of what we have been hearing, we have not fared as poorly as some shops. We had two rather slow years but this year has greatly improved. These small shops are where young future antique enthusiasts begin their climb to the higher end items. They explore and learn here. Many people tell us that they prefer a small shop to the large group shops, because it’s more personal, and things can be displayed in a more appealing manner. Many people like dealing directly with owners.
      “Ours is a seasonal business, and many summer visitors return to shop every year, and the local area trade keeps us busy as well. Our merchandise is often from local area homes, sometimes with a little story attached. If something really great turns up in our shop, it is usually scooped up quickly by another dealer or a customer.”
     And with Bruce’s usual wry humor, he wrote, “Business greatly improved compared to past two years.  Why?  Many reasons including luck and the following:
          1...Return of long time customers.
          2...Broader base of buying; discreet buying at auctions; locals selling more to us; great buys at other shops.
         3...Less emphasis on large furniture.
         4...Some folks still like single owner shops with a general line.
         5...We’re a seasonal shop, but lack of tourists has not hurt...(after all, Contoocook is not Hampton Beach.).”
    A number of shop owners and dealers who sell online as well as thru their shops wrote to say eBay sales were way down. They all mentioned this was typical for summer BUT they also said mentioned online shoppers appeared to be more discriminating this year. This equated to the same pattern in brick and mortar shops. Nancy, a dealer at Sunflower Antiques in Littleton, MA, who handles all of their internet sales, wrote to say: “We are currently finding that most customers are looking for very specific items. For example: rare patterns of Shelley china or EAPG. Furniture is selling, but not the higher end like  Shaker pieces we have at the shop. Purchases are more the kinds of items you’d put in a summer cottage. “Shabby chic” is actually a pretty good term. Vintage 40-50’s linens are selling better than the earlier textiles. On the other side of the coin, inexpensive collectibles like Wade figurines still sell along with less expensive jewelry.
     “I also now try to only put up well-researched and unusual items with No Reserve online. I’ve had recent good luck with some old Heisey crystal, Brumm sculptures, WWII memorabilia, and chintz pattern china. It’s a bargain hunter’s paradise on Internet auction sites right now.”
   We particularly appreciated hearing from Jim at the Franklin Antiques Market in downtown Franklin, NH. As a relatively new group shop, his candor and understanding of the business was refreshing and frank.
    “Overall, things have been going well,” he wrote. “As of July 31st, 2004, our sales have increased 25% over last year at this time. We are in our second season and this October will be our second year anniversary.
   “We designed the shop with space for 75 dealers and currently we have 37 dealers. We spend between $800 - $1000 a month on print and radio advertising.  We informally poll visitors to our shop and ask how they have heard about us. Our advertising is really paying off, most people state that they see our ad in the Gavel, (thanks Kathy).  A large number of people pick up our color brochure from other shops, so that form of mutual advertising seems to pay off.
   “We count our daily customers, but there is no explaining it this year. I have not been able to see a pattern of visitors, but look forward to reviewing the numbers in the fall to see how the increased traffic affected our bottom line. And also, the number of visitors does not always correlate to an increase in sales, since one out-of-state dealer can show up and spend thousands on just a few items.
   “Lots of dealers have been talking to me about how bad the month of July was for everyone. Our numbers for the month dipped slightly, but miraculously, the last week was very good to us. August started out with a bang, we had five people deep at the counter and had great sales. Most of our dealers are doing great already, so we are looking forward to the month of August.
   “Most of the sales have been smalls. We have moved some large pieces of furniture and large oriental carpets, but those sales have slowed down this summer season. It appears that the retail customer is being very cautious about how much they are spending. With the upcoming Presidential election, the war on terror, and raising interest rates people are pulling back on purchasing luxury items.
   “Our price points are across the board. We have items for $2, all the way up to $8,000. We have been very selective about the dealers that we have let rent space in our store. This has definitely affected our bottom line. We have not opened the doors to anyone that wants to sell “old stuff”. We are working like crazy to preserve the ambiance of the store, and we are only renting to dealers with quality merchandise. We have had good luck with our dealers and for the most part they have been pleased. It would be easy to open the doors to a host of dealers selling “old stuff” but that would ruin the integrity of our shop, which we are not willing to do.
   “We recently had one dealer that complained because of a bad month of sales. I calmed their fears by compiling a yearly account of their sales and rent paid for the past six months. You need to look at the big picture and not get upset if you have one bad month here and there. This is cyclical business, and the antique trade in New Hampshire will always be here, long after we are all gone.”

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Kathy:

Thank you for your inquiry regarding the “state of the market” at Burlwood. Wow! This season has been absolutely wonderful. We couldn’t have asked for a better group of dealers and customers. When Mary and I purchased Burlwood in 1999, we knew that we had purchased not only an antiques mall with an excellent reputation, but also one that had so much more potential.  I recall your article covering our first opening day as the new owners, in which you mentioned our  “enthusiasm”. You were right, and we are still enthusiastic about the future of this industry!

Every year, we have tried new things to increase our dealer sales and rental income. Most have worked, but some have not. One failure was hooking Burlwood up to the Internet. We offered this service to our dealers for FREE! Unlike other malls at the time, our big difference was that every Internet item had to stay in the dealer’s booth or case, available for Burlwood customers to purchase. Other malls at that time had glass cases of key merchandise that the customers look at but could not buy unless it failed to sell on-line. Not at Burlwood! We wanted our customers to have an equal shot at the item. If it sold, it was pulled off the website. Guess what? Our customers thanked us but our own dealers didn’t support this free service. Either they already were selling on-line on their own or they didn’t want anything to do with the Internet. So, we dropped it and save a lot of annual expenses.

Another issue has been trying to increase dealer sales during Bike Week. In June, we have over 300,000 bikers continuously riding by Burlwood’s front door , but it is consistently our worst performing week of sales. (And the Harley-Davidson store is just down the road). Why? It seems that every year we try something different and actually do generate more sales, but not to the level of our normal weeks. We’re bringing in the bikers and they are buying more and we’re shipping the items back home for them. Problem is that our regular customer hibernates during Bike Week. Anyone have some ideas? We would love to hear from you!

The biggest advantage of buying and selling at Burlwood, as an antiques center, is that we are a seasonal business. It is like we have a ‘buy it now” tab in our store. Our customers know that if they want it now, they need to buy it now.  If they wait, it may be sold to another customer. In the event that it did not sell during our season, it is very unlikely that it will appear at Burlwood for a second chance next year. At the end of six-months, every single unsold item leaves the building.

During the “closed” six-months, while paying the mortgage, property tax, insurance, etc. but not earning any rental income, we get to recharge our energy, enthusiasm,  and also reinvent our selling spaces. This allows us to crunch numbers day after day after day. It also allows us to think of things to change at Burlwood to increase sales (and increase dealer interest in space at Burlwood).
An interesting observation about our industry is that there seems to be a belief that the “build it and they will come” philosophy applies to the antiques trade. We disagree. Our philosophy has been quite different.  It has been spend lots  & lots of money promoting our dealers and then the customers will come and spend more & more money. The result should be that more dealers will want more space.  So far, it’s working!

This is not something that we invented. As long time dealers of the semi-annual Atlantique City™ show, we observed that a promoter could bring in tens of thousands of potential customers. Our job, as the show dealer, was to bring the right merchandise at the right price and sell, sell, sell.

At Burlwood, we strive to bring in a huge customer base to our dealers while also providing such a broad variety of quality merchandise for our customers that we can have something for everyone.  Burlwood used to have a great reputation for just glass, pottery and porcelain and miscellaneous smalls.   Now we have earned additional excellent reputations for quality vintage gemstone jewelry, coins, advertising, clocks, toys, lamps, artwork & prints.

We spend nearly $35,000 in advertising for our six-month season. We mail 18,000 postcards a season to our customers in the Northeast region of the country. We know that many New England malls use the same sales software that we use. We are customers of these malls. We write checks in these malls, but in the past six years, we have never, ever, received a single postcard, letter, or advertisement from them. At Burlwood, we also record the name and address of every single customer that writes a check and every customer that wishes to be on our mailing list. We believe that you came, you spent money, and we want you back! This marketing is expensive, but it works.

One of the big physical changes that we made at Burlwood was the “Lower Level”, previously known as the basement. What’s up with so many malls making the basement the place for the junk? This was prime real estate with wide aisles, bright lighting and the best ceiling height but earning little rental income. This level had the largest usable square footage of our building and offered best potential improvement.  So, we built 26 jumbo locked and lighted display cases. We sold out of these cases immediately. But, I caught hell for it the year that Burlwood opened on May 1st when I made over 200 customers enter through the back door to the “lower level”. Why did I do this? Because we had built these beautiful showcases on that level with superior merchandise that our dealers had paid rent to display their items. Mary and I were afraid that no one would see it because the industry puts the junk downstairs. Well, the “back door” grand opening worked. We now have 38 showcases in place of rows & rows of semi interesting furniture. Why sell a chest of drawers for $350 and earn $15 rent when you can sell over $4,000 of antiques and earn $150 rent for the same space?

Mary and I also shop or rent space at antiques malls and group shops from NJ to NH. Every transaction is also a potential learning experience. As a result of these experiences, we have adopted the following practices for our customers and dealers:

FOR OUR CUSTOMERS:

+  Our employees are not our dealers. We do not trade space for work. Our employees work for Burlwood and are responsible for fulfilling our work requirements and must perform according to our requirements. Also see “no picking policy”.

+ Customers are greeted by staff as they enter Burlwood and thanked as they leave.

+ Our staff is always available to open locked cases and assist customers on ALL three floors.

+ We are open every day at the same time 10 and close at 5 or later when customers are still spending money. Our staff knows that they will keep working until our paying customers are done shopping.

+ No picking policy. During dealer set-up, no sales are allowed prior to May 1st opening to the public.  Neither dealers nor owners can purchase anything during set-up. Also, Burlwood owners and employees are restricted from purchasing items at Burlwood throughout the season. Owners will not buy anything until the last two weeks of the season. Employees can only purchase an item after a specific period of time after a dealer has restocked their space.

FOR OUR DEALERS:

+  Burlwood owners personally manage the mall at least 5 out of 7 days each week and every dealer has our home phone number.

+ Dealers are welcomed to call for up-to-the-moment sales reports so they can properly restock their space.

+  State of the art security system is professionally maintained and upgraded annually. All boxes leaving the building are checked. Any merchandise leaving Burlwood must have the dealer’s own tag or it must be signed out at the front desk.

+ We PAY our dealers on the 2nd of the month for their prior month’s sales.

+  Our dealers can restock any day that we are open during our open hours. If it is a busy time, we simply request that only one box at a time be brought into Burlwood so that our customers can freely shop without any obstructions.

+  We call our dealers with reasonable (emphasis added) offers. We are here to sell their items.

Not sure if it means anything, but we have found that no matter what we do, someone has something negative to say.  “Wow, nice job” would be great, but when we upgraded the requirements for the quality of the furniture at Burlwood and the overall sales also went up ­ we heard that ONLY furniture was selling. When we added cases to the lower lever, we heard that sales were up BECAUSE we had MORE dealers. (Not true ­ we had same dealers that had actually rented more space). When we added our Estate Jewelry case, we heard that ONLY jewelry was selling. Not true - and the bottom line is that SALES are UP!!! See our website at www.burlwood-antiques.com

ED. NOTE: We'd like to hear from YOU about the "state of the antiques market". email us at gavel96@worldpath.net