Time travel with antiques seems like a dubious way to enter the blogging world, after all what do antiques have to do with social media? The answer is of course the same as any modern business, to make money. Crass but true social media is the path to success. If these tools had been available a decade or so ago my own antique business might have survived the Great Recession. Water under the bridge, but the fact is that now large and small auction houses are beginning to see their markets changing from old money and aristocratic collectors to new money, hedge fund managers, tech billionaires looking for contemporary art and artifacts. Louis the 14th will never go out of fashion and Pez dispenser collectors aren’t going away any time soon but the method of engaging all
these targets have changed due to the swift advancement in technology. Smartphones, tablets, mobile apps, laptops, and the ever popular P.C. are a cultural tsunami laying waste traditional media advertising for the antiques industry. Print advertising, in indusrty magazines, antique themed newspapers, and occasional direct mail for loyal customers are still part of the landscape but people want to see what’s going on now not when they get home or when they get the mail or stop at a newspaper or magazine stand. Also there is a trend for high end auctions elaborated on by Sandra Germain to new collectors who wish to enter at lower priced items, $1,000 to $5,000 , in online auctions. So the antiques industry is going digital, at last.
The New Tools For An Old Trade
Going digital is not always easy for any industry but for the antiques industry steeped in tradition and hardened against change it is even more difficult. Kicking and screaming the changes are coming, forced by the new demographics to reach them in their world. As it turns out there are more than a few tools which would do just that. The list of tools is affiliated to each other, not in ownership, but in what they offer and the best are video and photo capabilities. The most promising are the popular Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and for pure word of mouth Twitter. There are dozens of other tools out there but these are the best for serving the purpose. The ability to views lots (items on the block) watch videos for a 360 view of those lots, and even bid on line really breaks down any perceived barriers of the new group of young rich. These platforms work for international houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s and for Broad Cove Auctions
(one of my got to auctions) and Caddigan’s Auction House
(another favorite of mine); I even worked for both of these in the day. Any of these houses would reach their audience in several of these platforms. My favorites to keep tabs are Facebook, YouTube, Twitter (not as much as I should on Twitter), and Pinterest. I should say to me Pinterest has more of a “mother and grandmother” feel. My grandniece uses it for her crochet business and a dear friend; she uses it for getting recipes which she promptly posts on Facebook. The fact of the matter is the industry is better for these changes with increased bidding, from over 90 countries and a 45% increase in traffic and 44% of new participants are under 45, the center cell of the new demographic. I would like to look deeper into these new areas of information for the antiques industry. Perhaps that will be the topic of my next blog.
The Caveat
Before I leave you to run out and find an auction to go to there are some warnings that go with the new technology. The platforms I mentioned, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Twitter are the best, in this case, for advertising; even those auctions you should be aware of advertise. These newly sprung sites have been born because of the technology. The big houses and occasionaly some of the smaller houses had online auctions, but the line was a land line from AT&T or the like. The bidders on the phone had to have legitamacy accepted by the house to bid. Also they had to declare which item they wanted to bid on before the start of the auction. Now-a-days all you need is a credit card basically. Here are some things to be aware of to protect yourself online.
Try Me
Before you go, if you want a trusted online auction with good stuff for not much I have a suggestion. I have previewed this site often but have not bid yet. I need to decide what will be my primary category in case I open my store again. The site is EBTH , Everything But The House. Here’s a sample of some of the real antiques you could find, plus other offerings.
So now you have a place to go. So go!!!!
Time Travel with Antiques. 