Start an Antique Dealing Business

1. 1

   Train your eye in one or two categories

   Georgian furniture, continental decorative arts, silver, porcelain, lighting, garden antiques: every category has its periods, makers, construction tells, and fakes. Handle pieces at previews, study museum collections and dealer inventories, and learn why one commode is worth fifty times another. The eye is the entire business; everything else is logistics.

2. 2

   Learn what reproduction and marriage mean for value

   The antiques trade prices originality: later copies, married pieces assembled from parts, replaced hardware, and heavy restoration all cut value dramatically, and honest disclosure of them is the professional standard. Learn construction dating (joinery, timber, tool marks, patina) because that forensic skill is what protects your buys and your reputation.

3. 3

   Source where knowledge beats the crowd

   Estates, downsizing households, country auctions, and general sales are where good pieces surface without specialist competition. The trade range for a dealing operation runs from about $100,000 upward since inventory is the cost, but picking (buying undervalued pieces and selling them to dealers quickly) starts smaller and trains the eye on real money.

4. 4

   Court the interior design trade

   Designers buy antiques constantly for projects and pay decisively when a piece fits, so build trade relationships, offer designer pricing, and photograph pieces in room-context style. A handful of active designers can become your steadiest buyers, smoothing the slow rhythms of collector sales.

5. 5

   Price for the carrying costs

   Antiques can sit for months or years, and storage, space, and capital tied up are the silent costs of the trade. Buy at prices that leave margin even after a year of carrying, keep some fast-turning stock alongside the important pieces, and remember that a fair offer accepted today often beats a fantasy price paid never.

6. 6

   Show where serious buyers gather

   Quality antique fairs, group shops in the right towns, and a strong online presence with honest condition photography extend your reach beyond the local market. Fairs cost real money in fees and transport, so track which venues actually produce buyers for your categories rather than exhibiting on hope.

7. 7

   Keep provenance and paperwork clean

   Buy from identified sellers with receipts, watch for stolen goods and protected materials (some antiques contain ivory or other regulated substances with strict sale rules), and check whether your jurisdiction licenses secondhand dealers. Insure inventory in the shop, at fairs, and in transit. Clean paperwork protects the margin your eye created.

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Best for: History-minded hunters with a good eye, patience for inventory, and a feel for interiors

Not for: This is not for anyone needing fast turns or minimal physical work, because antiques are heavy, slow-moving inventory that demands storage, transport, and patience. It also punishes the shortcut-minded, since undisclosed restoration or a misread reproduction can cost both money and the trade's trust at once.