Synopses & Reviews
Whether you're buying or selling, this complete handbook gives you easy-to-follow advice for making the most of your antiquing investments.
Antiques on the Cheap features dozens of simple, inexpensive techniques to help you:
- Recognize real treasures and make great deals at auctions, estate sales, and yard sales
- Put the best face on your finds by cleaning, stripping, and refinishing just about anything
- Turn broken into beautiful with techniques for mending pottery, fixing lamps, repairing furniture, and sprucing up other favorites
- Make money, with expert advice for setting up shop, attracting customers, pricing merchandise, and more.
Synopsis
Get the inside scoop on every aspect of antiquing - buying, cleaning, repairing, embellishing, refinishing, restoring, and selling. You'll find expert advice for getting great deals at auctions, flea markets, and shops, and you'll learn how to spot items that can be repaired to increase their value. Advice for selling antiques at flea markets, on consignment, and in shops is included.
Synopsis
Learn how to get the best deals at auctions, flea markets, and shops and how to spot items that can be repaired to increase their value. Then find out how to resell your purchases.
About the Author
James W. McKenzie is presently a self-employed antique dealer and restorer who has 20 years of experience working in various antique businesses, putting much know-how advice into his book, Antiques on the Cheap. He has had 27 years of hands-on experience in restoration work and selling and currently restores American art pottery for other dealers. James has been married for 35 years to his wife, Wanda, and has two daughters and three grandchildren. He lives in West Virginia.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I: Buying
1 Taking the Mystery out of Auctions
2 Other Sources of Merchandise
3 What You Shouldn't Buy
4 What You Should Buy
5 Getting Good Things for Nothing
Part II: Improving
6 Cleaning Wood Furniture
7 Marbleizing and Other Trick Finishes
8 If You Absolutely Must Strip
9 Refinishing
10 Trunk Restoration for the Amateur
11 Tricks for Cleaning Silver and Brass
Part III: Fixing
12 Mending Chipped and Broken Pottery
13 No-Sew Lampshade Re-covering
14 Renovating and Converting Lamps
15 Resurrecting Frames and Mirrors
16 Furniture Repair for People with Few Tools
Part IV: Selling
17 Where to Sell
18 How to Get and Keep Customers
19 Pricing Your Merchandise
20 Some Basics of Business
Glossary
Suggested Reading and References
Sources: Suppliers and Manufacturers
Index