Garage Salers, eBay consignment sellers, collectible collectors and antique aficionados... it's not a deal if it isn't real!
"How
to Spot Fakes,
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As my long-suffering husband will attest, I used to come home with lots of junk from my garage sale expeditions. Unusual junk, maybe. Pretty junk, perhaps. But worthless (or close to it) junk.
Sure, when I went to garage sales and flea markets, I looked for great deals for my home and family. Kids clothes. More kids clothes. Toys or games we hadn't played. A different picture to hang on the wall. Kitchen gadgets. And I did save some money.
But for me, going to garage sales, flea markets and the like (and let's not forget shopping on eBay) isn't only about bargain-hunting for my family. It's about treasure-hunting finding useful, valuable or attractive products at great prices that I can give as gifts or, better yet, sell for a profit. My goal was to have a nice little sideline income. (A nice enough income, in fact, to warrant a big "I told you so!" to skeptical friends and family.)
My problem was that I didn't know what a lot of the cool stuff I saw was, much less if it was worth anything. But I spent the money anyway.
I'd see something interesting on a table and think "Hey, is this Depression Glass? Only $1.00? Sold!" or "Hmm, never saw a vase like this before - wonder if it's worth anything?" or "Wow, that looks old; bet somebody collects it!""
My style was to buy it and if it turned out to be a dumb purchase, put it out at my own garage sale later on. I was spending way too much money on what turned out to be expensive, dust-collecting, space-hogging clutter. I needed help!
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I may be impulsive, but I'm no dummy. (Unless my high school teachers and college professors gave me good grades for my looks. Ha!)
When you're hurrying from sale to sale (especially if you've got the kids with you), there's no time to consult an antiques guide. And those guides are great, but some of them are big. And heavy. And a bit obvious ("Excuse me, ma'am, while I run to the car and look up this vase in my Pottery and Glassware manual.")
Ditto if you accept items to sell on consignment for other people. Doing some research may be part of the service you offer, but the ability to do an "instant appraisal" is absolutely invaluable.
I couldn't find what I wanted. So I wrote it. More than a dozen books, scores of websites, and hundreds of articles later, I've "picked out" all the snippets of information I could find about how you can know the genuine article from a clever fake fast. Easy. And without carrying around a lot of expensive equipment.
"I just purchased and downloaded "How to Spot Fakes" today, and I have to admit, I'm impressed. I'm pretty skeptical when it comes to this type of manual, and I honestly figured I'd be writing you to request a refund, saying, "Sorry, but your ebook didn't tell me anything I didn't already know." Instead, I have printed out a copy (for personal use only) and will be taking it with me to the flea markets and garage sales this weekend! Congratulations on having written an excellent, useful book. I know I will certainly get my money's worth out of it!" Elizabeth Hanes, www.elizabethhanes.com Writer for AntiqueWeek, Antique Trader Weekly, Collectors News, and other such publications. |
This is NOT your typical antiques guide! No pictures (well, very few). No comprehensive list of every hallmark ever used on a piece of silver, or illustration of the most common bottoms of McCoy pottery, or side-by-side comparisons of reproduction vs. genuine jewelry. Not that those kinds of illustrations aren't good to have... but not at a garage sale!
Save the in-depth research for when you get home, or have time to go to the library, or to hire an appraiser. Use the knowledge in this one-of-a-kind book to quickly examine and assess the probable value of interesting items you find.
You'll still wind up with a dud sometimes (even the experts get fooled) but your track record will be much better than mine used to be!
(Hey, carrying a valuable designer handbag to a garage sale is NOT a good idea! Odds are, you'll either put it down somewhere and lose it, or you'll discover that no one is willing to deal with you on the price.)
Note: Diana sells this book on her site for $27.00, but here on IWantCollectibles you can get it here for only $19.97. I wrote the toy section and helped Diana with some other areas of the book. Because I helped Diana with the book, I can offer you this special price.
You'll be reading and absorbing this money-generating information in just 5 minutes, since this downloadable report will be available instantly upon payment. Read it today, use it at tomorrow's church rummage sale!
Remember, this isn't some huge, confusing, hard-to-read and heavy-to-lug-around price guide. You won't find the kind of specific information an expert in a particular niche requires.
I don't know how long I'll be able to keep this low price, so order today! Internet marketing experts (like Marlon Sanders, one of the greatest) tell you not to price "information products" less than $37. So why am I doing it anyway? Because this is a new concept, for one. Because I would have done the research anyway. Because selling a digital report like this is a quick and profitable way to deliver information.
But mostly because I'm selling to fellow garage-salers. I want the best deal I can get for the lowest price, too. Hopefully this is low enough that you won't feel the need to haggle over the price!
The books are in PDF format which can be opened by ANYONE (Windows/Mac) with a free copy of Acrobat Reader software. Don't have Acrobat Reader? I'll give you that free too.
Only $19.97 Special Discount Price For IWantCollectibles Visitors!
Happy treasure-hunting!
P.S.: I told you about my embarrassing problem and that I spent hours digging up this hard-to-find information because of it. So is my own problem solved? Have I profited from the information contained here?
I had a good chance to put my newfound-knowledge to the test right after I finished writing the draft copy. Our church had their annual rummage sale to benefit "Habitat for Humanity." This is a huge sale typically we make about $10,000 to $12,000 in six hours.
Unfortunately, I didn't find any "treasure" that day no undiscovered Van Gogh painting or Currier & Ives print but holy cow, did I save some money!
For example, there was this beautiful glass bowl that caught my eye. It was marked $10, it looked old, it had no chips or cracks in it, and one of the cashiers told me who'd donated it to the sale, a nice older lady I knew slightly.
But I got to looking at it closely and whaddya know... the pattern was off. Part of the design overlapped in places; nothing really obvious, but definitely noticeable if you were looking for it.
This research I'd done taught me that this was a tell-tale sign of lesser-quality reproduction. I didn't need to look at a book because this was easy to remember and easy to check. So I gently put the bowl back on the table for some other sucker to buy and avoided the embarrassment of looking like a fool when I tried to sell it!
Don't let a measly $27.00 or so keep you from profiting from this hard-to-find information! The price can only go up. Click the secure order button below!
Note: Diana sells this book on her site for $27.00. Because I wrote sections of the book and provided advice, I can offer you this book for a special discounted rate here on IWantCollectibles.com.