MOVERS AND SHAKERS
If you want to know what’s happening where, this is the place to look. This month: The US and UK columns from Issue 32 of Antiques and Collectables for Pleasure & Profit. The UK Column
In the last issue of ACPP, I reported the fact that dealer and fairs organiser Ingrid Nilson had grown from a portfolio of one to five events in as many years – by creating small, select, 20-or-so exhibitor standfitted and vetted events. Well, the first, in autumn 2004, was not entirely her own. It was a larger event and run in conjunction with LAPADA. Now, whereas that Cheltenham (rural West Country) event has just been relocated to London, Ingrid’s own formula has gone from strength to strength, from two small and select events in 2008, to four in 2009 and now seven scheduled for 2010. All in different locations. Such rapid expansion is extraordinary. Jaguar Fairs too … For several years, Jaguar Fairs was firmly at the lower-to-middle end of the market with their two-day indoor/outdoor events at Wetherby Racecourse. ‘Indoors’ was under canvas and on grass, so events between November and February were out of the question. Last year they moved across the racecourse, out of the tents and into the grandstand and exhibition centre. Better exhibitors and better exhibits followed. This year, a seventh date (January) was added and the calendar extended into November. Such was the demand for indoor space at Jaguar’s March event, that they expect to be taking a third floor in the grandstand, in addition to their full occupation of the exhibition centre. Another organiser being rewarded for responding to customer demands. eBay more approachable, but … eBay has just introduced a new helpline for the purpose of helping resolve common buyer/seller disputes. The call centre is based in the USA, with toll-free calls within USA and at national dialling rates in UK. In the UK the service remained by invitation only in early May, with no clear indication of any timetable for full rollout. The most common problems between buyers and sellers are, inevitably, payment not received, items not received and items received but not as described. Logging disputes about items not received/not as described with either eBay or PayPal (notably PayPal, the eBay-owned card processing service) is a torturous process. From screen to screen, and back to the last screen again, with PayPal’s 17-digit transaction number and 11-digit dispute number, and eBay’s 12-digit item number and 17-digit transaction number. So, is the new helpline doing what it says on the tin? Not from what I’ve seen and heard. In March and April, one US buyer had run up many thousands of pounds in invoices from medal sellers worldwide. I was one of around a dozen who had filed non-payment cases and reported him to the eBay helpline. It took them weeks rather than minutes to suspend him. Similarly, a vendor in Northern Ireland who had received thirty feedbacks, all negative, in three days in April was permitted to trade for several more, even after the avalanche of complaints to the helpline. Then, finally, there remains a potential language problem. The eBay helpline didn’t have access to a French speaker when I called them about a discrepancy with a purchase on eBay France – so they couldn’t do what they intended. Their solution was welcome, but didn’t really address the problem. Bless them, they reimbursed me out of their own pockets. Yes, the voices may now be human - if you are one of the invited few - but the processes remain mechanical and painfully slow. Must-haves – in US dollars The pound has sunk further not only against the US dollar, yen, and euro (almost without trace), but also against the Australian dollar. That is such good news for those countries in today’s UK buyers’ market – particularly when a must-have item comes up at one of our auctions. The c.1770 five-inch creamware teapot pictured celebrates the abolition of heavy taxes on printed goods between UK and North America. It is one of only five known still to exist, the other four examples being somewhat plainer and all in US hands. Found in a box of bric-a-brac in Warwickshire, it came up at Hanson’s (Derbyshire) on 15 April. Against a published mid-estimate of A$500, although with an anticipated return of up to A$4000, it sold for A$160,000 (inc premium). The telephone bidder from California may well have been prepared to go further, funded in part by the strength of the dollar - the shift in the exchange rate knocked around a third off the equivalent US dollar price of early last year. The Australian Column
It’s not just in Australia that antiques are enjoying a resurgence in interest; trade journals from the United States and the UK are commenting on the same observation. And it’s not the first time it’s happened, in fact it appears to be an established trend; when there’s a crash in the economy, people turn to the tried and trusted, and dare I say more traditional, methods of investment – and antiques are seen as being top of that list. Which partly explains the great success of several recent antiques fairs. Christine and I attended the opening night of the Great Australian Antiques Fair, organised by James Johnson and held at the Sydney Showgrounds at the end of April, with our usual expectation of seeing the usual diehard visitors and a lot of dealers with plenty of time to chat. In fact the exact opposite was true. It’s fair to say that the aisles were crowded with people and the dealers never stopped talking to potential customers. Some of the stands swarmed with people the entire night, and there were sales going off everywhere. The atmosphere was buzzing, the gear on display looked fantastic – especially on the stands of some of the big interstate dealers such as Valentines Antique Gallery and Lauder & Howard, who made the trip from Western Australia – and the public in attendance was largely a different crowd to normal. Opening nights always attract the people who want to be seen, but this time they easily outnumbered the more casual visitors, and the overall age of the crowd also appeared to be younger than usual. I don’t know if this was a factor during the rest of the fair, but it probably helped give the opening night more of a buzz. Christine went back to the fair on the Friday (it opened on a Wednesday night) to do some advertising photography with our Sydney photographer, Willie. We usually choose the Friday to do our shoots because that’s generally recognised as the quietest day as far as attendance is concerned, and in the past it’s been a good opportunity for Christine to catch up with the interstate dealers that we rarely get to see. Well, not this time. Even on so-called ‘dead’ Friday there were people browsing and buying, and Christine still had trouble getting to talk to some of the dealers whose stands were continually busy. It’s fantastic to see such interest in the antiques and collectables market, and doubly so given the gloom that’s currently abounding! Even better is the realisation that the upsurge in interest isn’t limited to one area of the country. We know this because in the last month or so, Alan Carter – our dad – has been travelling Australia filming for his upcoming series of DVDs and the 2010 Alan Carter Price Guide – and he’s also attended a couple of antiques fairs! This is his report: All the fun of the fairs At the end of April I attended two very different collectables fairs - one in Perth and the other in Burra in South Australia – and both were eye-opening events. The fair in Perth was held at the Claremont Showgrounds in a very large exhibition hall; it would have been about 50,000sq ft I think. Joined to this hall is another of about half the size, in which was held an arts and crafts show. Both events were organised by the same company, who, it has to be said, did a magnificent job. The collectables fair had around two hundred (or more) tables, overflowing with gear of every type. The layout was perfect, the look of the fair was quite stunning and every dealer I spoke to was friendly and professional. You know, I didn’t hear one single complaint from any dealer throughout the two and a half days of the fair, and I’ve got to tell you that’s unheard of in my experience. Not since the days of the late 1980s and ‘90s have I seen such a crowd of visitors to any fair. I’m usually pretty good at judging numbers of people, but at this event I was all adrift because the place was continually packed. And I’m not exaggerating – I mean ‘packed’. I was manning a stand on my own, having been in Western Australia taking photos for the 2010 Price Guide for a week prior to the fair. I stayed on to attend as a PR exercise. To do it alone was a very big mistake. The numbers of people stopping by to say ‘hello’, have their books signed or get their photos taken was so intense that I couldn’t leave the stand. I couldn’t even get time for a cup of tea or a sandwich, and I definitely didn’t have the time to look at all the tables full of gear. The fair was so busy that a friend of ours on the next stand tried to give me food and drink, but he got swamped himself! Every dealer to whom I spoke did well. Every visitor to whom I spoke said they had enjoyed themselves, and for me this event was a complete breath of fresh air. On the following weekend I was due to attend another antiques and collectables fair in Burra in South Australia, for more PR work. Having learned from the Perth fair, I realised I’d need help so I talked my wife June and film cameraman Pete into coming with me. This time I’d be more organised. We stayed in a higgledy piggledy cottage on the outskirts of the small town (population of about 1000) which began life as a mining town that revolved around the copper mine that brought the wealth into the area. Burra is a lovely country town surrounded by hills and with seven antique shops along the main road. How could a town of 1000 people and seven shops put on an antiques and collectables fair that was destined to attract several thousand visitors, I wondered? Well, the Burra Fair has been going for about 24 years and it attracts dealers and visitors from all over South Australia. The fair is held in the two separate venues, the Town Hall and the school gymnasium. The Town Hall is a bit more upmarket and a number of exhibitors could hold their own with any dealers anywhere. The gymnasium holds a large number of ‘table top’ dealers with gear amongst which you might find anything at all. A shuttle bus runs between the two venues. We were placed in the Town Hall, which is quite a lovely old building that lends itself well to holding an antiques and collectables fair. After everyone had set up their stands on the Friday night, we went to the local Bowling Club for a dealer’s dinner and a bit of fun. It’s a good please for all the exhibitors to get to know one another. From the moment the fair opened on the Saturday morning it was full of visitors, and it stayed that way all day. Once again we were trapped on our stand, but we had a terrific time meeting our customers. The Sunday was a bit quieter in terms of visitors, but no less buoyant. Once again there was nothing but praise from the dealers, all of whom seemed to do from ‘well’ to ‘very well’. Pete has taken his camera and equipment so we spent quite a lot of time filming Burra and especially the fair, which will be the subject of a DVD later in the year. Judging from these two events, and a few others I’ve been to this year, the antiques and collectables industry is not only alive and well, it’s bursting with health.
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There she goes again
Be prepared: there’s no doom and gloom in this issue’s column. Yes, we’re in a global financial crisis, but at the moment the antiques trade seems to be enjoying something of a renaissance and we’re not going to ruin it with mention of
the other ‘r’ word.
