How to be a picker

Most people have seen or heard of the recent popular show “American Pickers” and may think that is something new, but pickers have been around for a very long time. There are some people who have made a living for years or money on the side picking antiques and collectibles.

When I had the antique shop years ago, pickers came around fairly regularly. They would find good stuff for cheap that they would sell to dealers at a decent amount above what they paid, and yet there was room for the dealer to sell it and make a profit as well. Also, if you were a busy shop owner, it would be hard to get away to go on buying trips, so good pickers were usually welcomed. Of course you had to make sure that they were bonified pickers and not selling “hot” merchandise!

If you want to be a picker, you have many more ways to sell your wares these days than just selling to antique shops and dealers. First of all, you must educate yourself by learning how to identify antiques and collectibles, knowing the trends and what the market prices are. Some of the best education I ever had was going to auctions and just watching and learning. I also kept up by reading the price guides and antique trade papers.

Above all, a picker must be fair and honest. You actually sometimes see the pickers on television giving the person who is selling them an item more than they ask because it is worth so much more. Most pickers try to make at least 50 percent on their sales but it can vary from 20-100 percent.

To be a good picker you need to do quite a bit of traveling. Yard sales, estate sales, flea markets and auctions are always going on somewhere. Don’t be discouraged when you go through a dry spell; not every pick is a winner. You can actually even go to antique shops and thrift shops and find undervalued items where the seller does not recognize the item. This can all be very time consuming but also a lot of fun like a treasure hunt. Also remember that the best stuff out there for picking is often not advertised for sale, so you need to find people with lots of good stuff who don’t really want to sell or know what to do with it. The guys on “American Pickers” call it “freestyling.”

A good picker will have a good rapport and reputation with antique dealers and be able to pick up the phone or stop by and see the owner and expect good sales if they can sell the dealer what they want at good prices, and dealers will often call the picker!

Nowadays a picker can sell his own finds on the internet or set up at flea markets, yard sales or even sell at Peaches to Beaches! That is where a lot of pickers will be going treasure hunting. Peaches to Beaches will be the second Friday and Saturday in March and is just around the corner. Be on the lookout for hidden treasures!

Jillinda Falen has been buying and selling antiques for over 30 years and is a licensed REALTOR and estate liquidation specialist. You can contact her through the Houston Home Journal or via email at jcfalen@gmail.com.

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