antique etiquette

[greenoak]

if i sell you something for 1$ and its worth 100$$$...dont tell me about it.... ha ha..
.this happened to me sunday and the dang guy also didnt buy anything else....it was a rare fruit jar...#13...i cant know everything or look thru a pile of 100 fruit jars that just came in....im looking at it as good buzz.... as in go buy from those dummies, they dont know what they have..........oh well..

[Spider]

Answer: "Yes,Sir - that is our Loss Leader for this week. I would have sold that jar for $50, so - for the price of $50 - you have come into our store, looked around, seen the wonderful things we offer, and hopefully will come back again - And will tell your friends so they come and visit us, too. I got a bargain. You got a bargain. We both win. Isn't it great when things work out like that?!"

[greenoak]

i could have tried that atitude.its such a nice one....
..but i just played dumb..he was smart he asked the price before he mentioned that it was a 13...they all look about the same to me............ dang.... i didnt win...he wasnt even my type of customer. and he got a 100 $$$ item for a dollar....in my huge inventory he couldnt find one other thing...
..the antique business does remind you of the stuff you dont know occassionally....

[Spider]

Another response so as to not look dumb: "Well, I'll be darned! I was looking for 13s in that stack and I must have skipped over that one! Well, isn't this your lucky day!"

Of course, I have the advantage of hindsight, but they are comments to have in your arsenal for next time

[KristineS]

I'm guessing things like this happen every once in a while when it comes to antiques. I'd look at it as Frederick did, it could generate some good buzz for your business and hopefully the guy will talk about it to others. It doesn't matter if they come in the door because they're hoping you missed something else, it just matters that they buy while they're in the shop.

[Business Attorney]

I imagine that there are quite a few people who come in looking for that type of thing. I know it happens in used bookstores. Most buyers are looking for good used books but there are always a few that are looking for the "find." While it is probably a little hard to let the good ones slip through, your attitude is the right one, Ann. If it brings traffic, it's a good thing.

[greenoak]

right ....and its a fun part of the antique world for sure..we all hope for that all the time.....of course bragging to the owner is kind of dumb on the guys part because if he comes in again he sure wont get the best price...
another bad example happened this week....im dealing with a customer, , hes a store owner picking out his store fixtures, and hes looking at a nice 6 ft wide expensive piece and another customer the store comes up , ignores me, and starts telling the guy about a great place to go in michigan to see really good furniture.!! right in my store with me there and he probably used my bathroom and drank my coffee...afterwards ,my customer was a little apalled and told me that was unheard of......i said the guy probably never thought of it that way....
that was a new one for me....

[Spider]

I hope you interrupted him before he went too far.

"Yessir. How can I help you?"
"Oh, I'm just telling this gentleman about another store..."
"Yes, I can see what you're doing. Here's my business card. Call me this evening and we'll see if we can sell you some advertising space in our store - perhaps a banner hanging from the ceiling...."

And smile while you are saying it - the smile is important.

[greenoak]

i didnt ..but it was pretty pathetic...he was a well dressed a nice older guy thinking he was a font of knowledge ansd should share it with anyone he could ....of course, he was eavesdropping to even get onto the subject...
ive been at the other end of this situation also...twice ....i sell to other stores and 2 of my best c ustomers complained to me becasue....in one's store someone saID TO whoever they were with .... ...".YOU CAN GET THESE A LOT CHEAPER AT GREENOAK"......and the other came right out and asked the owner if she got things at greenoak....ikkkk.....that was no favor to me...altho meant well......MY GOOD wholesale CUSTOMERS KEEP ME A SECRET... I would never put out their names....

[KristineS]

I think some people are just clueless. We get that sort of thing at trade shows. Someone will be in our booth and ask a question about a particular product, and another person in the booth (not staff) will chime in with "you should go see so and so, they know all about that product". I just usually smile and say "so and so is very knowledgeable, but let us tell you what we know about the product" or something of that nature. It's really kind of crazy that people don't think before they speak, but some people either don't or are so clueless about the social norms they don't realize they're being inappropriate.

[Spider]

...he was a well dressed a nice older guy thinking he was a font of knowledge ansd should share it with anyone he could....You have to watch those old guys! Think they know everything, sometimes!!!

[huggytree]

we are all in business and think differently from basic consumers...im sure the guy never thought about you...he was trying to help a stranger....i would have made a comment...maybe something like 'our store is better because of xxx though'....

any blunt comment would have just made you look bad and negative....stay positive.

people go to antique stores to find bargains...once in a while i did...i went to flea markets every month for years.....all to find a bargain....ive gotten some things for 1/2 price many times...typically something special which was under priced...someone who didnt realize it was 'special'....typically something with lion heads or northwind faces on it...

sometimes we all lose...thats why you make sure you have a fudge factor in your prices...for the mistakes you make....i forget about parts i need all the time...i have a 10 percent fudge factor when i add up parts...this covers all the missed parts.......i miss parts, you screw up prices once in a while.