EARLY BUYING

Who really pays?

We buyers of antiques are quite a bunch. Many of us regularly wake before dawn to head off for one of the many antiques shows that vie for our attention each weekend. Others sit for hours in an auction room, waiting for one significant object to come up for sale, or hoping to pounce on a treasure that no one else has noticed. Since we never can be sure where our next find will crop up, we all become a bit obsessive. In an ideal world, each of us would be the only buyer. In the real world, each of us wants to be first.

The recognition of this need must have given some unknown show promoter the idea of Early Buying. Most of you know how this works. In some instances, buyers pay a premium to be allowed into the show while dealers unpack and set up. In others, dealers are given time to unpack and set up before early buyers are admitted. In both cases, the "general public" are admitted at the "regular opening time" for the "regular admission fee." (By contrast, in the UK, with the exception of mega-venues like Newark, trade buyers are often welcomed during dealer setup at no charge, recognizing that serious buyers are the sellers' greatest asset.)

When we began doing shows about twenty years ago, early buying appeared to make sense. Dealers took advantage of the shorter lines and smaller crowds and filled their vans with fresh merchandise. Exhibitors were happy, early buyers were sated, and the general public didn't appear to care.

In the 90's something fundamental changed. First, the buying frenzy of the 80's and before largely subsided. Dealers were buying more carefully, and collectors, whose collections are often being fine tuned, were being more selective in their purchases. Second, the sheer number of shows gave buyers a degree of choice never before available. Today, this plethora of buying opportunities makes it easy for buyers to decide to take a weekend off.

This is where Early Buying becomes a dangerous, negative force. Once the cost of early buying becomes prohibitive, (for example, early buying at an upcoming Vermont show is $25.00 per person), many potential shoppers will decide not to pay it. No problem, right? Just stay in bed for two hours, show up later, and pay the reduced price.

Not really.

In their minds aggressive antiquers may see all of the best pieces leaving the show in the cars and vans of early buyers. Whether or not this is true, the reasons to go to the show after early buying are much less compelling than if all buyers got the same chance at everything. Many simply decide to stay home. (We stopped shopping the Farmington show when the promoters raised their early buying fee to $25. Since the new owners of Farmington Antiques Weekend have abandoned early buying, the crowds on Saturday morning appear to be growing, and we are again among them.)

Who gains from these early buying charges? While managers and sponsors may think that they do, look at the math. Early buying at the aforementioned Vermont show costs $25.00; general admission, $7.00. In recent years the number of early buyers appears smaller each year, so the gross sales of early buyer admission has dwindled. We've exhibited at shows where the early buyer count was well under fifty! On the other hand, if four buyers decide not to bother driving to Vermont for the 10:00 a.m. General Admission ("after the field has been picked"), it wipes out the profit from one early buyer. But from the dealers' perspective, the damage is much more severe. Each person who decides to stay home rather than pay the early buying fee is one potential customer who did not come to the show.

In the short run, the dealers lose. Eventually, they drop the unprofitable show. As the size and quality of the show declines, buyers stop coming. In the long run, the show dies, and promoter and sponsor are left with nothing. Who really pays?

Obviously, the views expressed here are ours. We'd be happy to hear from you, whether or not your opinions agree with those expressed above. Use this link to e-mail us.

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