Civitan will be holding our 6th Annual Antiques & Collectibles Show at The Master’s School, 36 Westledge Rd., West Simsbury, CT (Route 309 West), on Sunday, April 11, 2010 from 9 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Admission is $6.00 ($5.00 with coupon or this article).  Children under 12 years: Free Admission.   Refreshments will be available at the Civitan Food Court at the Show.

There are 60 Exhibitors who travel from as far away as Maine, Cape Cod, New York, Long Island, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.  Among the many items for sale will be glass, pottery, furniture, prints, paintings, jewelry, textiles, country antiques, native American, sterling, metalwork, early Inuit, nautical, fishing collection, equestrian items and much, much more.

The net proceeds of the event are dedicated to scholarships for a graduating Boy Scout, a Junior Civitan student and a Master’s School student.  In addition to the scholarships funds will be used for Valley community projects and the Civitan Research Center.  For further information contact Mary Turner, Show Manager, at (860) 658-7794 or email tolturner@comcast.net.

La Porte County Fair Grounds

La Porte, In

April 18, 2010   8am – 4pm

Prairie Farm Antique Promotion, LLC

The troubles in the antiques trade have not spared the OK state. The Oklahoman recently reported that shop dealers throughout the state are failing. “Antique stores are struggling”, says one. “You just can’t make a living off them anymore.

While some of the state”s dealers think the problems are no worse than those faced by all retailers, many believe the problems run deeper. The Oklahoman sums up the situation aptly. “Something significant is happening to the industry. Several experts claim we have moved into a new era–one that now includes the purchasing of antiques online at Web sites such as eBay. They argue that fewer people have the need to walk into an antiques store when they can find what they want while sitting in their pajamas at a home computer.”

But perhaps for a handful of dealers, who’s surprised e-retailing, unprecedented in its ability to provide shoppers convenience and selection–has spelled the end of the antiques shop? E-retailing has that power. Remember when, not long ago, there was a mom-and-pop video store at every corner?

I think 2010 will be the year the antiques trade sees a sales turnaround for dealers who take advantage of the “dynamic duo,” e-retailing and antiques shows. Like Batman and Robin, these two sales channels, if properly paired, can be a team of superheroes.

So how should they be paired? Here are three suggestions:

Every dealer should promote her presence at antiques shows on her Website. She should write about the events she’s participating in, because useful and interesting content will entice customers to attend. Content like this also includes keywords that will help prospects find the dealer’s Website.

Every dealer should also consider an online advertising campaign to promote each appearance at a show. An online campaign will help in the same way that pre-show mailers boost visits to a booth.

Every dealer should use social media to connect with customers before, during and after shows. Sales can be increased by sending tweets on Twitter, posting on Facebook, adding show photos to Flickr and publishing blog posts.

In this initial blog, I will first introduce myself, and then discuss a little about the state of the collectibles industry. In addition, I do encourage anyone to keep in contact with me at: colllectingwithjeff@sbcglobal.net.

Whenever I am asked about how and when I got started collecting sports memorabilia, I quickly respond by saying that I have been doing so all my life. True story. The fact is that my Mother never threw away my baseball cards. My Mother, who is ninety years old and still going strong, is quick to say that she knew that they would be valuable one day. I don’t mind giving her the credit. Many, many people wish that their mothers had the same “insight”. My collection, and subsequently my museum, started with those cards, as well as from two other sets of circumstances.

First, having been born and raised in St. Louis, my Father was friends with Bob Pettit, the St. Louis Hawks basketball player, and one of the all-time NBA greats. Pettit gave me some items which are now part of my collection. Second, my museum, which consists of not only sports memorabilia, but presidential/historical, and pop culture memorabilia, was helped by the fact that my cousin Marshall Leib was a founding member of the music group The Teddy Bears (“To Know Him Is To Love Him”), and I have some items from that group. And oh, by the way, another of the founding members was Phil Spector.

My column on sports collecting is carried by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In addition, I write for several publications on sports collecting. I am also a syndicated talk host on the Sports Byline Radio Network, and can be heard every weekday on nearly 700 stations worldwide. In addition, I have the pleasure of giving presentations aboard cruise ships and groups on sports collecting.

Whew! So what is the state of the sports collectibles industry? Strong. Just to give one example, the baseball that Yankee Alex Rodriguez hit for his 500^th homerun was recently auctioned for $103,000. Sure, Tiger Woods’ memorabilia has declined in value, but overall the state of the industry is strong.

I welcome any readers to stay in contact with me. I will also be glad to give you my opinion as to the value of an item you may have.