Can you spot a bargain at 20 paces?

You have bargain-hunting in your blood. You're an eBay expert. You dream of finding a Rembrandt at a car-boot sale and may already have a very promising special collection (anything from corn dollies to stamps and jelly moulds…)

How to develop your natural talent

• Raid friends’ and neighbours’ attics and garages for treasures
• Help a friend who already runs a car-boot or market stall
• Discover useful local sources of goods: car-boot sales, flea markets, junk shops, charity shops, secondhand bookshops

What are your main interests?
Are there themes and patterns to your collecting? What kinds of places, transactions and acquisitions most excite you? Can you combine your bargain-spotting skills with other talents and interests? For instance:
• Artistic: collect watercolours, portraiture or sculpture
• Fashion: acquire vintage items for an authentic period look
• DIY: cannibalise and improvise to restore or mend damaged objects
• Organisation/research: methodically acquire a complete set (eg Leica cameras, Barbara Cartland novels, TG Green Cornishware, Parlophone 45rpm singles…)

Learn more
• Start haggling over prices to test your negotiating skills
• Choose a couple of your favourite items and make a point of trying to discover more about their provenance – value, history, make, scarcity, etc
• Read up everything you can find about your favourite area (musical boxes, ceramic tiles, cigarette cases, Fifties shoes…)
• Volunteer to help sort and price stock in a charity shop

Your hobby has become a passion when...
• The house is overrun and the car no longer fits in your garage
• You know enough about Toby jugs to appear on Mastermind
• You seem permanently to smell of mothballs

Time to take stock
Are you a collector or a trader? Do you enjoy restoring items to a high standard? Is it high-value or high-turnover bargain-hunting that you prefer? Can you really continue acquiring Edwardian tractors and still preserve your marriage? This is the moment to refine your approach, get serious and become a specialist.

Learn more, get practising
You don’t need qualifications but to be credible you need background knowledge of everything you want to trade – and if you are specialising, you need, over time, to become an expert. Also, don’t neglect the importance of sales, marketing, negotiating and valuation skills.
• Immerse yourself in your collection: take a history course, scour the library and the internet
• Join a collectors’ society
• Use eBay or specialist trading outlets to buy and sell regularly
• Visit trade fairs, museum exhibitions, art shows, auctions
• Take a market stall or car-boot pitch to offload excess stuff
• Network with other dealers and collectors in your field
• Sign up for skills courses e.g. upholstery, furniture restoration, book-binding and repair, gem and precious-metal grading

Towards a bargain-hunter's business
With your sharp eye and some study you should be able to turn a small profit in part-time bargain trading. If your sights are set higher, you’ll need to consider how to grow your passion into a viable business. Among the many possible opportunities, consider:
• Architectural salvage
• Furniture restoring
• Dealing in valuables
• Bric-a-brac shop
• Costume or period props hire
• Gallery

Resources for bargain-hunters
The Antiques Directory www.theantiquesdirectory.co.uk UK listings of books, antiques fairs, auctions, etc
British Antique Dealers’ Association 020 7589 4128; www.bada.org
Car Boot and Fairs Calendar 01981 251633; www.carbootcalendar.com
Subscriber service, but also provides a bi-monthly updated UK-wide directory
Antique Web www.antiqueweb.com Information, articles, links
International Gem Society www.gemsociety.org US site with useful information
Conservation Register www.conservationregister.com Factsheets and advice on care and conservation of a range of materials/objects
DMG Antiques Fairs www.dmgantiquefairs.com Organisers of the five largest UK antiques fairs
LAPADA 020 7823 3511; www.lapada.co.uk The Association of Art and Antiques Dealers; has search facilities and lists of events
Victoria & Albert Museum www.vam.ac.uk Lists courses, lectures, demonstrations