Depression Glass Investment
Hi,
here is part 3 of 'The Five Essential Steps To Becoming A Depression Glass Collector'
Part 3 --How Much to Invest?--
Deciding how much to invest depends primarily on two things: your own personal financial situation, and your goals as a collector.
“Investment” usually implies buying with the intent to sell later at a profit.
To make a truly informed decision about that would require knowledge of the future – how much will you be able to resell this piece for?
There is inherent risk and uncertainty.
An excellent way to gauge how particular pieces and patterns change over time is to compare old price guides with today’s market prices – you may identify Depression glass patterns of interest to you that seem to be increasing in value at a greater rate than average.
Of course if you are buying a piece of Depression glass simply because you like it and want to own it, or as a gift for a friend or loved one, then the question of how much to spend is a simpler matter of judgment, just like buying any other object for yourself or as a gift.
But when you are focusing on the business of buying and selling does the notion of “investment” become a more critical part of the equation.
At one extreme there is someone who has one specific piece they have fallen in love with and want to own. They track it down and spend the $50 (or $500 or $5000 – whatever it happens to cost) and then they are done!
At the other extreme is a full-time dealer, whose livelihood and leisure time revolves around dealing specific Depression Glass patterns. There is no clear limit to how large their business might grow; whatever profit they make gets reinvested in the company, acquiring more glass to hold and sell later at a profit.
In both cases, it is advisable not to spend beyond your means!
Collectible markets are notoriously volatile. Do not purchase things on the assumption that you will sell them later at a profit unless you have done adequate research - if you haven't its as good as gambling.
Do not spend money you cannot afford to lose.
If you are a casual hobbyist collector who just occasionally buys pieces, you will probably not be at risk getting into financial trouble anyway.
But if you compulsively visit all the flea markets and garage sales trying to snap up as much cheap glass as you can hoping to resell it later, be careful that you don’t go too wild! And don't be afraid to carry a good Depression Glass book with you on your shopping expeditions.
It is true that some Depression glass has skyrocketed in values, but it is also true that other glass has not! Hindsight is better than foresight, and no one knows for sure which purchases will pay off later when it comes to antique glassware.
After you acquire more experience you will start to get more reliable intuition about which pieces are a good purchase. In the early days, it is advisable to not spend on any glass which you wouldn’t mind owning yourself, since you may well end up owning it if you can’t sell it!
Also, as you get more active as a buyer and seller, individual losses will not hurt you so much since they will be just a small part of your overall business.
There are business and accounting principles that you would do well to learn if you intend to get into the business of dealing in Depression Glass (or any other commodity, for that matter).
The more involved you get, the more you need to talk to an accountant and read about running a small business, unless of course you already have practical knowledge and experience with running a resale business – and even then, every business is different, and just because you have run a music store (for instance) does not mean you will know everything you need to become a Depression Glass dealer.
Dealing in Depression Glass is different from, e.g., running a bookstore (where you are selling mass-produced goods you can easily order from a publisher), food store (where your inventory goes bad if it doesn’t sell), art gallery (where you are selling unique instead of mass-produced items), and so forth.
But there are many dealers who have been successfully dealing Depression Glass for over 25 years and continue to do so today.
Whatever you decide to do, you cannot be a Depression Glass collector without spending some dollars: dollars for glass and dollars for Depression Glass books.
Next time we will be discussing what you need to know and learn as a Depression Glass collector. I break it down into simple categories so you can develop a well balanced knowledge of Depression Glass collecting.
Have Fun and Keep Collecting
Murray
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