Very broad question.

[prettysillybaubles_bylorih]

Hi Boardies 🙂

The question is about the general state and value of the items we love and are trying to sell. Let me just state a brief bit of my history with costume jewelry. 

Before I married my first husband back in the late 80's and early 90's, his brother & sister in law at the time were "antique" jewelry dealers. I always love the stuff! They were selling the same stuff most of us are trying to sell now but it seems back then there was alot more Haskell and high end names (going from memory). They were traveling all over the US to shows & markets, making insane amounts of money. I married and had my son (my son has had serious health problems his entire life) in 1993 and I never gave a second thought to VCJ until a few years ago when I remarried and my life and my son's health both made a huge turn for the better.

I know the vintage costume jewelry market had been in decline, and has been for quite a few years. I guess my main question is so broad, I know even while asking it that is almost too big and vague to answer... But..

If we do not have exceptional quality, exceptional beautiful, and exceptionally rare product, are we on a sinking ship? I try to remain positive in most situations, almost to a fault. My rose colored glasses have a strong prescription 🙂 

What are the thoughts of some of the veteran's of the niche? 

Thanks for reading, 

Lori

[peachstategal]

I agree with your statement that unless you have very beautiful and rare VCJ you might not do very well during this time period.  I am wondering if there are swings in interest....something that the old timers might chime in on.  When I first started selling about 6 yrs ago, I could find treasures at very good prices and was able to make a profit.  Now, it's like it has dried up in my neck of the woods.  And, when I do see something very nice, it is always priced higher than I could ever sell it for on eBay.  So, I tend to just look at the lovelies I have and hope that someday the market will improve for me.

I hope others will share their opinions on this.  

[flipping_treasures]

Do I think that the ship is sinking on vintage jewelry ... no.  It's just taking it's natural turn.  Styles and fashions are continually changing.  We just went through a vintage is hot phase.  Now those that love vintage will continue to love vintage and it will come around as a style for everyone again, just no telling when.

The signed pieces will always be the first that are looked at and be the highest on the colloector's radar.  For the same reason people will spend three as much for a name brand pair of jeans than the exact same ones for 1/3 of the money at Wal-mart.  I never understood that one either.  Personally, I have found an abundance of unsigned pieces that I think are much prettier than some of the big names.  For example, I'm not a big fan of Haskell, never have been, but love unsigned pieces that show classical styles and great workmanship. 

My advice is hunt for what you love, it makes the journey a fun one, and if all you want to do is appeal to the latest fad buyers ... go to Wal-mart and buy 10 or 12 of the on sale items so that you can turn inventory fast.

The rhinestone craze is a prime example of why I love vintage.  They were making and importing rhinestone jewelry like crazy a couple of years ago.  The new stuff was junk, but the vintage pieces made during the 40s and 60s were and still are beautiful pieces of art, IMHO.  I pass up those junkie pieces all the time in my search of vintage pieces.

[sophieschoice-vintage]

I think Sandy is correct - with all things, there are ups and downs.  The economy has made a play in all aspects.  VCJ is just one item some might have to give up buying for the time being.

The rhinestone necklaces and such are a trend right now, but the young girls wearing them do not have an appreciation for the well made vintage ones.  They just want the chinese junk from Claires, etc.  Such a shame.

I have been limiting my buying to try and bring in some better pieces, but I have had a Haskell necklace for quite some time I haven't been able to sell - who knew? 

I am still educating myself and hope to continue this even with the ups and downs.

[rain777blue]

I agree, the young just want the "bling" and do not care where it came from..

As for VCJ , yes it was a big seller a few (15) and even (10) years ago.. but I fear overseas bought it all up and started to reproduce it in the vintage bling look , that is so loved by our young people today..JMHO

[prettysillybaubles_bylorih]

Thanks ladies 🙂

[dawnjewels]

I agree with what everyone else has stated. 

I also did a search for vintage jewelry that was for sale in my geographic area to get an idea of how much competition there was for inventory.  What I discovered was that there were over 50,000 pieces of jewelry for sale within a 10 mile radius of my home.  So we're all trying to get inventory from the same pool. 

One of the sellers is one who sells everything, mostly garbage, starting at .99.  Another sells small junk lots of 15 - 20 pieces starting at 9.99.  At least one seller goes to garage and estate sales and offers to buy everything pretty much sight unseen.  They knock on doors as early as 7 a.m.  Another sends a note to people when ever she sees a for sale sign and offers to buy their jewelry if they are trying to downsize.  At the local thrifts the girls behind the jewelry counter test everything for gold and silver.  Prices are all based on selling prices on eBay, so there's no bargins to be had.  Flea market vendors are a bit better, but not much.  The only way you can score there is if you recognize something and they don't know what it is.  Everyone knows D & E, and naturally anything with rhinestones is labeled that way.   That's what the competition for jewelry is like in my area. 

Yes, there are still deals to be had.  I scored a case in an auction with four D & E butterflies and bunch of other really good stuff for $100.  The auctioneer at that auction is so sure he knows everything that I always do well there.  But he only has decent jewelry every couple of months.  So it's a scramble to even find jewelry, much less something worthwhile.  That played a big part in my decision to close my store on eBay.

The good stuff will always sell and at this point, that's all I'm buying.  More expensive, fewer pieces, but so much less stressful.

Sherry

[bluedaemon23]

Well, I've never relied on high-end items. I don't necessarily turn up my nose at newer pieces if they're cheap and cute - I'll nearly always pick up figurals. I don't make a huge profit on them but they move. And multi-strand bead necklaces still sell. Good thermoset flies out the door. So do tailored necklaces. I figure a steady trickle is better over the long haul than big scores that are few and far between.