The culture has definitely changed - minimalists are on the increase while collectors particularly of merely decorative items are on the wane. The one exception are a small segment of the thrift store market that price their items to move out the door as opposed to getting ebay prices for them. I've stopped going to professionally run estate sales as the thrift stores usually get all their overpriced leftovers. The local flea market is slowly dying when it comes to antiques and collectibles - those selling $1 items made in China have been replacing the older regular vendors.
There are four local thrift stores that I visit every couple of weeks (and five that I visited only once) - the hospice and Catholic charity stores are where the best deals are as they make little effort to differentiate between high end vs commonplace items except for furniture. The woman's shelter and animal rescue thrift stores over price a lot of their items - fortunately the animal rescue one is in the tourist section of town and within easy walking distance of the college, and they have the good sense to price furniture to move and will deliver free of charge.
I have been downsizing - both my clothes and personal stuff and my ebay inventory - by donating to the thrift stores. The animal rescue one gets the better stuff - the Catholic charity gets everything else including books which I bought there.
I really don't expect a renaissance in antiques and collectibles especially online in light of postage rates so I sell less china, glass, and decorative items and more items that can be easily packed and cheaply shipped. Few buyers want to pay $9.85 or $12.60 for an item priced at $10 or less.
