Vintage Home Furniture

how do u guys feel about investing in antiques?

stocks market is going down and down.... how do u guys fee about investing antiques that u purchase from auction house like sotherby? what are the annual return on those investment like famous painting, vase, chinese antiques, egyptian antiques, etc etc.? any1 here experience in these and what are the return? i think i have around $50k to play around in this.

Public Comments

1. the problem when you buy from Sotheby's is you pay a 10% buyer's premium and are buying at retail. When you try to sell you are selling at wholesale. Antiques are tricky, because what's in style sells, and other stuff doesn't. Remember beanie babies, and how some went for hundreds of dollars - now you can get hundreds of beanie babies for a dollar. It's not just knowing your stuff, it's knowing what will appreciate - also, you have to insure the item, which will continue to nibble away at your principal investment. Gold stocks are probably good for a hedge against the stock market going down - I like to invest in the mines, not gold itself.
2. I don't consider them investments, they are collectibles. However some would disagree. As mentioned, they can be very tricky. They are not regulated, priced subjectively, and can be very illiquid, just to name a few of my problems with them. It is an area that you need to be an expert in if your are going to "invest" because you really need to understand what you are buying. Since I am not, I don't.