Rinker on Collectibles

RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #1614

Millennials' Impact on the Antiques and Collectibles Trade: Part II

This is the second of a two-part “Rinker on Collectibles” column series exploring the role Millennials currently have and will have on the antiques and collectibles trade. After a lengthy attempt to define “Millennials,” Part I considered issues such as limited living space, a spend it now attitude, emphasis on adventure and experiences, renting not buying, lack of a separate dining room, the man cave phenomenon, anti-materialism, and a different approach to aesthetic taste. Part II explores additional characteristics that define Millennials and how they influence the antiques and collectibles trade.

The Millennials have accelerated a number of demographic changes that impact the antiques and collectible trade. Many delay marrying until their early thirties. Although I am unaware of studies demonstrating marriage contributes to the acquisition of material possessions, my personal experience and observations suggests that it does. Purchasing a home has a similar effect. Even in a minimalist environment, the need to fill empty space is overwhelming. There is an increasing number of Millennial bargain hunters who view antiques and collectibles as a means to achieve this.

Approximately one-half of Millennials have no desire to have children. This is a very disturbing statistic. Those Millennials who do often limit the number to one or two. Family size plays a role in collecting. Although younger generations keep telling their parents and grandparents they do not want their things, a flickering flame of hope continues to burn in the grandparents and parents.

The Baby Boomers were the last of the traditional “pass it down” generations. Although among the most educated of the generations, Millennials will earn 20 percent less than their parents. Assuming this holds true, Millennials may take a fresh look at what their parents own and its viability in their lives. Total rejection of parental objects is lessening. A selective hand-me-down revolution is underway.

Millennials move more frequently than members of previous generation. Relocating for job advancement is the new norm. Few Millennials will retire from the company that initially employed them. As a result, Millennials are hesitant to accumulate things. Assembling a collection is easier when a collector feels his/her long-term residence is secure. Moving is a bad enough experience. Moving a collection is mind boggling.

The number of Millennials living and working in the area where they were raised or within a few hours’ drive of their parents is decreasing. The close family and regional ties of nucleated families are a thing of the past. “To grandmother’s house we go” now means a plane fight with one or more transfers. Family and regional heritage created strong collecting ties for previous generations. Millennials think differently. Yet, Millennials have a desire to have a connection with the community in which they live. Millennials have revived interest in regional collecting, a surprise to many in the antiques and collectibles trade.

Millennials are part of the participation movement. Winning is not as important as it once was. This approach has a negative impact on collecting. Collectors are aggressive and competitive. The “he who dies with the biggest pile wins” slogan is truthful. Collectors collect to distinguish themselves from others. Collecting is not about equality. Collections create a unique identity. Collectors are not scared to be different. They want to be different.

In my research, I found several studies that suggest Millennials welcome immediate feedback. In the age of political correctness, when a pat on the back or a high five can be misinterpreted as unwelcome physical contact, feedback is verbal. When applied to antiques and collectibles, the key appears to be providing Millennial buyers with assurance that their purchase is something special. Sharing detailed research information is one method. Explaining how the object demonstrates good taste on the part of the purchaser is another.

Millennials are focused on the betterment of society. What better way to achieve this than demonstrating how collecting antiques and collectibles preserves and leads to a better understanding of the past? Sellers need to supply multiple information/stories that accompany an object. A little elitism suggesting that buyers show an appreciation of the past that few others demonstrate will help.

Millennials are team oriented. When selling an antique or collectible to a Millennial direct them to Facebook, Instagram, or other social media sites where they can find others who appreciate what they have just acquired. If aware of a collectors’ club, share this information with the purchaser.

Part I suggested that Millennials have difficulty identifying as a distinct generation. The Baby Boomers and members of Generation X were the last of the industrial age generations, albeit they were alive when the home computer, internet, and mobile phone arrived on the scene and subsequently have had to deal with the societal and personal lifestyle changes caused by them. What separates Generation X from the Millennials is that most did not have computer labs during their time in high school or college.

Millennials are the first digital age generation. Social media plays a major role in their lives. Their methods of communication differ significantly from the generations that preceded them. Millennials’ digital exposure was not uniform. Although the number of Millennials who participate in digital social media is increasing exponentially, there still are those, who for one reason or another, are not addicted adherents to the trend. This is one of the key points that separates the Millennials from the next generation. The second digital age generation is fully digitalized. They are exposed to the digital world from birth. It is this generation that will scare to death those in the antiques and collectibles field who are frightened by change. The

Millennials are a cusp generation, much like my generation. I was raised with the traditional values of the industrial age. As I grew older, I was confronted with the societal changes of the digital age. Although the first generation of the digital age, many Millennials feel most comfortable with the traditional values of Generation X and resist adjusting to stay current with changing times.

I pledged at the end of Part I that I planned to end on a positive note. Although many aspects of the Millennials’ mindset initially drew them away from collecting antiques and collectibles, evidence suggests a growing number are taking a fresh look at antiques and collectibles. There are many reasons for this. First, there is no escaping nostalgia. At some point, individuals look backward, enamored by memories associated with earlier times. Although this nostalgic experience is primarily focused on memories of youth, it is strong enough to create a desire to recapture it. Objects are one of the best ways to recapture this past. The hot decades are the 1980s and 1990s. It will not take 10 years to add the 2000s to the list.

Second, antiques and collectibles are affordable. There is no longer a negative stigma attached to using antiques and collectibles for reuse and decorative purposes rather than for collecting purposes. What counts is that young people are buying them. If collections are built, they are more likely to number in the tens or low hundreds rather than in the thousands. The “do not use it, you might break it” era is over. If an antique or collectible is broken, it can easily be replaced. Industrial age antiques and collectibles were mass produced. Thanks to the internet, there is an abundant supply.

Third, the antiques and collectibles field has survived the 2008-2009 Great Recession. With a few minor exceptions, the price decline in most collecting categories has bottomed out. Some collecting categories are experiencing growth. The decline in traditional sale venues such as auctions, antiques and collectibles flea markets, and antiques malls has stabilized. The antiques show circuit has not been as fortunate.

Finally, enterprising individuals and firms are aggressively developing methods and platforms to move the antiques and collectibles business to the internet. The trade has learned the internet is a friend rather than an enemy. This is the most positive indicator of all. The antiques and collectibles trade reacts slowly to change. But, it does adapt. It always has; and, it always will.

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Selected letters will be answered in this column. Harry cannot provide personal answers. Photos and other material submitted cannot be returned. Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 5955 Mill Point Court SE, Kentwood, MI 49512. You also can e-mail your questions to harrylrinker@aol.com. Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered.

You can listen and participate in WHATCHA GOT?, Harry’s antiques and collectibles radio call-in show, on Sunday mornings between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM Eastern Time. If you cannot find it on a station in your area, WHATCHA GOT? streams live on the Internet at www.gcnlive.com.

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