Rinker on Collectibles

RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #1812

Top Ten Changes in the Last Five Years (2017 - 2021) - Part II

This is the second column in a three-part series analyzing the Top Ten changes that occurred between 2017 and 2021 in the antiques and collectibles field. Some of the changes began prior to 2017 but solidified at some point during the past five years. Changes analyzed in the 30th Year Series, such as increased competition for discretionary income and the widening price gap between low-end and high-end pieces, still continue. The ten changes I chose are “new” in respect to the magnitude of their impact.

I ranked the Top Ten changes in order of importance and am presenting them in reverse order. ROC #1810, the first column in the series, covered No. 10 – the arrival of the 21st century mindset, No. 9 – the growing dominance of grading services and their use to manipulate market pricing, and No. 8 – Reproduction, Copycats, and Contemporary artisans – The Look has become more important than the period object. This column focuses on the next four changes.

7. Decreasing number of antiques and collectibles reference books

The last five years signaled the end of the era for antiques and collectibles price guides, specialized priced guides, and reference books. During the golden age of the 1980s and 1990s, more than a dozen publishers printed over a hundred new antiques and collectibles price guides, specialized priced guides, and reference books each year. There was one or more specialized price guide and/or reference book for every major, secondary, and most tertiary collecting categories.

Major antiques and collectibles title publishers such as Books Americana, Carlton Books (Canada), Collector Books (Schroeder Publishing), Crown, Hobby House, House of Collectibles, Krause, Spinning Wheel Publishing, Wallace-Homestead, and Warman Publishing and dozens of secondary publishers such as Antique Press and L-W Book Sales are gone. The 1990s publishing consolidations resulted in Krause Publications absorbing Chilton Books (Wallace-Homestead and Warman’s). Krause in turn was gobbled up by F +W Media. In May 2019, Penguin Random House bought F + W Media and sold off or discontinued its antiques and collectibles titles and periodicals.

Schiffer Publishing is the lone remaining publisher with a strong antiques and collectibles inventory of backlist antiques and collectibles titles. Each of the last five years has seen a decrease in the number of new antiques and collectibles titles published by from Schiffer.

As a result, authors of antiques and collectibles titles are forced to self-publish. Most focus on narrow, specialized topics. This creates two difficulties. First, the cost of the finished product, especially if printed in color on glossy stock, usually exceeds $50.00 and on occasion over $100.00. Second, the books receive little publicity. Sales often do not exceed a hundred to two hundred copies.

Efforts are being made to digitize specialized price guides and reference books. Although their pricing information is outdated, these publications remain valuable collecting checklists. Grabbing an example off a shelf versus reading and using it on a computer, pad, or phone are very different experience.

6. Increased buying opportunities

There was a time when antiquing was a monthly weekend experience, either attending an antiques show or visiting antiques shops. In 2021, buying antiques and collectibles is a 24/7 experience thanks to the digital age.

The “I will not buy it unless I can handle it” argument is moot. Online shopping for antiques and collectibles is a reality. There is a new generation of antiques and collectibles buyers who do not want to wait once they decide to acquire something. They want it now and are willing to pay. They have no time or interest in comparison shopping.

The auction and estate sale venues are online. The number of direct sale sites, especially those focused on a single collecting category, increase every year. eBay, the former 800-pound gorilla, has lost its dominance in the antiques and collectible secondary market sector because of its withdrawal of support for its collectibles division, finding more attractive markets in other areas, developing policies favoring large over small sellers, and challenges from websites such as Amazon, Esty, Instagram, Pinterest, and others.

Given the ease of buying, a collector can quickly exhaust his/her available discretionary funds. No collector likes to find something he/she wants and is not able to buy it for lack of funds. Collectors quickly become discouraged, and many drop out of the market. Likewise, many of the buyers are one-time buyers. Once they found what they want, they disappear.

Online buying also is impacting attendance at antiques and collectibles flea markets, malls, shows, and shops. It comes as no surprise that few new venues in these four areas have appeared in the past five years.

5. Return of the investor / speculator

The high-end of the decorative arts, antiques, and collectibles secondary markets are almost exclusively the realm of investors and speculators who view the objects as tradeable commodities as opposed to something to be loved and cherished. When displayed, the object are symbols of wealth as opposed to connoisseurship. Bragging rights have become more important than research, sharing, and collection building.

In the Twenties, high-end objects belong to the super rich and entertainment, sport, and media stars. Most of these individuals are short-term owners. They are quick to sell the minute they sense a possible significant increase in value.

Leading auction companies have become increasingly skilled at convincing high-income individuals that antiques and collectibles are “good investments” and should be part of any investment portfolio. In addition, individuals and some auction companies have successfully created high-ticket collecting categories that previously did not exist. Video game cassettes are a great example.

Several companies now offer individuals a chance to own a portion of a high-end antique or collectible. Am I the only person who remembers the “Mint in the Box” fiasco? I equate these companies to those companies that sold gold and other mining stocks and oil stocks at the end of the 19th and early 20th century. Those investments eventually proved worthless. My guess is that the modern “part ownership” schemes also will be a bust in the long-term.

4. Two new Kings of the Hill

Achieving King of the Hill status takes time. The failure rate is high. I want to congratulate Heritage in Dallas, Texas, and WorthPoint for achieving this status.

[Author’s Aside: I have worked with Will Seiple, founder of Worthpoint, almost from its inception. I serve on Worthpoint’s Board of Advisors, expanded the taxonomy that the website uses, and write intros / landing pages for its dictionary. I share Will’s vision of what WorthPoint has become and where it plans to go in the future. Over the decades, I interacted with other companies that had similar visions prior to meeting Will. They failed. Will succeeded.]

I am old enough to remember receiving catalogs from Parke-Bernet. Bonhams, Christie’s, and Sotheby’s (who bought Parke-Bernet) were the Big Three auctions houses during the final quarter of the 20th century. At the time, the thought that a challenger would arise was unthinkable. A challenger did arise—Heritage, formally Heritage Auctions. Although Christie’s and Sotheby’s claim King of the Hill status based on total sale dollars, they do not even come close to matching Heritage in terms of diversity of material sold and number of bidders. For the past five years, Heritage has slowly encroached on Bonham’s, Christie’s, and Sotheby’s territory, capturing a piece here and a piece there. Its foothold in these categories is almost as strong as the former Big Three houses.

Heritage bills itself as “America’s Auction.” While it is, its reach in terms of origin of the objects its sells and the nationality of its buyers is worldwide. When a client approaches me with a middle or high-end market item today, my first recommendation almost always is “contact Heritage.” The exception is when I am aware of a specialty auction company that might be a better fit.

Individuals who think of WorthPoint as only an online price guide need to take a closer look. WorthPoint is a research powerhouse. It is rapidly become the premier source for out-of-print antiques and collectibles specialized price guides and reference books. Worthpoint’s searchable M.A.P.S. (marks, autographs, patterns, and symbols) is a valuable authentication tool. The Dictionary contains a wealth of information about the history, identification keys, marks, and references for over a thousand (soon to be several thousand) collecting categories.

At this stage in its growth, WorthPoint has limitations and growing pains. These are minor compared to the positive results WorthPoint offers. Once a user learns to navigate WorthPoint correctly, it is a treasure trove of knowledge assembled in one easy to access location.

At the moment, I see no challengers to Heritage’s or WorthPoint’s claim to King of the Hill status. It appears their reign will be a long one.

ROC #1814, the third and final column of this series, will cover my top 3 picks. Can you guess what they will be?

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.

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