#harry-rinker

Auctioneer, dealers, show promoters, and others in the trade have realized they have to take a proactive role in developing new buyers, collectors, and dealers. In the 20th century, the traditionalists have relied on the love of the object as the principal method to attract new blood to the industry. Love is no longer enough.

No one in the antiques and collectibles trade has a crystal ball. If a person tells you he/she does, he/she is lying. Even I am wrong on occasion when I project the long-term collectability and/or value of a collecting category.

Collecting categories die just as people do. Nothing lives forever. Contrary to what collectors believe, collecting categories have specific life spans, some of which are counted in centuries and others in decades.

Icon status, displayability, and multi-generation usage are keys to establishing long-term collectability. The mobile phone, iPad, and game box formats such as PlayStation and Wii have reached icon status. They are “before” and “after” landmarks that help define generations.

The 1960s is a complex decade. American society changed radically between 1960 and 1969. No aspect of American life went untouched. America in 1972 was radically different than America in 1958.

First, it is not too late to create interest among your children and grandchildren.

This is the final column of a three-part series analyzing the Top Ten changes that occurred during the last five years in the antiques and collectibles field.

This is the second column of a three-part series analyzing the Top Ten changes that occurred during the last five years in the antiques and collectibles field.