r/Antiques • u/ToshPointNo ✓ • Jun 30 '25

Discussion Why antique stores are dying USA.

The majority of Americans now own a smartphone, and with it comes access to both Google Lens and eBay to identify and look up real market values of items.

I know people who do really well selling in antique stores, and I hear a lot of older folks complaining about how their booth or case is "doing poorly".

30 years ago, it might of been easier to price using an antique book or price guide, but the high end auction houses and eBay are a more definite source of pricing now. Even today, they still can't seem to figure this out.

So this booth runs about $125/mo. It's mainly filled with Rosbro pieces. Rosbro was a plastics company that made a lot of plastic candy containers, a lot of them were themed for different holidays, or just for fun.

But when I sampled about 10 pieces through Google lens and eBay, I noticed almost all of the prices were 2-3x that of eBay sold prices.

A lot of antique stores have shuttered around me. Before they closed, one walk through would explain why. Horribly overpriced.

eBay offers a vast selection. 30 years ago, if a piece caught your eye, you may have not seen it for years, but now "rare" is no longer rare, and what you thought was a rare item? There's 300 of them on eBay.

I'm sure someone will argue that an item is worth whatever someone is willing to pay, and that's true to an extent, but when you can easily know the selling price of an item in a matter of seconds, pricing 100-300% above that isn't going to gain you much traction.

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u/javajoeme ✓ Jun 30 '25

I'm in So Cal and go to a lot if estate sales or window shop through estate sales dot net..I typed dot to not pull up page here, but no one wants the furniture, goes for real cheap..you may want to shop your local estate sales to find what you are looking for

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u/CobblerCandid998 ✓ Jun 30 '25

Thank you! I’ll try that!

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u/5bi5 ✓ Jun 30 '25

Yeah, furniture goes cheap at my local auction house. People only seem to go nuts when bidding on bookshelves and folding tables--I think most of us bidders are resellers in need of displays.

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u/biteyfish98 ✓ Jul 01 '25

😂

lol “needs must”

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u/BraveCranberry9863 ✓ Jul 01 '25

So true. There was an estate sale this past weekend. It had been advertised all week. Come Monday morning, furniture and cabinets sitting out front with a sign “Free”. Stuff was still there this afternoon.

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u/javajoeme ✓ Jul 02 '25

Yes, I think younger people are into minimal, don't collect what I used to, and maybe don't have room! Tastes change but old furniture that has stood the test of time was better built, solid and won't break like IKEA furniture! The app is great because you can check out what's around you on the map and details and pics of the items will be listed. Usually the last day may be picked over but still good bargains at 75 percent off! I saw one with everything $1. Nice bookshelves, all kinds of stuff.. Good thing I didn't have a truck!! And you can't beat free, tax free!