With a lot of hard work, study, determination and perseverance, most anyone can be an antiques dealer.

Difficulty Level: hard      Time Required: N/A

1. Start by learning as much as you can about the subjects you collect using books, online resources and talking to experienced dealers.
2. Pay close attention to the items you see while visiting shops and shows, noting pricing and any researched details provided by the dealers.
3. Ask questions when things don't make sense, and remember that antique dealers can make mistakes or misrepresent things for a variety of different reasons.
4. Build a reference library as you're learning. It should include at least one good general reference guide and a few guides on your specialty areas to start.
5. Contact your local tax assessor's office to obtain a tax exemption and resale certificate and set up a DBA account with your bank.
6. Look for an economical place to do business, such as flea markets and small shows or use online auctions to get your feet wet in the virtual marketplace.
7. After paying overhead costs, use all the money you make from your first (and most of your future) sales to purchase more merchandise for your inventory.
8. Be prepared to compete with many others to find merchandise at resale prices, remembering not to pay too much for antiques or your prices will not be competative.
9. Don't make costly mistakes such as buying without checking reproduction information or noting poor condition that can diminish value.
10. If you'll be doing your own bookkeeping, buy a book about running a small business or purchase software to help you with inventory, income and expenses because you'll need these schedules for tax purposes.
11. Be sure to keep all your receipts and accurate mileage records for your vehicle in case of an IRS audit.
12. Be prepared to spend the majority of your free time hunting, cleaning, researching, pricing and selling your merchandise.
13. Remember that you'll probably never make much money in the antiques business, so have fun with it.
14. Learn to relish the big finds and big sales, because they don't happen every day.
15. Decide whether or not the benefits outweigh the work and frustrations involved before continuing your efforts.
    

1. Remember that being an antiques dealer is an extension of collecting and should be fun for both the seller and buyer.
2. Try to represent the profession in an ethical manner, always remembering the golden rule and being aware that greed can cause people to do strange things.
3. Don't kick yourself when you sell an item too low. Chances are you made a good profit anyway and someone else was delighted with their find.
   

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