Buying low and selling high is the ideal way to make money, but you don't have to be on the stock trading floor to make that happen. If you've got a keen eye and a love of all things old, you may want to try your hand at buying and selling antiques. To earn as much as possible, try these tricks.

1. Search for Hidden Treasures

To find antiques at low prices, you need to focus on hidden treasures. This simply refers to antiques that are undervalued, underpriced, or misunderstood by their current owners. The best places to find hidden treasures are thrift stores or rummage sales. In most cases, the items for these sales are not priced by antique specialists, and as a result, you may find some low prices. You should also check out estate sales and storage unit auctions.

This can take a lot of time, but if you like antique hunting, that makes it pleasurable. At first, you may want to devote a day every month to looking for antiques, but as your business gets larger, you may end up devoting several days per week to hunting.

2. List on Multiple Platforms

When you have gathered a few antiques to sell, you may want to start listing them online. Don't just use a single site. That limits your potential. There are multiple sites for selling antiques, and the more sites you use, the more people you reach. Make sure that listing your items on more than one site is allowed before cross listing. Most sites explain the rules in their terms of service.

3. Invest Time in Your Descriptions

Whether you are selling antiques or anything else online, you should invest some time into your listings. Start with a camera or a phone that can take quality pictures. Consider hanging a backdrop such as a sheet in a neutral but complementary color behind the antique, and light the shot from behind using studio lights or natural light from a window.

Then, write descriptions of your product. Let people know what type of antique you have, but also make sure to fill the description with lots of keywords. Keywords are any terms that a shopper may search for when looking for your type of items.

For instance, if you are selling a small antique dresser, you may want to include the following words in your ad: dresser, chest of drawers, and nightstand. You may even want to include keywords such as antique and turn of century (or the applicable time period) as well as keywords related to the type of wood or metal, the country of origin, the drawer pulls, or any other compelling details.

4. Contact Antique Shops

Rather than just relying on online sales, you may want to make some contacts in your local area. In particular, consider contacting a few antique shops. If you can't make a sale online and you have an interesting piece, a shop owner may be willing to buy it from you.

Some antique shops also do consignment sales. That's where the store displays the item for you. If the item sells, you get some of the money, and the owner of the antique store takes a commission. In some cases, you may even find a few antiques that you could buy and sell for a higher price online.

5. Use Technology

Although you are selling old items, modern conveniences can help. Consider implementing some tech tools into your strategy. For example, you may want to use an app that alerts you every time someone posts a free ad with the word "antique" on Craigslist. You may want to use routing software so you can input a bunch of rummage sale addresses and get an efficient route for the day. You may even want to set up a social media account to keep your fans and past buyers engaged.

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