Plum Island Antiques

Senior Project 2021

Tyler Fields

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Who am I?

• I am a Senior at Holliston High School, and I worked on my Senior Project throughout Term 3 of my Senior year.
• I will be attending American University, in Washington D.C. starting in fall 2021.
• I am likely majoring in finance.
• I am interested in politics, and business, and I enjoy reading, travelling, and shopping.
• Something I have been interested in since I was very young is antiques.

Why I chose my project

• Ever since I was 5 or 6 I have enjoyed going to yard sales, as well as looking through my grandparents home in search of interesting things.
• I also like going to antique stores, and the first one I went to was Holliston Antiques.
• Over the past approximately 10 years I have amassed a large collection of various antiques and collectables that I’ve acquired from yard sales, estate sales, relatives, and various other sources.
• I am also very interested in business. Selling some of my collection is a good way for me to learn more about business, make money, organize and clean up my collection, and learn more about what I have.

Essential Questions

• Can I successfully make buy and resell antique goods for a profit?
• Can I open an online business as well as a retail location?

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Development

• My first job was to look through my collection and identify what I wanted to keep for myself, and what I was willing to sell. In addition to selling antiques, I found several items such as clothes, political memorabilia, and other things to sell.
• Next, I researched what I had. First, I looked for my background on what I had. Age, location, retail price, and other history. Then, I looked for pricing. The best source for valuation is actually eBay. I learned this from the owner of Holliston Antiques. I will demonstrate how I did this later on.
• I created my eBay account. It took about 1 hour and was a relatively easy process.
• I also developed a formula for how to list things. For more common things, I would base my listing off of a previously sold item.

Development

• When looking for a retail location, the first place I looked was Holliston Antiques on Washington Street.
• They rent out parts of the store to sellers on a monthly basis. After going in one day I found the perfect location, a nice noticeable booth at the top of the stairs.
• The booth was for rent at $30 a month, but I didn’t think I would necessarily make enough on my first few months due to how slow things have been. The owner was nice enough to offer me a deal: instead of paying $30 a month, he would take 25% of what I make in the store. I agreed to this generous offer, and I opened my booth.

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What I sell

• At Holliston Antiques I sell mostly china and glassware.
• Prices range from $3 to $120 per item.
• I used eBay to find values, as well as valuation guides online and in paperback, and prior knowledge for some items.
• Tea cups have been my best seller in store, I have sold over 25 at $5 a piece.
• Some of these teacups I already own, but the rest I purchased, paying no more than $2 a piece.
• Online, I sell mostly political items.
• I have been collecting political autographs through the mail since I was 13 and this project inspired me to sell some.

eBay

• My single best seller on eBay is something I created myself. I was looking through eBay one day and I noticed that replica’s of Donald Trump’s personal business card were a large seller on eBay.
• I used Vistaprint, a business card creating service, and I designed a replica of Donald Trump’s business card. I ordered 500 cards for a total cost of $5. I list each card for $5 a piece plus $1.95. I have sold about 300 cards.
• These cards are advertised as a reproduction.

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Autographs

• On eBay I named my shop Plum Island Antiques.
• Because of the risk of things getting broken in the mail, I mostly sell autographs on eBay, and china in the shop.
• My single biggest sale was a Joe Biden autograph from my personal collection.
• Just days before his inauguration I sold an index card with a handwritten, authenticated, note from Joe Biden for $885 on ebay. I acquired this note through the mail in 2017 with only the cost of a stamp.
• I have several other signed books and notes from President Biden I may decide to sell in the future.

Valuation

• There is often a significant discrepancy between the official value of an antique, and what it actually can be sold for.
• One of the best ways to determine value of an item is looking at the eBay sold items category.
• When I first started looking, I noticed many things that were listed for large amounts of money. But after looking at the sold items category, I learned what people historically are willing to pay for items.
• When comparing the prices listed in a Depression Glass valuation book versus what people pay online and in stores, there are lots of discrepancies then too.

Marketing Techniques

• When listing items, I follow a similar pattern. I often use words such as “RARE”, I will put “SIGNED” or “HAND SIGNED” in all capitals to stand out.
• On very expensive items I will offer free shipping as my research indicates even people paying a lot of money for an item may be enticed by free shipping.
• When selling clothes online, I point out that the items Is from a “smoke free, pet free home”, retail price, and

How if something is little worn.

• Over the past 180 days, I secured the highest price

for any Escada women’s suit. I sold a used suit of

My moms for $285, while most Escada suits are

Sold for no more than $100.

Location, location, location

• One thing I have learned from visiting numerous antique stores over my life, I have seen the value of location. I know I can’t charge as much for an item at Holliston Antiques as a Boston antique store could.
• I recently saw a small Wedgwood dish being sold at Holliston Antiques and the exact same one at a Back Bay shop for $75.
• When I price my items, I take into account that I am not in Boston and price my inventory accordingly.

Where do I get things?

• Every Tuesday mid morning I head to Savers in Framingham to look for more inventory.
• I have purchased both clothes and china that I have successfully sold at a profit.
• I also go to a lot of estate sales, and yard sales.
• A large source of my inventory is my personal collection.
• I have made a profit on every item sold with the exception of some things already in my collection.
• Some things even come in the mail. I have been selling campaign literature that was mailed to me in the last election on eBay. I recently sold a simple letter asking for a donation signed by (copy) Melania Trump for $30, and I have sold others from Michelle Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden.

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My Sales

How I have grown personally

I am usually a more shy person, but in completing this project I have become more personable and engaged, I had great, educational conversations with other customers, and shop owners, I have improved my communication skills, and I have become more knowledgeable about what I own, and the history behind my things. Completing this project also helped my creativity skills as well.

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My academic growth

This project has also helped me academically, my communication skills, which are beneficial both personally and academically improved, completing this project within the deadlines improved my ability to make deadlines, and most of all, having the independence to complete a project all on my own with little academic guidance improved my ability to think outside the box, to think critically, and it helped improve my ability to innovate and create something that is having a positive affect on my life both in school and out.

My thoughts on the Senior Project Elective

The Senior Project elective is a terrific opportunity for seniors to explore something they are passionate about and to connect that to academics and make it educational. The independent nature of this project helps students improve their deadline management skills, and to work without a stringent set of guidelines. It gives seniors the opportunity innovate, and do something with meaning to them. This project teaches time management skills, self regulating skills, and the crucial skill of self discipline, and determination.

Career Preparation

While I am not planning on going into the antique business as a career, doing this project did help me improve upon skills I will need in my future career. The skills of discipline, effective communication, marketing, sales, research, and more. The skills I gained from this project will help me in college, and will help me in the future career.