Liam There are many things that you can invest in and some people choose to invest in antiques. There are a lot of television programmes which show people buying and selling antiques and that has made people think that they will be able to make money doing this as well. It is worth considering the advantages and disadvantages of doing this though.
You Can Enjoy the Items you Invest in
If you buy antiques that you like then you can enjoy them and get some pleasure from them. For example, buying ornamental items that you have on a shelf in your home and enjoy, means that they will bring you pleasure. You may even be able to buy things that you can use, things like tables or chairs and then they will have value to you, even if they do not increase in value. This means that as investments, they may not be worthwhile but as a practical or ornamental item, they may have value to you. This can mean that they will be more worth buying compared to items that perhaps you do not like or you will not use and will just sit in a storeroom/attic somewhere.
There Might be Costs
It is worth noting that there could be costs to investing in antiques. Obviously, there will be a purchase cost but there may be additional costs as well. For example, you could find that it will cost you money to insure them if they cannot be included in your general contents insurance. You may need to store them and pay the cost of storage. It might be the case that you will find that they might need some restoration, cleaning or repair as well. This can be extremely costly and so is something that you will need to think really hard about too. How much they cost will depend on the specific items and so it is a good idea thinking about this before you buy things and deciding which might be more practical. Some you may be able to clean yourself – such as silver, but if you have paintings then this will need to be professionally done.
They May not Increase in Value
There is always a risk that things that you buy do not increase in value. You could find that you will buy something and it goes out of fashion and so the demand lowers and the value goes down. You may even find that you will not even be able to find a buyer for certain items at all. This means that you will not be able to get the money back that you paid in and so this could mean that the investment will not be worthwhile.
Stay Ahead of the Game
It can be tempting to think that if you buy something cheap, perhaps at a car boot sale, then you will be able to sell it at auction or to an antiques collector and make a lot of money. However, you will need to know a lot about the market for those particular items and think about what you need to buy and sell. It might be that you need to buy very specific pieces that are more collectable than others and you will need to research to find out about this. You will also find that the market changes. It could be that once an item becomes very popular and worth a lot of money, it could be the case that they will be reproduced. Then people will be able to buy cheap copies and might not be interested in paying out a lot for the originals or that people will start selling items they have, knowing there is a big demand which will flood the market and mean that your items are worthless. So, you need to stay ahead of the game if you can and keep doing research.
