A couple of months ago I told my newsletter readers about Daryl Lambert. He is a self-made antiques dealer who has consistently learned how to make money buying and selling Antiques. Daryl shows how to find the right products, how to research them and how and where to sell them, including eBay.

This article is a bit longer than most of my articles, but if you have any interest in the art, antique and collectibles market then I suggest you read this and take a look at Daryle’s book. He shows how you can start with as little as $100 and turn it into a fortune in the antiques game.

How to make a Fortune in Antiques & Collectibles if you Haven’t Won the Lottery or Inherited Money from Your Rich Uncle

By: Daryle Lambert

The Antique, Art, and Collectible Markets have never been better in all of history. New auction records being set in almost every area of the market have clearly proven this fact. Who would have thought just a few years ago that we would have seen an Andy Warhol painting sell for over $71,000,000? Duck decoys bringing in over $1,000,000 and even cars selling for $6,000,000 and more.

These markets are on fire. A blazing fire. Antiques, Collectibles and Fine Art Markets just might be the place to make the money you will need in today’s uncertain economic climate. A small investment, coupled with your interest in antiques, collectibles and art is all it takes to begin accumulating cash in an account you can use to enhance your present lifestyle or fund your Golden Years.

Less than five years ago, I personally bought a painting for $12,000 and within that same year, I sold it for over $25,000. Today, that same painting is worth over $85,000.

A painting I bought by English Artist, Frederick Morgan, for $16,000 sold within 6 months for $115,000. Today, it might bring $1,000,000.

For a long time now, I’ve heard others complain about how hard it is to make money in antiques these days. They say you can’t sell much or that the prices are down. There has been article after article, this year alone, about the number of antique shops and malls closing their doors. But, while many complain, I celebrate.

You see, the ones complaining are the ones who have dug themselves into a rut and continue to stay there, because they haven’t kept up with the market trends. These are the same people who are still trying to sell common depression glass in a market that has moved on to something bigger and better. The new horizon for the successful dealer isn’t in the common items but in the rare and valuable items. That’s where the demand is. In items like high end art glass of Daum Nancy, Tiffany, Quezal, Stueben, and the contemporary art glass of Charles Lotton and Dale Chiluly. Uncommon art pottery in the lines of Teco, Grueby, Van Briggle for starters. Higher end paintings of listed artists. Collectors are gobbling up these high end items faster than you can unwrap them. The trend is at the high end of the market, and if you want to prosper, this is where you need to be. And this high end market can provide the funds you’ll need to retire on, and retire on early if you want to.

My staff decided this high end market was right where we wanted to be. We decided that we’d get there starting with only $100, and we’d create the cash to play in the game. With a checking account of $100 dollars, we started out on our adventure. We’re documenting all our trades to show how anyone that has a spare $100 can build a fortune over time, when they follow the plan we’re following. After we spent our $100 on a couple of antiques, we sold everything, more than doubling our money. Then we reinvested that money after spotting a very special painting. We purchased it for $240 and were able to turn that purchase into $3,700 when it sold at auction three months later. We were on our way.

It’s six months later now, and would you believe we have a 7,500% return on that $100 by making trades in our spare time? What kind of return do you think your banker or stock broker could get you on $100 in six month’s time? There is still a couple of items in our inventory awaiting sale to boot! Very soon, we’ll be able to trade in higher end markets, where the stuff flies off the shelves, leaving burn marks on its way out. And you can too.

Can you wrap your mind around what a 7,500% return in 6 months could really mean just a little further down the road? Do you know that by disciplining yourself to make just 2 trades a year, doubling your profit each time, at the end of five years you could end up with over a million and a half dollars? If you’re low on your retirement funds, haven’t won the lottery nor inherited a bundle from your rich uncle, working the antiques & collectible markets, according to a sound wealth building plan, can be the place to make some real money. You’ll no longer worry about how you’ll be able to send the kids to college or retire with plenty of cash behind you. If you only made 2 trades a year, doubling your money with each trade, in 5 years you’d have accumulated over a million and a half dollars. This is life changing stuff, and I think it’s time people know about it.

Buying fine and rare antiques and paintings isn’t just for today’s wealthy, so get that out of your mind right off the bat. You can become tomorrow’s wealthy by building your own personal fortune through antiques, collectibles and fine art markets starting right now.

The naysayers would say to me that spotting that painting and being able to buy it for $240 was pure luck. Then, they’d tell us, we really lucked out when we sold it for $3,700. They’d say the same thing about the painting I bought for $16,000 and sold 6 months later for $115,000. I say it isn’t so. It was knowledge that spotted the paintings. And when you have knowledge, you don’t need luck. This knowledge will enable you to spot value that others miss, enabling you to confidently deal in the higher end of the marketplace.

Consider how you spend your time when you’re not at work. Are you sitting on the couch watching the latest reality show? Are you spending time searching for and downloading the latest music to your iPod? Ask yourself if you’re spending any amount of time involved in an activity that will help you build your knowledge in an area that can help you advance yourself monetarily. You see, when a person spends some time raising his or her level of knowledge, this knowledge, when acted upon, can produce results like we’ve had.

If you were to dedicate a certain amount of time every day to acquiring the experience and knowledge that could help you grow your bank account exponentially, would you do it? If you would, you’ll get results. If you’ll spend some time every day learning a little, building up your knowledge layer upon layer, and acting upon what you’ve learned, you’ll be able to accumulate enough money to fund a millionaire lifestyle; All with antiques, collectibles and fine art.

Vicki, a woman I know saw what we were doing and wanted to create her own stash of cash. She started with $100 and went to a garage sale. When she spotted six boxes of vintage phonograph needles, she reasoned that there must be phonograph collectors who would be real happy to have some of these. She spent her entire $100 on the needles, divided them up by manufacturer, and then sold them on eBay. They brought in $800.

Vicki then partnered up with another person, and by selling some old comic books from the early days, they sold them on eBay and took in over $13,000.

My old friend, Cecil, liked this plan, so he decided to work this way. His $100 is the seed money that will one day take care of his every need, and he gladly opened a checking account. Then, he visited a local auction house preview and spotted what he thought was a Camark Pottery piece. He examined it carefully, and then went home to research it. That night, he discovered that it wasn’t Camark Pottery, but it was a very rare Owens Pottery vase, instead. He returned the next day to bid on that vase.

To Cecil’s amazement, there seemed to be no interest in the vase at first. He bid $25. Someone else bid against him, but in the end, $80 bought Cecil this rare piece. You see, his knowledge let him confidently bid that $80, knowing with certainty it wasn’t too much to pay for this piece. The other bidder didn’t have the knowledge or confidence to continue. Cecil then called the Cincinnati Art Gallery, a gallery very well known for their outstanding pottery pieces and large list of collectors, and allowed them to handle the sale of his vase. It sold for just over $2,400. Cecil also purchased a 1940 Kentucky Derby Glass for $12.50 that he spotted in an antique mall sitting out in plain view. Two weeks later, he sold the glass for a whopping $12,500.

Imagine how long it might take you to make money like this selling five and ten dollar common collectibles and antiques or trying to make this kind of money through your investment broker. Knowledge is King in this business, and it can be used together with some basic investment principles to exponentially grow your money.

So who are these people who are successful and making mega amounts in this industry total? They are the people who have recognized that this market has changed, and they’ve changed their method of doing business, moving with the trend. They no longer sit in their shops waiting for people to bring them treasures to sell, nor do they travel all year long doing shows.

Today’s successful dealers are very selective. They spend their time locating high demand items that they can quickly turn around for an excellent profit. I personally know individuals who make no more than four or five transactions a year, but their net worth increases by hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

These successful people have streamlined their operating expenses. They no longer pay show fees, booth rents, monthly rent for a shop, nor many other expenses that drain their resources. Their insurance costs go way down, because they no longer keep large inventory sitting around collecting dust that a hired employee has to keep clean and polished. Travel bills like hotel and food no longer take the greater part of their profit, if there even was any profit from the show they just spent all their time at.

No, today’s dealers are unencumbered by shops and shows. They make a few well thought out transactions, and the money goes into their bank account to fund their next well planned purchase.

The new breed of dealer of the 21st century are Internet savvy, understand the auction arena, and have no fear of using modern technology. Instead, they consider this technology a friend and business partner. This new breed is free and mobile. If they feel it’s wise to fly or drive to New York to preview a special item they’ve seen in the new Christie’s catalog, they’re free and have the funds to do it. I still hear dealers say they will never use the computer. These are the same kind of people that would never have bought a car, because the horse was good enough.

Buying large quantities of common antiques, collectibles and art is not what this new breed of antique dealers do. They are contrarians, and so they do the opposite. They spend their time looking for the rare, the unusual, and valuable high end items that are in high demand and will make them a fair return on their investment. They are looking for the very items that, today, are setting this market ablaze by their record prices. This new 21st Century dealer is researching and carefully planning his next purchase creating a way to live a funded life without ever having to receive a retirement check from any place other than from their own bank account. They are taking active control over the course of their own life and having a great time doing it, meeting interesting and colorful people all over the world.

History has shown that ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things. And if regular people like Vicki and Cecil can learn to spot value at a garage sale or local auction, use their profit as seed money, and set their plan in motion, you can too. When you build your knowledge and work from a plan, you could shortly find yourself sitting with a paddle at one of the finest auction houses in the country, bidding on a special treasure with an account behind you large enough to afford it and still have enough funds retire on.

About Daryle Lambert

Daryle Lambert is author of 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles and teaches wealth building within the antiques, collectibles, and fine art markets through his 31 Club. This educational club teaches about the rare and valuable, as well as buying and selling with integrity and maximizing profits to exponentially grow money into accounts large enough for retirement. His daily Blog, found on the company website at www.31corp.com is an educational component for the 31 Club and is currently available openly on the Internet.

So what is holding you back? It can’t be money because I have shared with you that you can start this business with as little as $100. It can’t be for lack of time, because if you check, there are probably four to five hours a day that you use unproductively. Just a couple of those hours can be used to build knowledge. It can’t be that you doubt it can be done, because I have shown you other people that are doing it. So, what’s keeping you from taking this opportunity to heart and changing your life with it?

Oh I see, others are saying it can’t be done because the great things will soon run out and there will be no more Treasures to be found is that what your thinking? Listen to me. Everything comes back to the market place because often children don’t have the same taste in decorating as their parents or a museum decides to sell some of their things to make room for new items. I bet you didn’t know that did you? Yes museums don’t keep everything that is given to them forever, but often sell things to get cash to change what they are offering to the viewers.

The business atmosphere is depressed so why should I go in business for myself today? In my opinion this is the perfect time to enter the field of antiques, paintings and collectibles, why you may ask? When times are bad people tend to sell more things to over come their loss of income or simply out of fear. We call this a buyers market in the real estate industry. If you check with people that have become wealthy through their own efforts, most of them will state that their money was made during times like we have today. The position that I have always taken and still do is one of being a contrarian and if I have to say so myself it has proven to be an extremely successful way of doing business. Now I have shared it with you and together we can make this plan work for you.