#Amy #Moyer #Built #Business #Selling #Antiques #Collectibles #WorthPoint
WorthPoint’s “Real People, Real Places, Real Fun!” series spotlights fascinating collectors, resellers, dealers, and more in the antiques and collectibles world. Read their stories to discover the who, what, when, where, and why behind what they do!
Amy Moyer, a respected writer for WorthPoint, built her business Antmuffin: Art, Antiques & Collectibles from the ground up after years in the museum field. Read on to learn how this scrappy entrepreneur got started, all her best “tips of the trade,” and where exactly she got that name, “Antmuffin.”
WorthPoint: How did you get into the field of selling antiques and collectibles?
Amy: My education and background in museum work led me into the antiques business. I studied Art and Art History in college, with coursework abroad in Latin America and Europe. After interning at museums in London and Philadelphia, I landed in Boston reviewing art portfolios for a museum’s art school, where I’d spend my lunch breaks wandering around the nooks and crannies of the museum.
After that, I worked in a grant-funded position in collections management at another New England museum. There, I helped catalog and photograph the entire museum’s collection, down to the toothbrushes in the museum-owned Frank Lloyd Wright house. Since I knew my position at that museum ended once the grant ran out, I started my own antiques and collectibles side business from home using a friend’s old laptop. This was nearly twenty years ago, way before the “gig economy” was a thing!
At the end of the day, my education and work background were the foundation for my business since they taught me how to look at and handle fine art and art objects.
WP: Is there more to your business than just selling antiques and collectibles?
A: Yes! Check out my website to see everything I do. I do sell antiques and collectibles, but I also buy them outright and consign with clients. My client work has ballooned in the past few years, and I work with many local realtors as they have clients selling homes and downsizing collections.
I have spaces at a few local antique markets in New England. I write about antiques and collectibles and am always happy to do interviews, appearances, and events. Finally, I am also an avid volunteer with many charitable organizations, and I currently serve as a trustee for my town’s local art museum.
WP: Do you have any tips for newbies to the antiques and collectibles business?
A: I have tons and am always happy to share my knowledge! First of all, it is a tough business. I always say it is tough because, at the end of the day, it’s essentially retail (buying and selling), but what we’re dealing with are frequently one-of-a-kind items.
It’s not like running a donut shop with ten items on the menu, where the hardest inventory decision is whether folks like the maple bacon donut. With antiques and collectibles, you are dealing with literally millions of possible inventory items, so it helps to have some solid years of background in the field, whether professionally or as a hobby.
WP: How about marketing and social media tips?
A: This is a huge question since social media is constantly changing, and you can waste a lot of time on it! Build your business first before focusing on social media. Social media isn’t going to help if you don’t have good inventory and knowledge of the business. I don’t do a lot of social media, but I’ve been playing around with Instagram (@antmuffinantiques). I like Instagram for its visual appeal, but I don’t know if it’s helped me with any sales yet!
WP: Any more tips?
A: Reputation is everything. You have to be honest and fair. As the daughter of a Philadelphia lawyer, I pride myself on this. However, not everyone in this business operates this way, so it helps to have some street smarts before you stand in the pouring rain at the 6 a.m. early bird line at an estate sale.
WP: How do I research the value of antiques and collectibles?
A: WorthPoint, of course! The virtue of WorthPoint is that the site keeps many more years of historical sales data than other sites. I also use Google Lens a bit, but I am waiting for it to become more accurate and reliable. Meanwhile, the WorthPoint mobile app (available on iOS and Android) has visual search recognition capabilities. Snap a picture and instantly find millions of matching auction listings from the images in the WorthPoint Price Guide.
Lastly, and there is no replacing this, I have a lot of information about value, marks, makers, etc., simply in my head. As a generalist, I’ve seen just about everything and have a slightly encyclopedic knowledge of most antique and vintage goods in my noggin. My girlfriends love thrifting with me because I’m always picking up things worth $1,000 that they think are trash. Yes, I keep a loupe in my purse!
WP: How did you get to be on Pawn Stars?
A: In the spring of 2023, a casting agent in New York contacted me out of the blue to appear on the Boston episode of Pawn Stars Do America. She found me online and was interested in a lot of the Boston and Salem memorabilia I have for sale, including some signed Ted Williams items. We got to talking, and I ended up submitting about six items to be featured on the show, with two selected: a giant witch head and a piece of scrimshaw.
I presented the witch head and was allowed to bring a guest to present the scrimshaw. I brought my nephew Luke since he was the oldest kiddo in the extended family (not to mention outgoing, handsome, and charming). We both appeared on the Pawn Stars Do America: Beantown Bargains episode, which aired in October 2023.
WP: Any fun stories about things you’ve sold?
A: I could write a book! I once bought a small desk with a bunch of old coins and vintage Harvard and MIT keepsakes hidden behind a drawer, all worth way more than the desk (always look behind drawers in a desk or dresser). Last year, I found a bunch of gold teeth in a jewelry lot (talk about an ick factor). I frequently mention the “Pieces of Pompeii” a client wanted me to sell. Apparently, one of her relatives tore the pieces off a wall over one hundred years ago when they visited the site as a tourist.
WP: Finally, why “Antmuffin?”
A: I get this question all the time! Here is the story behind the “Antmuffin” name: my family nickname is “Muffin,” and when the first grandkid (my sister’s son Luke, who appeared with me on Pawn Stars) was born in my extended family, I became “Aunt Muffin.” The other aunt hails from New Hampshire and pronounces it more properly as “Ahnt” Kate. There was one “Ant” and one “Ahnt,” so the Antmuffin name was born. The rest, as they say, is history!
Amy Moyer is the proprietor of Antmuffin: Art, Antiques & Collectibles. She holds a BA in Visual Art from Brown University and lives in Boston.
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