Most every time I work at ye olde antiques store I either get a few phone calls or in-person visits from people wanting to sell a few antiques.
Today I got a call from a professional "downsizer" who was helping an elderly client, well, downsize.
She was calling from Manitou Springs (about 35 minutes from Florence) which borders on Colorado Springs.
The downsizer told me there wasn't much of a market in Colorado Springs, which is about 100 times the size of Florence.
I thought about that for a moment. It's true Colorado Springs has many very nice antiques malls. But malls are usually made up of numerous dealers with rather small spaces. They simply, often, don't have the room or resources to buy an entire houseful of antiques.
And this lady was offering the potential for someone to buy the entire houseful of mint-condition European antiques.
I could tell the downsizer wasn't exactly sure if she was calling the right town. She was.
She wasn't sure anyone would be able to handle so many big pieces. I told her that Florence had the advantage of having several shop owners who are sole proprietors and have large amounts of floor space and storage facilities.
I also told her that a few of the stores have large shop trucks that can handle moving large pieces or entire households.
Let me assure you, Florence is the right town to call when you want to sell or buy antiques.
If you want a few insights (totally my opinions) about selling antiques and collectibles, you can read a previous blog post at: http://truestoryclub.blogspot.com/2016/07/selling-your-antiques-collectibles-in.html
Now, I don't give names of which stores of who buys what on this blog--but tips on how to find out are in that other blog post.
First, it helps to know who specializes in what. And when you call most any shop in Florence, or the Chamber of Commerce or any related business, they will generally know and steer you in the right direction.
There is a spirit of cooperation in Florence, and if someone isn't interested in an entire household or a certain speciality, they often know who is--and will make sure you connect with the right person.
