Antiques business

The antiques business in general is going through a transition. People are travelling less, so more buying and selling takes place on the Internet. This internet activity makes it difficult for dealers who have premises to finance. The property in central London is going up every year , which means the business rents and council tax is also escalating. Dealers are looking at giving up renting premises because they cannot make enough profit to pay the yearly increases. Markets such as Portobello Rd is losing it’s specialised dealers because of rent raises. The dealers who are surviving do so on the profits from their websites. The sad thing is the older dealers are not willing or able to use the web so all their expertise will soon disappear. Even the big fairs are feeling the pinch. Their rents have gone up, plus staying in London for out-of-town dealers is nearly prohibitive. We are all having to have a re-think.