How to hunt for antiques during your holiday

When you travel, it’s normal to take pictures or buy some souvenirs for your friends and family back home, but that is not the point of your trip. The point is to see new places and experience new things, but if you have the chance to pick up some mementos and trinkets, that’s even better.

Simply buying stuff from a tourist center is not very original, but finding some real treasures can be a bit complicated when you find yourself in a unknown place. Finding an interesting antique is great, but where you can find them? Collectors are born with a nose for antiques, but here’s what you can do to find some forgotten little treasure too.

In the US, garage sales are common in every state. So when you reach your destination, just pick up a local newspaper and browse through the announcements to see if someone is cleaning their garage. It’s not guaranteed that you will find something valuable, but if you collect things like comics, model cars, old photographs and even old jewelry, you will most likely find something.

Flea markets are also a good place to look for trinkets. The problem here is that people might try to convince you that something is worth more money than in reality, so use your common sense, and don’t pay an outrageous amount for an ugly painting just because you’re told that it was painted by Rembrandt’s nephew or something. Buy only things that you like and you know you won’t regret buying once you get home.

A good way to find some valuable antiques is to go to an auction. Even in small towns, auctions are a good way for people to get rid of stuff they don’t want anymore, or to make a quick buck. The good thing about auctions is that you will have the certainty that what you’re buying is not a fake, even if you pay for it more than you’d expect.

When traveling abroad, the most obvious place to shop for antiques are antique shops. The problem with these shops is not that there aren’t enough of them, but they tend to be hard to find.

Tourist information leaflets rarely contain any addresses for antique shops, and although you might bump into them by chance, they are well hidden most of the time. For US antique shops, you can check out sites like Antique Shop Search, but when it comes to the other continents, your best bet is to do an internet search for antique shops in the large cities, and you will definitely find a few lists of the largest (an most expensive) shops around.

However, flea markets are usually advertised and well known, so an internet search or simply asking a local once you reach your destination can give you an answer.

If buying antiques is the highlight of your trip, you should consider booking a place in an antique tour. In general, these tours accommodate a small number of people, and the tour guide will show you the best antique hunting places, outdoor markets, shops and stores at your destination.

You might also like