An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of
antique
An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...
s. Antiques shops generally have a physical presence in a shop where the wares are stored and displayed, but some antique shops are online, with no physical retail location.
Some antiques shops are located within an antique mall or "antiques market", where each seller can open a booth or stall and display their items for sale. These mini-malls may be a form of
consignment shop.
Usually stores' stock is sourced from
auction
An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...
s,
estate sales,
flea market
A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...
s,
garage sale
A garage sale (also known as a yard sale, tag sale, moving sale and by many other namesSome rarely used names include "attic sale", "basement sale", "rummage sale", "thrift sale", "patio sale", "lawn sale", and "jumble sale".) is an informal ...
s, etc. Many items may pass through multiple antiques dealers along the product chain before arriving in a retail antiques shop.
By their very nature, these shops sell unique items and are typically willing to buy items, even from individuals. The quality of these items may vary from very low to extremely high and expensive, depending on the nature and location of the shop.
Frequently, many antique shops will be clustered together in nearby locations; in the same town such as in many places in
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
, or on the same street such as
Portobello Road
is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from South to North, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello ...
or
Camden in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, or in an antique mall.
Antiques shops may specialize in some particular segment of the market such as antique furniture or
jewelry
Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...
, but many shops stock a wide variety of inventory.
See also
*
Bric-à-brac
*
Junk shop
References
External links
Retailers by type of merchandise sold
Antiques
Reuse
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