Spinaro...I understand
but one thing I don't understand is why you're up in NE Mpls when you could be on Lake Street close to the river? Lots of larger store fronts and it's a better area for walk-in sales...situated between Calhoon Square and Grand Avenues!
Getting up to NE Mpls is a pain....
I agree with you. The space ...
I agree with you. The space is this weird thing that just happened.... I never planned on doing retail. Its especially hard in Mpls. I think that even if we had a space in a great spot, sales might the same. I prefer to deal in designer pieces & original art. Unfortunately, its a very niche market, especially for MN so most sales go out of state... the average person that wonders in equates vintage with "thrift store". Someone was in the other day and was like "I don't care about designer, I just want something practical"
anyhow, its hard to know when to invest in doing a retail thing. My paintings are selling more and I could make an income of that.. I think its a possibility we might phase out the whole retail thing sometime soon in the future.. that might be the biggest reason for not moving. If and when we do move, thats big commitment and we're not sure we want to do that..
Yeah-- buzzers in shops are strictly for security
not snobbishness.
Small shops are usually staffed by only one person, who also handles light clerical work & phone calls, who also might even occasionally use the bathroom. An unlocked door without a buzzer is an invitation to be stolen from-- it would take a thief only seconds to walk in, grab an object worth hundreds (or thousands!) then walk out.
To you and me, an antiques store is a place to browse and possibly buy-- to a thief it's an opportunity to easily steal something of value.
Regarding your fear of being "judged" at the door-- anyone who's ever worked retail can tell you that you can't predict a customer's buying-power by their wardrobe-- the most unlikely people have lots of money to spend, and shoplifters are frequently well-turned out (after all, they get their expensive designer wardrobes for free!).
Why buyers eschew the POA (and should)
Actually, Tynell makes a pretty good case for why we shouldn't buy when there's a POA. He uses the POA for 2 reasons:
1) He doesn't really want to sell the item. Now, if he had a reasonable price on the item, there's a good chance it would sell... so that's no good. Of course, if you're willing to pay some ridiculous price, then maybe his resolve to hang onto the item isn't so great. Sometimes dealers address their hesitance to sell by just posting the ridiculous price right out there in the open. Others (read Tynell) prefer that you first make a formal request for privilege of being taken.
2) The second reason Tynell gives is that prices fluctuate too quickly. In other words, he needs to make sure that no one will ever buy his items for less than top dollar. If the market makes a quick spike up, there's no way he's gonna be caught with last week's price tag. Thanks to the POA, no one gets a deal on his watch.
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