Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Lillian Benson runs her daughter's store, M.E. Benson's Antiques, in downtown Saratoga. Benson says that business in December, January and February was at an all-time low for the store since it opened 18 years ago.
Antique dealers say their wares continue to sell despite economy
By Rebecca Ray
One of the traditional signs of an economic recession is when disposable income evaporates and so does the demand for luxury items, such as antiques.
Despite the plummeting stock market, news-making layoffs and skyrocketing energy costs, local antique dealers say they are conducting business as usual.
Ann Fitzsimmons, owner of Corinthian Corners, a consignment shop at 14416 Big Basin Way, said that her business has stayed about the same. Although Fitzsimmons said that fewer people might buy antiques in the future, it is hard to predict how a recession would affect her business.
Kathy Berry, who co-owns Saratoga-based Berry & Co. with her husband, Michael, also said that her business has not been noticeably affected. Berry & Co., which does not have a storefront operation, specializes in silver and sells items at about 20 antique shows around the state each year. Collectors are always collecting, Berry said, and antiques are becoming scarcer.
Carol's Antique Gallery at 14455 Big Basin Way has been around since 1978, and specializes in such small items as china, glassware, silver, pictures and lamps. Owner Carol Payne said that she has been through recessions before, and that they haven't been crippling. In fact, Payne said, recessions are almost better because customers scrutinize and compare prices, instead of buying the first item that's handy. She added that people always value antiques.
The dissenting voice belongs to Lillian Benson, who helps her daughter, Marsha Benson, run M.E. Benson's Antiques, at 14521 Big Basin Way. The elder Benson said that December, January and February were the worst months that her daughter's store has had since it opened 18 years ago. But Lillian Benson said they have no plans to change the way they run the store.
"What can you do differently in an antique shop?" she said. "Nothing but stay open seven days a week."
Berry said that, because of the Internet, businesses could curb recessions by tapping into the worldwide market. According to Berry, her company has sold items online to customers in other countries, including Japan, New Zealand, Australia and nations in South America and Europe.
Lillian Benson, whose daughter's store sells mostly collectibles and specializes in porcelain, crystal, silver and small Victorian items, said that the Internet has benefited her daughter's business, in that it sells more items through its websites than it does at its storefront. Unlike Payne, who said that her customers were mostly local Saratogans, Lillian Benson said that most of the customers at M.E. Benson's were tourists and that Saratoga residents only accounted for about 5 percent of the store's sales each year.
Fitzsimmons does not sell items on the Internet and attributes her success to her repeat customers. Although Corinthian Corners has only existed for 13 years, the store itself has been a consignment antique shop for about 45 years and was called Corinthian Studios before Fitzsimmons bought it from its previous owners.
Payne said that, although the Internet might take some business away from dealers, it doesn't take a lot because most of their customers don't shop by computer. While customers might shop on the Internet for specific items, such as china patterns, customers will enter stores to look around if they aren't looking for anything in particular, Payne said.
According to Payne, one common misconception customers have is that values of antiques will increase at the same rate over time. But, in reality, the value of an item may stay the same for a while, and if an item goes out of fashion, its value may even decrease slightly, Payne said.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
