Why I am in this business . . .

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ruby Lane on February 1, 2012 at 2:53pm

Love the story. That is wonderful.

Permalink Reply by Antique Beak on February 1, 2012 at 3:12pm

Sometimes the profit is only a portion of the satisfaction of a sale.  Kudos to you for making someone so very happy.

Permalink Reply by The Old Grey Mare on February 1, 2012 at 3:24pm

Lovely story, thanks for sharing it with us!  And as Jen says, Kudos to you!

Permalink Reply by CheriShops - Admin on February 1, 2012 at 4:16pm

great story...I had something similar recently from a family who had been searching for 8 years to replace a very special jar :) I so love when customers give this kind of feedback...it really does add a special reason to why we do what we do.

Thanks so much for sharing that

Permalink Reply by MTippingAtelier-Admin on February 1, 2012 at 4:32pm

That is a truly wonderful story!!  Thank you for sharing it!

Mary

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Permalink Reply by The Old Grey Mare on February 1, 2012 at 6:11pm

I know that Jen of Antique Beak has a lovely story along these lines, putting something in her shop that was identified by a previous owner.  I hope she'll share it with you, I remember it so well.  It's incredible how things work out, selling online, with a world wide market, being able to Google things.  A few years ago, I had an old tennis trophy in my shop, from the 1930's, with the winner's name engraved.  Her grand daughters contacted me, they had found it online, told me all about their grandmother, it was so heartwarming to hear the story.  Of course, I let them have the trophy for what I had paid for it.  Jennifer went one better, she gave it to the previous owner, if I remember correctly.  

Permalink Reply by Suzy's Timeless Treasures on February 1, 2012 at 7:40pm

I was thinking about serendipity and it always blows me away how things happen.  I purchased the bracelet in a second hand shop right here in my town last summer.  I was going to keep it for myself since I liked it but found by October that I hadn't worn it once.  So I put it in my shop and it was just waiting there online for this buyer in another state to find it when she needed to.  I got no communication from her until this note today so I can just imagine that she didn't want to get too excited to have found it until it was in her hands.   I am so glad she shared her story with me.

You mentioned having things go back to a previous owner . . .  I had a boy doll as a child, it was my mother's and from the 1950s and I loved that doll!  Well I grew up, moved out, forgot all about it, my parents moved and tossed a ton of stuff (I don't even want to think about the great stuff they tossed!) in their alley in Chicago.  I am sure the pickers went through it.  A couple years ago, I decided I needed to find a doll like the one I had.  I found one on vacation in Michigan in an antique shop and I swear that this is MY doll, same flea bites on the fingers and toes, same exact outfit which was missing some of the original clothing, vest, shoes.  I've seen versions of this doll online but none of them look exactly like the one I found. 

Permalink Reply by Graceful Antiques on February 2, 2012 at 5:08pm

From my start as a dealer in 1996 stories like yours are the highlight of why I do this still. 

I have had woman looking for dolls they had as children that someone "accidently got rid of," coffee cup you would think was made of gold as they broke theirs that a child gave them and they broke etc. 

On my blog is a pink trench coat story of a customer that was thrilled to get the one from me and she sent a photo of her grandmother in the 1960s in a similar one.

I even had a grandaughter buy some dishes from me once that said it was named after her grandmother. Seems the maker  was in love with the grandmother way back when but she was not so he named the china after her. 

My favorite though will always be the elderly gentleman that nearly cried when I was doing a show once. I had a ruby cake plate and he told me how during the depression he and his little brother saved for a year to buy one for their mother they saw in a window. 

Glad you found your doll. I also have on my blog a story about a baby blanket and our grandchild. 

I really believe this was Serendipity also. I found it the year he was born and it is about my mother in law as well. 

Permalink Reply by Suzy's Timeless Treasures on May 3, 2012 at 11:30pm

I would love to have dealers post their stories here to share with us!