Do you run to the window at the sound of rattling rails and blowing whistles?
Have you ever wished your collection of squished pennies would turn into real
cash?
For Bill and Sue Knous, it all began with a genuine interest in railroads.
Now they are renowned antique dealers who know the value of everything tied
to the railroad.
"We've just always had a love of trains and all we deal with is trains.
There are not a lot of us out there, but there's a tremendous amount
of collectors. I think anybody can relate to a train," says Sue.
One person's trash is another person's treasure -- this is certainly
true of railroad artifacts.
According to Sue, the artifacts that now feed her family were almost completely
destroyed. "There's pictures of the depots and the railroads just bringing
in front-end loaders, digging big holes and throwing this stuff in the holes
and covering it up," she says. "Thank goodness there were people that decided
to go in there and save it."
One fine day in 1987, a man with a particular fixation on lanterns entered
the Knous's little shop and changed their business forever.
"We didn't really have a great feel for the memorabilia. One day,
a gentleman walked in and asked us if we'd be interested in selling his
collection for him -- and we worked out a deal. And the next day he brought
us 100 lanterns and we hung them from the ceiling of our store, and that really
propelled us into a full-time business," says Sue.
For Sue, a feel for the memorabilia came quite naturally. She believes
in the magic of train collectibles. From the locks to the keys to the soup
bowls, railroad lines were sticklers for luxury.
"There was something magical about riding on a train. They service people
with the best of everything -- [the] finest linen, finest china, finest silver.
They were in great competition with each other. There's nothing neater
than riding on a train, sitting in a dining car, watching the countryside
go by, having your meal," she says.
Most antique dealers run private businesses, according to Tom Pennington
of Antique Maine Digest.
Business sense is simply essential in the industry. Bill Knous has discovered
that owning a business requires adaptability and an ability to face change.
Bill believes that certain skills should be taught to people at an early
age. Amongst the most important: the ability to take chances and make decisions.
"Life is certainly not mapped out and thinking it is will...be the end to
any business," he says.
People skills, says Bill, will make life's lack of structure a little
easier to handle. "Just being able to deal with people, remembering that a
successful business must always do everything they can to keep customers happy."
While you do have to be able to handle the odd grouch, says Bill, good
customers certainly outweigh the bad. "Obviously, there are some folks that
make it impossible, but for the most part you will find that for every one
customer that might make life difficult, there are 50 more that make it great,"
he says.
"We have managed to support our family and do very well in doing what we
love, which is kind of nice," says Sue. In her spare time, Sue and Bill take
the kids on a tour of the countryside -- by train, of course!
The Knous's store is one of only a few companies to deal in railroad antiques.
This means that competition is moderate and their clientele is relatively
loyal. Many dealers, however, will face great competition. They are often
at the mercy of fickle fashion and will need to modify their inventory accordingly.
Pat Johnson deals with a variety of antiques. She says, "In good times
you do well, and in bad times you don't. It's a simple as that.
And things come and go popularity wise. One day, something could be in vogue,
and the next day something else will. It's changing all the time and
you've got to keep up with the market."
Right now, says Johnson, people are crazy about Chinese and Japanese antiquity.
"We sell a lot of high-end Oriental," says Johnson. "It has
to be authentic. People who buy know what they're buying. There are a
lot of [fakes] out there, so you've got to be able to tell the difference."
Johnson says you'll always make money on a good antique, but a fake
is essentially worthless.