Discover Vintage America — September 2011
Tame the bull in your china shop
One day in a parking lot, while opening my car door, I dinged the car next to me. Shoot! The other car was nearly brand new, and I could clearly see that the dime-size dent in its side corresponded to the edge of my door.
I left a note on the windshield of the other car with my name and phone number, offering to pay for any repair. I then promptly forgot about the incident having done all I could at the time to rectify the situation.
This vase was patented by Asian American William (Bill) Yee of New Jersey, who developed a process to create cloisonné using glass instead of metal as the base material. A dealer would want to display such an item carefully so as to minimize the potential for breakage.
Several days later, I got a call from the out-of-state driver, a very nice woman, who said to me, “First, I want you to know there will be no bill; the dent is barely noticeable. Second and most importantly, I just called to thank you for your honesty! Most people would have left without saying anything. It just made my day to get your note and be reminded that not everyone’s like that.”
Sadly, I thought she was probably right.
This brings me to the folks who break store merchandise and walk away without as much as a fare-thee-well. Motivations for such irresponsibility are multiple and range from simple embarrassment to callous disregard.
It’s infuriating to stop by to restock your space and find one or more items of glass or china or other delicate material sitting there in shards. But you can still be proactive in minimizing the potential for damage.
This spectacularly fiery, unset carved opal measures 92.42 carats. If you had an item like this in your inventory, you’d probably want to display it in a locked and uncluttered case where other objects couldn’t fall or be dropped on it.
- Carefully stock your display space
If you have multiple display shelves in your booth, put delicate items on the top shelves and the heavier stuff on the bottom. Don’t overstock your booth. Cramming is an invitation for breakage. If you have a locked display case in a multi-dealer shop, don’t make it difficult for a staff member to retrieve an item for a customer without knocking against other items.
- Showcase delicate or expensive items
Many shopkeepers are able to accommodate requests for special display areas for particularly delicate items (e.g., a locked case for an item in lieu of your usual open display). It may cost you something in commission, but broken items are, for the most part, items you can’t sell, so the commission may be a very good tradeoff for the relative safety and security of special items.
When my cat, Kimiko, knocked over this Fenton Burmese bunny, it damaged its nose and left hind foot. Unlike some people, she admitted it; when I walked into the living room, she was sitting there staring at the mess she’d made.
- Remind people to be careful
“Handle as if it were yours: If you break it, you’ve bought it.” Posting such a sign may not altogether deter the careless demolition crew, but it will remind most reasonably careful folks to think before reaching.
- Shoppers take note!
So, okay, maybe you didn’t mean to break it, but if you did, own up to it and offer to pay for it. If it was a particularly expensive mistake, still own up to it and ask to work out a payment plan. Leaving the wreckage where you made it is doubly unfair to the dealer because it not only deprives him or her of the potential sale of the broken object but also deters other purchases by customers repelled by the unsightly mess you left behind.
- Watch out for wee ones
Parents, it’s not fair to expect young children not to break what they pick up, so don’t let little kids handle what they can’t handle. If you have older pre-teen children, don’t leave them unattended or let them run or roughhouse in an antique shop or show. Don’t get bent out of shape if a staff member has to tell your child not to touch something because you failed to tell the child yourself. And if your child does accidentally break something, it’s a great opportunity for you to teach responsibility by example.
Peggy Whiteneck is a writer and collector living in East Randolph, VT. If you would like to suggest a topic she can address in her column, email her at allwrite@sover.net.