Helpful Hints: Plan Your Trip

If you are new to the antique shopping gig, figuring out where to venture can be a little overwhelming.  Most people feel that it is a good idea to "freestyle" the trip, not making a plan and trying to find shops by chance.  This can be fun, but I feel that it can be even more overwhelming than actual planning.  My wife and I made that mistake when we went to Little Rock, Arkansas.  We managed to find one shop.  Yes, the trip was a lot of fun, but it was not a solid antique trip.

So, here are some tools to help you plan:

Antique Brochures
Find any antique store, and you will find these.  They are typically at the front door, and they group the shops by major areas (Kansas City, Denver Metro, Oklahoma City, etc.) or by the major highways of the area (I-35 North, I-70 KS, I-40, etc.).  The brochures include the name, addresses, a map of the area, and an ad for the shops included.  The ads sometime give the hours of operations (a lifesaver for the planning and during the actual trip).  If the ad doesn't give the hours of operations, it will give a phone number or a web address.  With smartphones, either method will produce the desired result.  The brochures are updated every six months, which keeps the information fresh.

"But, wait... you said I had to go to an antique store to find this..."

There is also a website to visit.

Discover Vintage America
This is another freebie to be found at any antique store.  It is a monthly publication (kind of like a newspaper) that deals with antiques out of the Midwest. It covers Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Oklahoma.  Most of the pages are filled with ads for antique stores, and there are interesting historical articles sprinkled through it.  The Discover publications I have looked at mostly deal with the Missouri and Kansas area, so I'm not sure if the ads change by location.  Some of the ads are different than the brochures previously mentioned, and antique stores that do not fall into locations covered by the brochures are listed.  Discover Vintage America provides readers with a schedule of antique shows/events for the current month and the following month.

In case you are new to the antique hunting game, here is the website to get you started.

It should be noted that the last two mentions cost money to the shops listed as advertising, so they are not complete lists.  Even though Kansas City might show three shops in either the brochures or Discover Vintage America, I promise you that there are a lot of shops in the area that are not listed.  So, use these to get your feet wet, not as an absolute key.  

Yelp.com
 If you have not been out to Yelp, you need to go now!  It is a free website that allows users to rate and share information about restaurants, shops, wineries, etc. in a specified area.  Antique stores and flea markets are included on the site.  Yelp provides information about the location, such as address, phone numbers, website address, and sometimes photos.

Yelp is a great resource for new antique hunters and old antique hunters alike to find new shops.  However, since most of the antique shops are operated by an older demographic, it is extremely likely that the shop will not be included on Yelp.  Yelp users can make a page for the site to make a review on it (full power goes to those who own the business).  So, if Yelp is going to be a valuable source, we should all be willing to leave our feedback for fellow antique hunters.

Any store we visit, I make a Yelp review for it.  If you would like to look me on Yelp, you can look here.

Facebook.com
Social media has taken over our society, and Facebook is one of the largest social medias.  As I mentioned about Yelp, most of the of the operators of the antique stores are of the older generation.  The popularity of Facebook has swallowed up some of the operators, which is fantastic.  Facebook might be the only internet presence for some of the shops.  Therefore, if you like the shop, share it with your friends on your Facebook.  If a shop thrives, you are going to get new vendors and new merchandise.

If you have friends who are into antique shopping, they might know some great stores.  Most of the stores my wife and I shop were first visited by my parents.  If you have a lot in common with someone, you will take their recommendations to heart and know that it isn't a shot in the dark.

So, on your next trip, put a little planning into it.  It will be more rewarding and a lot more fun.

Until next time... Happy hunting!