Caporegime
You'd need to prove the buyer is over 18 for a start, how would you go about that? Ask for ID prior to purchase?
Laurence Llewlyn-Bowen
My wife and kids bought me a potato masher for fathers day this year.
Real (deactivated) or copy though, @Maccapacca?
How do you deactivate swords?
Laurence Llewlyn-Bowen
My wife and kids bought me a potato masher for fathers day this year. The parcel is in the hall I'm not allowed to touch it yet
You'd need to prove the buyer is over 18 for a start, how would you go about that? Ask for ID prior to purchase?
I always enjoy looking on Matt Eastons website. His sword descriptions are great.
I keep toying with the idea of collecting antique swords.
Swords with provenance interest me the most, so I'll put it off for a few years until I can put more cash towards it.
Ever been to the Royal Armouries in Leeds or read a book called Classical Weaponry of Japan?
I'm talking about serious hardcore gear
You're making them into furniture?
Depending on how that's done, you might instead alienate a lot of the enthusiast/collector market and instead attract clueless new-money modernist types who don't give a **** about the write-ups, because to them it's just a sword...
Alas, that market is already well covered...
Your pictures are pretty good, another option to get you started might be to sell prints (digital / framed) on places like Etsy. Digital is really easy to run as they just download the file but you will make more money on framed prints (you can get a third party to handle that if you like). Perhaps add a bit of history or a quote from the time period to put some story in to the pic, something to appeal to a wider market.
Just an idea anyway.
Hello all!
After a health scare I'm now following my passion for bringing historical weaponry to the masses (in an interior design context) and I'd like to set up as a dealer. I already have a website and a bit of a following on Instagram, I can source products quite easily and I have a clear set of goals but, like many people trying to follow their dreams, I have no idea about the nuts and bolts side of things so I'd love a bit of advice from anyone who has set up as a shop.
Do I need to get an accountant or is it easy to get your head around the books and taxes yourself?
Lastly, you chaps are probably slap-bang in the middle of my target audience (dear God) so I'll probably be doing some market research on you in the future.
Wait...You are a shop?
LL-B?
I have a Barbour wax jacket already and a flat cap so I'm ahead of the game. I will be concentrating on antique European and Indo-Persian weaponry, no firearms as they just complicate things, and presenting them as investment-level interior design features [..]
This is actually pretty awesome niche you've got here.
But I feel as though you might do better targeting professional/business audience and keeping your website as more of a blog/promotional tool?
Building up a customer list and seeking out shows (if there are any?) would be a good start, other established collectors, museums, media production groups etc.
But I defiantly do understand what you're attempting to do with them, especially with how people like to design their homes now lol
Btw I can tell your my fiancée certainly doesn't use those as sword knots... https://www.instagram.com/p/BieY-PaHgAE/?hl=en
Fantastic collection you got there lad.
I'm not exactly someone who has a passion for this kind of stuff but can appreaciate the importance.
Will you be dealing with weapons in the form of words?
An interior design feature made of weapons that aren't firearms...
It's the Iron Throne of Westeros, isn't it?