Dealing With Backstabbing Antique Shop Owners

First I need to apologize for not writing in so long, it has been one helluva crazy year so far and it just doesn't seem to be getting any better.

I hired the worlds worst antique auctioneer to get rid of excess inventory, since he did not sell anything I just finished a marathon 7 day garage sale in 100 degree temp. The neat thing about the garage sale was seeing some of my shop customer's and old friends.

As to the topic in the title....

Antique Shop Auction Shawnee Mission, Kansas

The time has finally come to auction off the items from my antique shop.

If you are in Johnson County Kansas please be sure to attend.

June 6, 2010
1:00pm
13501 W. 90th Place
Lenexa, Kansas 66215

This is my home.

I can't bear to be here to watch my items sell so I am going to Vegas on the 3rd returning on the 7th. I am leaving all the work up to the auction company, my good friends and family. Boy they have their work cut out for them too.

Numerous items. Hope that you make it by.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, sons, daughters, fathers and husbands who read this silly blog.

The cutie in the bug picture is my adorable granddaughter.

This is my first mother's day without my mom and the entire week has been very difficult.  She just passed away Jan. 13, 2010. Then today I went out to pick up a couple of mother's day cards and the water works turned on pretty quickly. I did get my mom a card, we are going to the cemetary tomorrow and I will leave it with her.

Is It Ever Going To End.... ARG....

We got moved out of the antique shop on Feb. 26th., a month ago. I am still buried in boxes (the photo is not an actual shot of my pile of boxes but close). My living room, dining room, garage, patio and  overflowing into the backyard, it is driving me bonkers and to make matters worse the weather has been horrible so I can't even get out and sort things.

If it isn't raining it is snowing therefore, I cannot take the tarp off the items stored outside and I can't work on the garage because I have to move those boxes to the driveway.

I have some really amazing new inventory to put on the website but I can't get to it. Also all of my books are packed up.

Some of the items will be going to the antique shop in Shawnee, quite a few of the items the consignor's have now decided they want their items back (not the way the boxes were originally packed) and the rest stays here at the house to be sold online.

Truckloads have already gone to auction and I have a feeling that when I am able to finally get to work on the boxes even more will be going to Sharp's auction.

All I can see are dollar signs sitting around in boxes making me crazy and costing me sales.

There is a season for everything.

My life changed in January of this year, sometimes life will just kick you square in the teeth to get your attention and that is what happened to me.

My mom passed away suddenly on Jan. 13 and this made me stop and analyze my life, my priorities and my purpose for being on this planet.

Several changes are underway but the big one was the closing of my live antique shop, my dream. My last day of business was Feb. 20 I then had 5 days to move out of a very large business with (now I find out) nowhere to go. My overhead was ridiculous and the lenders and landlords would not work with me. The economy of course sent the business over the edge.

The online shop will be bigger and better than ever once I get it moved over to the new site with loads of new inventory. This should happen toward the end of the month. At the moment I am so overwhelmed with all the "inventory" piled all over my house, patio and backyard. I am behind on getting orders shipped and as if this weren't enough I am sick as a dog.

What else will I be changing in my life? Spend time with my family; the shop sucked up all of my time and energy, start eating better and exercising again; both of which went by the wayside with the store, garden; oh my gosh how I have missed working in my garden, try and get through the mourning process; this was very hard to do with the shop.

I will miss all of the paranormal energy and spirits that kept me company in the store - www.mygrannysatticantiques.com/hauntedantiqueshop I felt a great attachment and fondness for  the spirits especially the little boy who was ever present. Who knew that I would ever feel a fondness for at least 10 ghosts but I spent more time with them than I did my family. I hope to be able to get back into the shop and investigate again soon while there are no antiques in place.

I will miss my many wonderful customer's I met some amazing people through the shop.

I got to live my dream for over a year and that is more than  many people get.

Be sure and visit the shop online 24/7 and come back often.

Thank you for the response to my last post

WOW, I didn't realize how many people really read my ramblings and rants. The comments were amazing and I only published a few. The support is equally as outstanding.

To those who took the time to leave a comment please know I am behind you rooting and pushing you all the way to success.

My biggest downfall was going into debt with bank loans, who would have thought those folks would have wanted their money back.... the fact that the bank would not restructure the loan was a bit unacceptable to me to put it mildly. Especially considering the fact that the bank CEO was in on meetings with our Prez discussing how to "help" small businesses. Downfall #2.... high rent in a very old drafty house which meant high utility bills. Despite what the SBA says in their mission statement and the reams of paperwork I had to complete in regards to working with "my" technical advisor... my TA was never available to help me along the way and help me navigate and negotiate in some of these areas.

What Community Do You Support?

I am watching my dream, my antique shop, die on the vine. I have come to a place of acceptance with it. I know that I have not done anything wrong. My business is well managed, we advertise as much as financially possible, we provide above excellent customer service, our books are in order, we do not pay ourselves... we work to pay the bills. We have fought the good fight but despite all of this people don't take the time to stop in and see the many wonderful, affordable items we have for sale.

The problem is the community mindset; "walmart charges less for a better quality item, they will make my life wonderful and worth living again." Of course the big box stores can afford TV commercials to brainwash the public that they have their best interest at heart, we are all in this together b***s***. They don't tell you how much of the money you spend in their big box stores goes off into another community probably in another state, they don't tell you that your hard earned money will give their CEO another million dollar raise, they don't tell you that they are getting tax subsidies in your community (they don't pay taxes on their property) and will move on to another area when it comes time for them to start paying their taxes.

My little shop can't afford television ads to let the community know that we, the owner's are struggling just like they are and will do anything in our power to provide them with a high quality item on whatever terms they can afford. When we make a purchase on inventory we buy from other American small businesses and try to buy from local businesses when possible. Several of my wholesaler's are in Johnson County.

I won't get into how my city, Lenexa, Kansas has one set of signage rules for businesses in my area and another set of rules for the rest of the city which boils down to I cannot have a sign on my shop that can be seen from the street. Or the fact that they have allowed the Lenexa Parks and Rec. to raise the facility rental rates at the community center which makes it impossible for the antique show promoter to have his antique show across the tracks from my shop (this show has been held for over 20 yrs.), I am sure it will also impact in a very negative way the other smaller shows that are held there year round which bring business into my shop. I think the city has cut its own balls off in spite of itself, they don't see the revenue that these shows bring into the community... but that is not the point of this post. We all know how I feel about this stinking city.

What can YOU do? Have you asked yourself what YOU can do about the current state of the economy? YOU are helpless, YOU can play a major role in the recovery of YOUR community. You might even save a small independent business or two while you're at it.
Pick 3. Spend 50. Save your local economy. . . . . .
(1) Pick 3 independently owned local businesses to actively support through purchases. Those transactions are what keep small business IN business, after all;
(2) If half the employed U.S. population spent just $50 each month with independently owned local businesses, more than $42.6 billion would be generated annually. Imagine what would be possible if 3/4 of the population did that;
(3) For every $100 spent in independently owned local businesses, $68 returns to the local economy, as opposed to only $43 from purchases made in chains, big boxes, and franchises. Purchases made online bring nothing home. . . . . .

The 3/50 Project is all about positive momentum, building consumer loyalty to independent, locally owned businesses through plain talk and voiced appreciation while simultaneously building their local economies. . . .
 
http://www.the350project.net/
 
YOU can make a community-changing decision the next time you pop out to do a little shopping. Drive or walk right past the big box stores and seek out a locally owned small business. You might be very surprised at the prices you find as well as the quality of wares they have for sale.
 
In the end we will all benefit.