Gail Gower is just one of more than 30 antique collectors who sell and show at A Piece of the Past Antique and Vintage Mall in Solvang, all of which represent lifetimes of hunting and gathering at garage and estate sales, thrift shops, and flea markets, seeking an aged treasure for the right price, either to keep or to sell. Gower began selling antiques and vintage items in earnest after her retirement, and over the last several years, keeping track of her growing inventory and sales felt like another full-time job.
That’s when an idea formed in Gower’s mind, a kind of technological tool kit for the treasure seeker, which could empower a buyer with knowledge in moments, inform a purchasing decision, and also enable professional collectors to keep track of a large inventory.
“It kind of evolved that way,” she said. “I had in my mind what I needed to make my shop run smoother, but then after that, I kept thinking and thinking, ‘Wait, what about this? What about that?’”
Gower connected with PRmarketingroup, a local company run by Bobby and Trish Ladner, who help local businesses increase their online presence, and started brainstorming a mobile app.
The end result was the Treasure-tiques app—now available in Apple’s App Store and as an Android App through Google Play—which takes advantage of a smartphone’s capabilities, including the onboard camera, GPS locator, Internet browser, and social media accounts.
“PRmarketing was so helpful because they are treasure hunters too,” Gower said. “If you have someone who is interested in this kind of thing, they just get it.”
Both of the Ladners recently employed the new app on a treasure-finding adventure, Bobby told the Sun, and were able to employ several distinct features to find a couple of cute trinkets that turned a hefty profit.
The app uses a GPS locator and web browser to pull up locations of local estate sales and garage sales listed on craigslist.org. So the two were able to find close locations, one after another, and begin the hunt for anything rare and collectible.
Once on location and getting a look at a variety of items, the app came in handy again, he explained.
“There is a tab just for Ebay,” he said. “So while you are standing there, you can go to Ebay and see if anyone else has an item and what price they are listing it for, and that might help determine whether you might want to buy to sell.”
When purchased, anything from jewelry to antique furniture can be entered into the app, including a photo, description, purchase price, possible sale price, and more information. This is where the app’s sophistication could make it very valuable for a professional antique collector.
The app can keep a detailed inventory that can be exported in the form of a Microsoft Excel file or a simple PDF. This can give collectors, whose inventory may be spread across several antique stores, instant access to their complete inventory, Gower explained. It also has insurance form templates onboard, so each inventory page can be sent to an insurance company as proof of ownership, condition, and value.
“The big thing is, I don’t have to lug my book and papers around with me at all times anymore,” she said. “With this I can know exactly what I have, even with pictures, and you don’t really have to even print anything out if you don’t have to.”
The Treasure-tiques app may be exceptionally suited for professional antique collectors, but it isn’t an unreasonable purchase for even a novice treasure seeker, Gower said. Anyone can use it to assess the value of an item instantly, but it can also be used to share finds and items through various forms of social media. The photos and information gathered can be sent out to Facebook, Twitter, and email.
The app can serve a practical purpose for collectors of more than just antique and vintage items. Art collectors, or even artists looking to reuse their finds can use Treasure-tiques, Gower explained.
“There are lots of people who go to garage sales but they don’t sell anything, they just collect things,” she said. “But you never know, they might come across something with some value, and they can decide whether or not to get it.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne is on the hunt for hidden treasure. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 2, 2015.