"That would be wonderful, wouldn't it?" After a moment of silence, Jin Muchen finally managed to squeeze out a few words. After all, the impact of over two million dollars was not something easily comprehended.
"Do you intend to make a move?" Rick shifted his gaze away from the lamps, looking at Jin Muchen. Jin Muchen nodded.
"Of course. Rick, would you be interested in taking over? If you are willing, we can negotiate the price." Although they had only dealt twice, Jin Muchen knew that Rick was a trustworthy person.
However, Rick responded with a helpless smile and shook his head vigorously. "No, no, no, Muchen, I really like these lamp pieces of yours, but frankly speaking, I can't afford them because their prices are too high. The best way would be to send these lamps to auction, but that would take a long time. Are you in urgent need of money?"
"How long would it take if they were sent to auction?" Jin Muchen wasn't very knowledgeable about auctions, although he knew that several major auction houses were headquartered in Manhattan, he hadn't dealt with them personally.
"Well, it depends. You see, these lamps, as good as they are, mainly cater to American tycoons. So if they were to be sent to auction, it would have to wait until the end-of-year auction in New York in November. However, each year's year-end auction is a big event for those auction houses, and they usually choose a theme at the beginning of the year. For example, this year's theme is Chinese elements, so they've spent more effort and resources on preparing Chinese antiques for auction, including publicity, auction planning, and so on. Although your three lamps are good, they don't fit this year's theme, so they might not invest too much resources. It's likely they'll put them in next year's spring auction, which would take even longer..."
Listening to Rick, Jin Muchen realized that there were so many nuances to these auction houses. With this in mind, he became somewhat hesitant. As Rick had said, sending them to auction could indeed fetch a good price, but the timing was a big issue. It was only October now, and waiting until next year's spring auction would take several more months, but he needed money now. His family needed a portion, and he also had plans to renovate the old mansion in Manhattan.
Seeing Jin Muchen hesitating, Rick continued, "Of course, you can also choose not to send them to auction. There's another way, which is to find collectors who specialize in collecting these lamps and deal with them directly. Although you might not get the high prices of auction, considering the commissions and taxes to be paid to those big auction companies, this might also be a good option. It will save time, and the price might not differ much, and most importantly, it will save you a lot of trouble."
Hearing Rick's words, Jin Muchen thought this was a very good idea, then he asked Rick, "So, Rick, do you know any collectors who specialize in collecting these types of lamps?"
Rick chuckled, "Funny you should ask, I actually know a few."
"I've mentioned it before, Tiffany's lamps are actually very popular in the collector's market. It used to be limited to a small circle of collectors, but later, some famous figures started collecting these lamps, and Tiffany's lamps became popular in the American antique circle. It all started with a few members of The Beatles, then the guys from Led Zeppelin, followed by celebrities like Barbra Streisand and David Geffen, they all bought or recorded transactions of Tiffany lamps. So after being hyped by these celebrities in the circle, Tiffany lamps became more and more popular in the collector's market. But such social celebrities, at my level as an antique dealer, I can't reach..."
Rick then gave Jin Muchen a general idea of the popularity of Tiffany lamps in the American collector's circle. However, he shifted the conversation at the end, leaving Jin Muchen feeling a bit disheartened. Being young, Jin Muchen couldn't hide his emotions, and Rick could tell what he was worried about just by looking at his face, so he chuckled.
"However, don't worry. Although I, as an antique dealer of my level, can't reach those upper-class collectors, I know people who can. By the way, are you free today? I mean, do you have any other tasks to attend to? If you do, we can continue another day."
Hearing Rick's words, Jin Muchen's heart felt like it had just ridden a roller coaster, sinking back into his stomach.
"Of course, I'm free today."
Rick's words made Jin Muchen ponder. He realized that in the antique circle of Manhattan, Rick was just a small fish. He was a retailer, and if he wanted to promote any good items, he would have to contact those intermediaries. These intermediaries acted like wholesalers or district agents, as they could reach the end buyers willing to pay high prices, making them the ones truly in control of resources.
"Alright, I'll make a few calls." Rick picked up the phone on the desk, and as he dialed the number, Jin Muchen on the other end said to him, "Thank you, Rick. If the transaction is successful today, I'll give you ten percent."
Rick wasn't a godfather; he was just a friend of a godfather. The godfather helped him buy things because of their friendship. But expecting Rick to work for free wasn't reasonable. Although he was a good friend of the godfather, business was business.
Jin Muchen had been learning about antiques with the godfather for some time now, so he naturally knew the rules of the antique business circle in the United States. For some antiques placed on consignment in antique shops, the usual commission given to the store owner after a successful transaction was around fifteen percent. If the store owner acted as an intermediary, the commission would generally be five to eight percent, depending on the transaction price. The higher the transaction price, the higher the commission, as the intermediary would undoubtedly put in a lot of effort. Therefore, it was reasonable to give more.
But Jin Muchen offering ten percent directly was far beyond the usual market rate. The reason he was willing to offer such a high commission to Rick was twofold: first, he thought Rick was a nice guy and wanted to maintain a long-term business relationship with him; second, through Rick's information, he learned the approximate prices of these lamps. Naturally, he hoped that when the mid-range wholesalers came, Rick would help push up the prices of these lamps a bit more.
Although he couldn't send them to auction, the price difference couldn't be too large compared to what the auction would fetch; otherwise, he would end up losing.
Rick quickly finished the call and then looked at Jin Muchen with a smile. "Lilian will be here soon. She has an art gallery in Manhattan and many clients who specifically collect Tiffany lamps. Over the years, she has sold no less than thirty Tiffany lamps, so rest assured, she knows her stuff."
In the United States, general mid-to-low-end antique shops are called antique shops because they offer a variety of items. However, high-end antique shops are often named galleries or art galleries. This is because most of the items sold there are masterpieces of famous artists. The owners of these galleries or art galleries use these paintings to connect with high-end clients and then promote other antiques to them.
Hearing about Lilian's art gallery, Jin Muchen felt that this woman must have quite a background.
Indeed, after waiting in Rick's shop for only half an hour, a woman walked in. She was well-maintained, probably in her fifties, with red hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. She was dressed in a one-piece suit with a snow-white silver fox coat over it and a pair of high-heeled Prada shoes. Although she was not young, her attire immediately gave her an air of elegance, the typical image of a wealthy socialite in Manhattan.
"Damn traffic, sorry, Rick, I'm late!"
The woman began to complain about Manhattan traffic as soon as she entered. It was around five in the afternoon, and indeed, at this time, Manhattan traffic could be as bad as rush hour in some places back home.
"No worries, Lilian. You know our rules here. We usually close after eight in the evening."
Rick walked up and exchanged a few words with Lilian, but he didn't introduce Lilian to Jin Muchen. Jin Muchen, too, tactfully stayed aside, pretending to be a shop assistant.
This was the rule in the circle. Lilian was Rick's resource, and it was better not to talk to her until Rick was willing to introduce you.
"It's really cold. Would you like something to drink, Lilian? Coffee or hot chocolate?"
"Forget it. I'm in a hurry, Rick. Let's get to the point. Where are the items?"
Lilian didn't beat around the bush. Rick directly took her to his work desk and brought up the lamps from underneath the table.
"Take a look. They were consigned by a friend. It would be best if we had results today. If not, I'll have to contact someone else tomorrow."
Since he had become the intermediary, he had to handle things properly. Moreover, this was a deal worth millions, so even a percentage of the commission was significant.
"Oh no, Rick, you can't do this to me. This is good stuff! Don't worry, if everything is as it should be, we'll definitely have results tonight."