Antiques & collectables, maximising your expertise, exploiting your niche
When I set up Collectablefish a few years ago a few of my friends and colleagues thought I had lost the plot! Why? they would ask, have you set up a website that is dedicated to fish related antiques & collectables. Well there’s several reasons and I’m going to run through a few of them.
I like fish
Yep, I do! I used to keep them, I used to fish for them, I used to eat them, however
- I don’t keep them anymore since I (now) think they are best left to live in their own natural environment
- I don’t fish anymore (for many reasons)
- I don’t eat fish anymore (since I’ve gone off the taste & texture)
A small fish in a (very) big pond.
Consider the total amount (globally) of people who might have the same interest as you, it may run into hundreds, thousands or hundreds of thousand (unless you have a really bizarre fixation such as collecting artificial limbs!) and this is the key when it comes to selling within your niche, you already have a ready made focussed audience in which to engage with.
How many times have you come across a shop (online or bricks and mortar) which sells ‘general items’ or ‘bric a brac’? if your are anything like me then it will be many times, however would you enter on the off chance you’ll find something you like? maybe, but probably not if you don’t have the time or belief that there will be something there with your name on it. On the other hand would you pass up the opportunity to explore a shop that you know will be full of items that you like, that you collect? … I thought not.
So you see, I might be a small fish in terms of the thousands of other things which are far more popular that I could sell (the big pond) but I specialise to cater for those who, in my case, like fish or are in need of a fish related item be it antique fish plates, fish pottery, or perhaps some fishing memorabilia.
