Antique Dealer
Antique dealers buy, date and sell old furniture, art and collectables, and much of the work comes down to judging what a piece is and what it is worth.
- Median salary*
- $65,000
4.3%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 690
1.4%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +6.8%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 46/wk
+6h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
Most work happens in a shop, at fairs and markets, or increasingly through online listings, and the job mixes buying, research and retail. It differs from general second-hand retail because value rests on age, maker and provenance, so dating a piece matters as much as selling it. Dealers are often sole traders or small family businesses, and the licence needed to buy and resell second-hand goods depends on the state.
How much do antique dealers earn?
The median full-time salary for an antique dealer is $65,000 per annum, before tax, up $13,700 since 2018.
What you earn depends on whether you are selling stock you own or taking commission on someone else's, since consignment and auction work pays a fee rather than the full margin. Dealers who specialise in one field, such as clocks, jewellery or Australian art, tend to hold better margins than those selling mixed stock. Rent, insurance, restoration and stand fees come out of that margin, which is why many dealers trade online or from a market stall before taking on a lease.
What does an antique dealer do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Sourcing stock at auctions, estate sales, house clearances and from private sellers
- Dating and authenticating pieces from maker's marks, construction methods and provenance
- Setting prices from condition, rarity and what comparable pieces have fetched recently
- Cleaning and light restoration of furniture, ceramics and metalware, or sending pieces to a conservator
- Running the shop or online listings and negotiating with collectors, decorators and casual buyers
What skills do antique dealers need?
Employers look for selling and negotiation, inventory management, merchandising and stock presentation, backed by eBay fluency and strong attention to detail.
Specialist skills
- Selling and negotiation
- Inventory management
- Merchandising and stock presentation
- Craft and handmade production
Software and tools
- eBay
- Shopify
- Xero
- Barnebys
- Microsoft Excel
General skills
- Attention to detail
- Client relationships and advisory
- Customer service
Is the job growing?
About 690 people work as antique dealers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 6.8% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become an antique dealer?
Here's the path most antique dealers take, step by step.
- 1Learn the stock before you learn the business
There is no required qualification, and most dealers start by handling other people's goods: sorting donations for an op shop, working the counter at an auction house, or helping an established dealer on market days. Recording what pieces actually sell for over a year or two builds the pricing instincts the job runs on.
- 2Check the licensing that applies where you trade
Second-hand dealer rules differ by state, and some require a licence or registration plus records of every purchase and the seller's identification. Check with the state consumer affairs or police body before you buy stock to resell.
- 3Pick up formal knowledge where it helps
Short courses and TAFE or university study in conservation, museum studies or fine art give you materials and condition knowledge that is hard to learn alone. Specialist fields such as clocks, jewellery and Asian ceramics usually mean further study and a mentor.
- 4Start trading small
Many dealers begin with a market stall or an online store, buying pieces they know and selling to a customer list they build themselves. Trading this way tests your buying and pricing without the rent of a shopfront.
- 5Take on premises and a specialty
A showroom, a fair circuit or a strong online presence comes once you have stock, cash flow and a name buyers recognise. Membership of a dealers association can help with authentication queries, fair applications and a shared code of practice.
Ready to apply as an antique dealer?
Whether you're working toward becoming an antique dealer or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can an antique dealer move to?
Moving into Retail Buyer typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $14,800 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Buyer Antique dealers bring sourcing, authentication and negotiation skills to buying roles that select and price stock for resale. | +$14,800 | 27% | reskill |
| Personal Shopper Antique dealers bring client advisory and product knowledge to personal shopping, helping customers choose pieces with history and value. | +$0 | 53% | short course |
| Visual Merchandiser Antique dealers bring an eye for period style and display to visual merchandising, arranging objects to attract buyers. | −$2,600 | 40% | reskill |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as an antique dealer?
The typical antique dealer is 59 years old; 52% are men, 46% work full-time, and full-timers average 46 hours a week.
- 59
- Median age
- 48%
- Female share
- 46%
- Full-time
- +6h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being an antique dealer?
The week has a slow, research-heavy rhythm most of the time and a sharp burst of activity around auction days and fairs. Dealers spend a lot of it alone with stock, cataloguing, cleaning and photographing, then switch to reading people quickly when a customer walks in. It suits someone who is drawn to objects more than process and can hold a price in a negotiation without pushing.
What people like
- Every piece is a small research project. Finding a maker's mark under a table rim and tracing it back to a workshop and a date is the part many dealers enjoy most.
- Buying well. A good buy pays off immediately: a piece picked up cheaply at a country auction and sold to the right collector weeks later.
- Regulars who come back. Collectors often return for years, and those relationships carry a dealership through quiet months more reliably than passing trade.
- Working for yourself. Ownership is common in this trade, so the hours, the specialties and the buying decisions are largely yours to set.
What people find hard
- Income moves with the market. A quiet quarter still brings rent, insurance and stand fees, so cash flow is the standing worry in a small dealership.
- Stock ties up money. A piece that sits on the floor for a year is capital doing nothing, and it is easy to buy for your own taste rather than your customers'.
- Fakes and mismatched pieces. Reproductions, furniture built from parts of several pieces and optimistic attributions turn up often, and getting one wrong costs both money and reputation.
- Weekends on your feet. Fairs, markets and auctions mostly fall on weekends, and full-time hours average 46 a week across the trade.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ antique dealers?
Retail Trade employs the largest share of antique dealers.
Top employing industries
- 1Retail Trade
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Year 12 or below | 38.8% | |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor degree | 19.8% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 14.3% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 14% | |
| Postgraduate | 7.8% |
Will AI replace antique dealers?
Antique dealing is moderately exposed to AI, mostly in the research half of the job: image search can suggest a maker or a period, and price databases pull recent comparable auction results in seconds. What it cannot do is inspect a piece in person, judge condition and repairs, or take responsibility for an attribution in front of a buyer, so the buying decision and the sale stay with the dealer.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Cataloguing and writing online listingsPhotographs, measurements, condition notes and descriptions can be drafted with AI tools and finished quickly, which speeds up the steady flow of lower-value stock heading to eBay or Shopify.30%high
- Researching makers, marks and comparable pricesImage search and auction result databases narrow a piece down fast, but the dealer still checks the mark against the physical object and decides which comparable sale is genuinely relevant.25%moderate
- Sourcing stock at auctions, house calls and estate salesJudging a lot from a photo is unreliable, so dealers go and look, and much of the buying still happens through conversation with families, executors and other dealers.25%low
- Advising customers and negotiating salesBuyers want to know where a piece came from, whether it will hold up in daily use and whether the price is fair, and that conversation is what closes the sale.20%low
Common questions about becoming an antique dealer
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do antique dealers earn?
Antique dealers earn a median of $65,000 per year before tax. That covers a wide range of arrangements, from salaried shop staff to owner-dealers whose income is whatever is left after stock, rent and restoration costs.
How do you become an antique dealer?
Most dealers learn on the job, handling stock at an auction house, an established dealership or a market stall before buying for themselves. A second-hand dealer licence or registration is required in some states, and specialist knowledge in a field such as clocks or ceramics usually comes from further study and a mentor.
Are antique dealers in demand?
Antique dealers are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 6.8% over the decade to 2035. Openings tend to appear when a dealer retires or sells a business rather than through advertised vacancies, so introductions and association contacts do a lot of the work. Selling online has widened where you can trade, which makes a start easier than when a shopfront was the only route.
Will AI replace antique dealers?
AI has taken over part of the research: image search can suggest a maker or period, and auction databases pull comparable results in seconds. It cannot inspect a joint for old repairs, judge how a surface will read in daylight, or stand behind an attribution when a buyer asks, so the buying decision stays with the dealer.
What can antique dealers move into?
Retail buying suits dealers who enjoy the sourcing side and want a salary, and it pays $14,800 more because both roles turn on knowing what will sell. Personal shopping pays about the same and uses the same product knowledge with clients who want help choosing. Many dealers instead stay and build their own business, buying and selling their own stock, which is often where earnings grow.
Do you need a licence to sell antiques?
It depends on the state, and the rules usually cover anyone who buys goods to resell rather than only shopfront traders. Where a licence applies, dealers must also keep records of each purchase and the seller's identification, so it is worth checking before you buy your first lot.
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