An Edge On The Market

Vlad was interested in the warm sunshine of South Florida and came to the states as a Ukranian.

He developed a knack for collecting things which soon turned into a hobby and in 2003 started to develop a collectors business for rare items including swords and knives and other significant nostalgic items from battles long ago. It is all about the “eye of the beholder” and with katanas from martial arts and army knives and protective masks it is no wonder Vlad is a man about town on trade shows as can be seen from his varied and very diverse collection.

Zev Antiques founded in 2012 features items that can currently be found on Ebay and in the plans and ideas in the works for the shop is ”a live auction“ to be held once a month in South Florida. It also happens to help that Vlad shares office space with the publisher of this article South Florida Sun Times. Trade show by trade show Vlad and Zev Antiques are accumulating quite the collection of unusual pieces and artifacts from times long ago as they carry in tradition by the actual pieces he sells ranging in price from $500-$3000. It is a very competitive market to be in and each piece of history is examined carefully, appraised at its going value. Currently the inventory features over 1000 items of the finest military antiques from all over the world. About 80 percent of sales are done online and 20 percent in person.

As far as defining the trade shows it is quite expansive and can leave one out of breathe chasing the deals taking place city to city, table to table, sword to sword etc. Vegas for one holds the Vegas Antiques Arms and Armor conference and falls in the middle of January just as everyone has returned from “holiday shopping.” In Vegas you will find that while the cost of attending an average trade show is $8 to $15 of course the opportunity cost awaits at getting there. And when Vlad arrives he arrives in style with four tables valued at $400 each which is not too steep though can get pricey. February follows with a Civil War show. And Vlad rounds out the 5 or 6 most important shows to attend. Baltimore which quickly follows on in mid-March is also quite the scene and is valued for its participants who are vetted and seasoned and know a thing or two with an upper edge on the competition with exclusive crowds.

The Allentown Pennsylvania Arms Show is scheduled and slated for February 25th and February 26th 2023 and with more shows on March 25th and 26th 2023 and finishing on April 22nd and 23rd all in the hopes of generating buzz and some real trades to go on. As far as international shows Zev Antiques likes to keep it on a national local basis as the majority of foreign shows bring their own representatives and representations to the states.

Modern combatatives is for a different crowd. Vlad goes as a dealer to the shows but is in it for the “history more than the art” he is in it to buy culture artifacts, remnants, memories and the items that reflect this history.

The shows culminate again city by city but the one not to miss is in Tulsa Oklahoma – a Military Show – 4000 tables – 50000 people attend daily. 4 days. The Tulsa Arms Show is scheduled twice a year starting with April 23, 2023. A celebration in its own right. There are also much larger shows like the Original Miami Beach Antique Show which go beyond the scope of weapons and of course the Antique District of Dania Beach which features all forms of antiques and celebrations of the past. The opportunity is to network.

At his peak Vlad was attending 30 shows ranging from California, Chicago, Texas, all over the map. Vlad has recently slowed down a little in terms of navigating the wide world of antique edge weaponry trade shows as he is a new father with his wife Julia and his Christmas born baby of 2022 Olivia who is now a month old as of this writing.

Zev Antiques currently operates on a limited but lean staff and its current goal is and in the next 5 years Vlad expects to have 12-15 employees running the operations behind the auctions and hopefully triple the size of the business. He plans to send delegates to the conferences in his stead to lighten some of the heavy lifting in the armored trade shows which all seem to be must see and must be at events. His items appeal to the first time adventurer (shows are generally open to the public) and the experienced professional.

The team at Zev Antiques will appraise, buy, and take on consignment individual military objects & collections. You can reach them directly at: 904-672-6790 or via email at: zevantiques@gmail.com. To view their current auction items visit: https://www.ebay.com/usr/zevantique &: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/auctioneer/8198/zevantiques/