Antiques dealer reveals how he went from minimum wage to running his own £350,000 eBay business after setting himself a new year’s resolution
- Phil Mires, 20, from Chertsey, Surrey, was desperate to get out of ‘dead-end’ job
- He started an eBay store selling VHS tapes he had picked up at car boot sales
- Launched with £2800 from working overtime and cashing in savings built up
An antiques dealer has revealed how he built a £350,000 company dealing works of art from Banksy, Pablo Picasso and David Hockney, after setting himself a New Year’s resolution to leave his minimum wage job.
Phil Mires, 20, from Chertsey in Surrey was determined to get out of his ‘dead-end’,£5.25 an hour, zero-hours contract job as a golf operative when he started his antiques and collectables business on eBay.
Scraping together £2800 from working overtime and cashing in savings he’d built up from purchasing at car boot sales the young entrepreneur invested in goods to sell online.
Five years on his store, PM Antiques & Collectables, is now valued at £350,000, with over 1300-items currently on sale on eBay and its own website.
Phil Mires, 20, from Chertsey in Surrey was determined to get out of his ‘dead-end’ zero-hours contract job when he started his antiques and collectables business on eBay
Mr Mires, now 25, said: ‘It’s been incredibly hard work but my efforts are beginning to pay off.
‘I supplemented my income by getting a job as a porter at a local auction house so that I could plough any money I made back into the business.
‘Then I started helping out with cataloguing and valuing, and by then I’d well and truly got the bug.’
Mr Mires started small, offering items for around £10 but was soon offering valuable pieces including a set of rare Beatrix Potter first edition books worth £25,000, a Mont Blanc pen worth £10,000, a series of rare glass pieces by Lalique and Swarowski, together worth over £30,000, and a Jim Clark Chronograph Valjoux watch worth £6,000.
Five years on his store, PM Antiques & Collectables, is now valued at £350,000, with over 1300-items currently on sale on eBay and its own website
René Lalique, ‘Serre Livres Coq Houdan’, pair cockerel mascot bookends No. 1161, introduced in 1929 – £7999.99
He even has a terracotta piece by Pablo Picasso priced at £1700 and has dealt in works by David Hockney and Banksy.
The young entrepreneur, who left college at 18 after studying Maths, Physics, Law and Design said: ‘I love it all, whether it’s a valuable piece of art worth four or five figures, a retro movie poster available for a few hundred or a collectable toy figure for a tenner.’
Mr Mires says its tough to pick out a best buy over the past five years, but that he has fond memories of a signed L.S. Lowry print picked up at auction last year for £600 that sold only weeks later for around £4,000.
But it hasn’t all been plain sailing with numerous ‘set backs and delays’ incurred before he finally set up his own website apart from his eBay store.
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973), Madoura terracotta visage medallion, circa 1954 – £1699.99 (left). Doctor Who – The Space Museum, original 1965 series Q episode 1 Xerox script – £499.99 (right)
Looking back at his time on minimum wage Mr Mires said: ‘It’s amazing to think that just five years ago I was earning £5.25 an hour as a general operative at a golf club, with very limited hours over the winter.
‘When I deciding to start my business I had absolutely no clue where to begin because I had no previous experience or business qualifications.
‘I’d never even had a ‘proper’ job and as I had no relatives with a self-employed background, guidance was incredibly limited.’
With no clue what direction his life would take the bright youngster decided to take a a range of A-levels – maths, law, product design and physics – hoping that they would help him discover his passion, ‘but that never happened’.
Florence Barlow for Doulton Lambeth stoneware vase, circa 1886 – £299.99 (right). Archibald Thorburn (British, 1860-1935), songbirds beside a nest, watercolour on paper, signed – £1299.99 (left)
Inspiration finally came one day while he was tidying up at home after finding an unexpected quarter.
Mr Miles said: ‘I was clearing out some cupboards and found a load of old VHS tapes from my childhood.
‘I was about to chuck them out when I thought of looking at whether they might be worth anything on eBay.
‘I was amazed that some titles were fetching £5, £10, £15 or more. Suddenly the cupboard of old videos was worth over £100. That’s probably what first got me thinking.’
Mr Miles soon found that no one else wanted these old VHS children’s videos at car boot fairs and charity shops, so he spent his weekends buying them up and selling them on eBay.
Working two jobs to sustain himself the 20-year-old said his success was down to hard work.
He said: ‘You certainly have to work hard, but the results show it’s worth it. My work schedule over the last 3-4 years has been manic – in essence I have two full-time jobs.
‘I would generally work 9-5 Monday to Friday as an auction cataloguer/valuer and run my business for 5 or 6 hours before/after work, as well as the entire weekend.
‘Understandably, this has had a detrimental effect on my social life.’
Beatrix Potter, ‘The Tale of the Faithful Dove’, rare first edition published by Frederick Warne & Co. 1955, limited 100 numbered copies. PM Antiques & Collectables acquired around 70% of the release – £399.99 each
Lucie Rie (British, 1902-1995), stoneware bowl with speckled white glaze – £3599.99 (left). Montblanc, John Harrison, 18k gold skeleton fountain pen, limited edition 20/333 – £9999.99 (right)
Mr Miles ploughs all the money he makes from the business back into new stock.
He said: ‘I live off the money I earn from my PAYE job whilst re-investing any business profits into more stock – an accumulator effect.
‘I’ve never seen the point in withdrawing my business earnings only for it to sit idle in the bank earning very little interest.
‘Re-investing in more stock is a far more lucrative option. Obviously I would set finances aside for tax returns and other upcoming expenses.’
He claims his work ethic and focus was inherited from his grandad who grew up during the Second World War and told him stories of what it was like to live off rations and get just an orange for Christmas.
His advice for those wishing to change their lives is: ‘It’s no good waiting around for something to turn up; if you want to change your life you have to do it yourself’
Enicar Sherpa Graph ‘Jim Clark’ 300 Chronograph wristwatch, circa 1967 – £5999.99 (left). Titanic (1997) – R.M.S. Titanic ‘White Star Line’ crewman’s jumper with reversed logo, from the James Cameron film epic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet – £999.99
Mr Miles adds: ‘When you think about it, we haven’t got it half as tough, and if you don’t waste what you have, it’s amazing what you can build.
‘I’m not saying it’s been a bed of roses, but I knew I had to do something to get out of the rut and turn my life around and the answer turned out to be right in front of me.’
Phil’s long-term ambition is to become the UK’s leading online retailer of antiques and collectables, making the market more attractive to a younger and fresher audience.
His advice for those wishing to change their lives is: ‘It’s no good waiting around for something to turn up; if you want to change your life you have to do it yourself.
‘You have to be prepared to put the work in, but if you are focused, you will find that you can make a go of it.’
Phil Mires’ five top tips for success
- Hard work and self-discipline. Put in the time and effort. Be prepared to work unsociable hours and go without holidays. Jobs won’t get done by themselves.
- Patience and determination. Business is an everlasting marathon, not a sprint. Remain determined that you’ll achieve success in the long haul. There will undoubtedly be challenges on the way but that’s just life, a learning curve.
- Time and lifestyle management. Plan ahead to ensure that you are effectively optimising your time. Maintain a healthy lifestyle to reduce the risk of sick days. Time is money.
- Don’t sit still – you’ll get left behind by your competitors. Assess/raise your goals and ambitions regularly. Always look ahead for ways to improve and evolve.
- If you’ve set yourself a budget, stick to it. Don’t get carried away by the heat of the moment as this jeopardises your profit – it’s easily done at auction. If you’re easily led, leave a commission bid instead.
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