Frequently asked questions · Stock of unique pieces

Does ordinary stock software work for antiques?

Usually not well. They are built around a quantity, and you always have one.

Usually not well. Ordinary stock software is built around an article number with a quantity behind it, a reorder point and a minimum stock level. With unique pieces the quantity is always one, there is nothing to reorder, and a minimum stock has no meaning.

Built for quantities, not for unique pieces

Ordinary stock software

Built around
  • article number
  • quantity
  • reorder point
  • minimum stock

With a unique piece

  • Quantityalways one
  • Reorder pointnothing to reorder
  • Minimum stockno meaning

You can make every piece its own article, but then you leave three quarters of the package unused.

You can force such a package by making every piece its own article. You then leave three quarters of it unused, and the hard part — keeping photo and purchase price together — stays just outside.

A till system is something else again: it counts quantities and takes payment. If you sell series that is exactly what you need. If you sell unique pieces you are working against it.

And a till system?

A till counts quantities

What do you sell?
series
Exactly what you need
unique pieces
You are working against it

Read next

Also worth knowing

Is Excel enough for your stock?

Often yes. If your stock is manageable and you know it by heart, if you sell mainly on the premises and keep the list alone, there is little reason to change. The tipping point is not a number of pieces, but the moment your photos become more important than your descriptions.

Read the full answer

How do you track stock of unique pieces?

Per piece. What you record is its own number, a photo, the purchase price and the date it came in. Those four together replace what an article number with a stock count does for series. Everything you want to know afterwards — your margin, your time to sell, your buying rate — follows from those four.

Read the full answer

Every piece with its purchase price, photo and origin in one place

Vintro Pro keeps, per piece, what you paid, when, and where it came from. Your stock list and your margin VAT build themselves while you work.

30 days free, no card number.