It’s October and that means the weather’s getting colder, the leaves are changing color, and the city’s armories are filling with thousands of people in search of Art Deco vases, 18th-century armoires, and 19th-century prints. With hundreds of dealers from around the world brought together in a single space, the fall antique, design, and art fairs can be an invaluable resource for those looking to decorate a new apartment. There’s endless browsing, possibilities for bargaining, and, in most cases, next-day or even same-day delivery – no need to wait the usual six-to-eight weeks or more for your new couch. But with so many fairs taking place in the next several weeks, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, or to get the “Modern Show” at the 69th Regiment Armory confused with the “International Art + Design Fair, 1900-2004” at the Seventh Regiment Armory.

The following is a guide to navigating the art and antique fairs, finding what you’re looking for, and surviving the ordeal.

Getting the Most Out of the Fairs

Diane Wendy, who runs the Wendy Management art and antique fairs with her daughter Meg, and Anna Haughton, director of Haughton International Fairs, offered the following tips for navigating and surviving the city’s fairs.
WHEN TO GO Unless you’re a collector looking for something specific, there’s no need to go on the first day of a fair for fear that the pickings will be too slim later on. Dealers tend to bring much more merchandise than they can show at one time, Ms. Wendy said, so their booths are replenished each day. If you want to avoid the crowds, fairs are least mobbed in the evening, Ms. Wendy said, noting that “dinner hour is wonderful,” although she also enjoys the excitement of the crowds on opening morning.
PREPARATION It pays to do a little advance work. “Do some research ahead of time in areas that interest you,” Ms. Haughton said. “You may want to find out who is exhibiting and check out their Web sites.”
TALKING TO EXHIBITORS “Always feel free to ask the exhibitor questions. They are more than happy to share their wealth of knowledge and are the greatest resource for novice collectors,” advised Ms. Haughton. “The dealer isn’t just interested in making a sale. They are passionate about what they sell and their enthusiasm is infectious. There is no such thing as a stupid question.”
BARGAINING “A dealer comes to sell his merchandise, not to take it home,” Ms. Wendy noted. It’s perfectly fine to ask a dealer if he can do any better on the price. “If the dealer can, he will,” Ms. Wendy said.
RETURNS Dealers at fairs often accept returns, so check with the vendor when buying. Rug dealers, in particular, generally let customers return a rug if they’re not happy with the way it looks once they’ve gotten it home, and many will even let customers take a rug home on loan for the evening to try it out. Any reputable dealer will take an item back if you have it appraised and find that it’s not what the dealer has promised. (“Of course, it has to be a bona fide appraiser, not just your neighbor or whoever,” Ms. Wendy said.) Ms. Wendy recommends always getting a bill of sale from the dealer that includes a full description of the piece; this way you’ll have a written account of what the dealer has said you’re getting.

THE FAIRS

THE INTERNATIONAL ART + DESIGN FAIR, 1900–2004
October 8–13, 11 a.m.–7:30 p.m. daily except Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. The Seventh Regiment Armory, Park Avenue at 67th Street, 212-642-8572, www.haughton.com. Admission: $16. Producer: Haughton International Fairs What to Expect An elegant, strictly vetted fair with 47 dealers from Australia, Europe, and America presenting high-end works of furniture, sculpture, glass, textiles, fine art, silver, ceramics, books, and more from the last 104 years. Exhibitors will include Chicago’s Douglas Dawson Gallery, offering ethnographic art; London’s Sladmore Gallery, with fine bronze sculptures, and New York’s Primavera Gallery, whose offerings include a box by Salvador Dali in 18-karat gold, ruby, and emeralds.
WENDY PARK AVENUE ANTIQUES SHOW
October 14–17, Thursday, 3–7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11–7 p.m. Wallace Hall, Park Avenue at 84th Street, 212-288-2588, www.wendyantiquesshows.com. Admission: $10. Producer: Wendy Management What to Expect A relatively small and accessible but high-quality collection of 35 European, American, and Asian dealers with specialties in furniture, antique boxes, clocks, silver, paintings, and fine jewelry, at a wide range of prices, including some on the affordable end of the spectrum.
THE MODERN SHOW
October 15–17, Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.–7 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. 69th Regiment Armory, Lexington Avenue at 26th Street, 212-255-0020, www.stellashows.com. Admission: $12. Producer: Stella Show Management What to Expect One hundred exhibitors of 20th-century design, including Art Deco, Midcentury Modern, Arts & Crafts, and Scandinavian furniture, art, lighting, and books. New York City shops and galleries such as ReGeneration, R. 20th Century, and Mondo Cane will be showing at the fair; expect to see plenty of pieces by Knoll, Eames, and Miller.
INTERNATIONAL FINE ART AND ANTIQUE DEALERS SHOW
October 22–28, 11 a.m.–7:30 p.m. daily except Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

The Seventh Regiment Armory, Park Avenue at 67th Street, 212-642-8572, www.haughton.com. Admission: $16. Producer: Haughton International Fairs
What to Expect Probably the city’s most lavish, prestigious, and well-attended fall fair (more than 22,000 people visited last year), this show features museum-quality pieces (and prices). Seventy top antiques dealers from around the world will present objects, furniture, and fine art, ranging from a Greek black-figure neck amphora with scenes showing events from the Olympic Games, Athens, c.530-520 B.C.E., to an English giltwood mirror c.1750 designed by carver and designer Matthias Lock, one of the leading figures of the English rococo, and carved by James Hill.
GRAMERCY PARK ANTIQUES SHOW
October 22–24, Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.– 7 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. 69th Regiment Armory, Lexington Avenue at 26th Street, 212-255-0020, www.stellashows.com. Admission: $12. Producer: Stella Show Management
What to Expect Close to 100 exhibitors primarily specializing in 17th- to 19th-century European and American furnishings, mirrors, textiles, ceramics, and paintings.