AuctionBytes-Update Number 12 - April 23, 2000 - ISSN 1528-6703
ABOUT AUCTIONBYTES-UPDATE
AuctionBytes-Update is a free
newsletter for online auction buyers and sellers. AuctionBytes-Update will show you how to make money and is useful to anyone who uses online auctions -- business people, collectors and hobbyists.
AuctionBytes-Update is published by email twice a month. (Print it out for easier reading.)
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1) From the Editor
2) ARTICLE: Antiques Shops Web Pages
3) ARTICLE: Andale Auction-Management Software
4) COLLECTOR'S CORNER: Advertising Memorabilia Part 2
5) ARTICLE: Spam - Think Twice Before You Send It!
6) ARTICLE: No Thanks, I'm On a No-Spam Diet
7) FOUND IN THE ATTIC - Peanuts & Crackerjacks:
Baseball Rookie Cards
8) ARTICLE: Auction Peeves
9) AUCTIONBYTES.COM READER QUESTION
10) REMINDER: Proxy Bidding
11) Selected News
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Win $50! - Announcing
AuctionBytes.com's First Ever Special Promotion!!
Go to the Recommendation Page on our site at http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/Recommend/recommend. html
and read about how to send a sample issue of our mah-velous newsletter to friends and family! For the next 2 weeks we'll be keeping count. Whoever recommends the most people that SUBSCRIBE will win $50! OK, it's not an earth-shattering amount, but hey, we're a free publication!
It's important to remember that we're not counting total recommendations, we're counting SUBSCRIPTIONS, so don't be tempted to mass email everyone in the New Jersey White Pages (but a little subtle
pressure on friends and family would be appreciated).
This promotion will run through May 6th and winner will be announced in the May 7th Issue of AuctionBytes-Update. Along with the $50, the winner
will get a firm handshake and a continuing subscription to AuctionBytes-Update! So Good Luck, and Go Get 'em!
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1) FROM THE EDITOR
Maggie the Auction Hound made a donation to the Buddy Dog Humane Society's 7th Annual Auction being held on April 24 at the Marlboro Country Club in
Marlboro, Massachusetts. She chose a lovely oil painting, and we hope it will raise lots of money for a GREAT cause. (Call Buddy Dog at 781-237-4747 for more information.) For those of you who don't know
Maggie, she is our 9-month-old beagle and is basically the brains behind the AuctionBytes.com operation.
I hope you will take advantage of the special offer we are running for the next two weeks (see
above offer for a chance to win $50). We appreciate all those people who have told their friends about us, and hope you will continue to spread the word.
I was discussing with one of my writers other
ways of getting the word out about AuctionBytes.com. He suggested that I ask people to add a note about AuctionBytes in their sig (signature) file so that anyone they contact will see our URL.
A sig
file is the optional tag line at the bottom of each email message you send out where people usually write their name and contact info. I use the Eudora email program, and it is very easy to set up a
signature file. Every time I send out an email, it automatically adds the following to the end of the message:
=====================
Ina Steiner
Editor, AuctionBytes.com
Steiner Associates, PO Box 668, Natick, MA 01760 Tel. 508-655-5697
--> Sign up to receive AuctionBytes-Update, a free email newsletter, at http://www.auctionbytes.com
So, if you would like to help spread the word about this
newsletter, feel free to add a note to the end of *your* email messages.
In a similar fashion, if you have your own personal or professional Web page, please link to us. David has created a special
button that he would be happy to send you, or just add a hyperlink!
NEWS: We have decided to participate in Amazon.com's affiliate program. We will be adding links to books on the Web site to make it
easier for you to order. And everytime someone clicks through from our Web site and makes purchases on the Amazon.com Web site, we will receive a small commission.
There are some great articles in
this issue of AuctionBytes-Update, including articles on spam, auction-management software and how to create your own Web site! Keep reading. And please remember to tell your friends about
AuctionBytes-Update!
-Ina Steiner, Editor
ina@auctionbytes.com
PS: We post all past issues of AuctionBytes-Update on the Web site. You can read them at http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/email_newsletter.html
(or just go to the home page,
http://www.auctionbytes.com, and click on "Email Newsletter").
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2) ARTICLE: Antiques Shops Web Pages
By Edith Reynolds
The Internet provides a formidable sales frontier that, once mastered, gives an average antiques dealer an unparalleled opportunity for growth. Whether you're working out of a spare
bedroom or a Madison Ave. showplace, you can create a dynamic Web page that attracts customers and increases sales.
Forget that you have little or no computer experience. It doesn't matter that you
haven't typed a thing since high school. And you needn't worry that html commands look suspiciously similar to a ninth-grade algebra test. Success is within reach if you follow a few simple suggestions.
Start with two cliches: FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT and TIME IS MONEY.
A positive first impression takes place in a split second. In that second, the customer sums up what you sell and the
professionalism you employ. It is up to you to determine a suitable "style" for your Web page. One classic image is heavenstobetsy.com. Peach tones give way to an inviting wallpaper embossed with
the company name. Take notes on how quickly you discover where you are and what this company sells. Your eye is
immediately engaged and this gives a little breathing room while the graphics appear on the
screen. Heavenstobetsy.com evokes the loveliness of nineteenth century romanticism, yet, this positive first glimpse pales as you scroll down to confront the meat of the message. The one criticism of this
page is that the dreamy design gives way to a nightmare because the small typeface becomes illegible against the busy background. A solid color panel behind the words, as you see in the company logo, would
be the quick fix needed to make this a nearly perfect Web page.
Time counts for customers reaching your Web page. If they're left waiting for glitzy images to load, you'll find them scurrying
elsewhere. And that means lost sales, no matter how much effort you put in to making a sharp image.
Antiquetalk.com is a good example of speed and clarity. Wayne Mattox developed this site to augment
his antiques business in Woodbury, CT. As a 20-year veteran of the trade, a former president of the Woodbury Antiques Association, and a regular columnist with the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper,
Mattox was one of the first antiques dealers with a Web page in Connecticut. "Years ago I knew the future for the antiques business strongly depended on the Internet."
He was right.
Antiquetalk.com has registered as many as 60,000 hits each week, broadening Mattox' customer base worldwide and extending his buying range by at least 500 miles. He attributes this success to a simple,
memorable name and the skill of Lion Design. Each week Mattox works to make the page current. "All I do is take a current photograph and reduce the size to the smallest high quality resolution, same as
I'd do for
eBay," he states. It's important to make the site speedy to load, he adds, and advises designers to shun what he calls "gobbledygook."
Why avoid bells and whistles?
Mattox explains, "I don't think people who work intimately with computers are impressed by tacky gimmickry. They're practical people." He also avoids allowing other people to attach their name to
his site, despite the growing number of offers he receives from big-name companies. His opinion is that the site is meant to encourage customers to buy from you, not provide a portal elsewhere.
Steve Blenus of stevescollectibles.com (www.stevescollectibles.com) disagrees and appreciates the monthly stipend his contractual affiliations provide. His bright site portrays plenty of pizzazz, using color and whimsy to tout
the collectibles and screen savers he regularly sells on eBay. The highlight of this page is a live chat window where you can talk to Steve online. "I strive to be different than the others," he
readily admits.
Before you get the impression white is right and shun the darker colors, take a look at Edith Weber Antique Jewelry at antique-jewelry.com. Barry Weber created a luscious backdrop of
swirled Prussian blue satin overlayed with brushed gold metallic lettering that creates a dramatic message. Notice the top of the page. The Webers cleverly sidestep a potential problem with the suggestion
that this site appears best on Netscape and includes a link to get you there. This is one of the drawbacks to the dimmer hues-- what appears spectacular on one browser may be muddied on another.
Once
you determine the look you want it's time to start construction. The quickest and easiest solution may be to join a collective site like antiquesource.com. This acts as an online group shop with each member
receiving a standard Web page filled with pertinent information. But this solution won't distinguish an individual site and should be temporary at best. Another quick option may be to contact your Internet
provider to see
if they provide Web page space with drop and click templates you can use.
A company like valueweb.com targets small businesses, giving ample space for image storage and neat
packages that allow for multiple mailboxes, online purchasing with a shopping cart, credit card services, and all the accoutrements for conducting business online. This will also give you the space for a Web
page that you have to provide. Their fees range from $19.95 to $49.95 per month.
You can always take a leap and look for a professional Web page designer, but that can be costly, running anywhere from
$3,500 to $25,000, according to New England Internet Publishing's Web page net-modules.com. Or, you can construct your own Web page using a program like Microsoft Word and html.
Yes, you CAN do html
if you visit a couple of sites and practice what they teach. The following sites are useful: htmltips.com for an overall lesson, home.flash.net/~drj2142/pages/rgbhex.html for a hexadecimal color chart, and
the Big Blue Post on eBay's book chat room for the basics and creating tables. Steve Blenus' site took about two hours to construct. "I use Netscape Composer, which contains a nice friendly html editor.
Sometimes I use Cutehtml to supplement (a piece of Freeware that came with my ftp software- cuteftp)." Globalscape.com provides this addition to their
cuteftp service.
Ftp is the file
transfer protocol that takes what you compose and transfers it from your computer to your Web site. It works in the same way as when you load graphics onto eBay except that instead of the usual .jpg at the
end of the file name, you'll use a .htm. Steve explains, "Usually the software shows a graphic of your hard drive files on one side of the screen (called the local location) and your Web site location
files (called the remote location) on the other side of the screen. You choose the files from your hard drive and click send them to the right side (your Web site). You can delete or rename them at your
remote location in the same manner."
Now that you know the basics, you can give it a try or at least begin some intelligent browsing for ideas. You'll soon discover that it's easy to learn the
basic steps to transform your business into anything from a homespun general store to a sophisticated salon. Once you're through, sit back and let the world see what you've accomplished. You'll know it's a
success when the orders come in and you're sending merchandise from Duluth to Timbuktu!
Edith Reynolds is a former newspaper and magazine writer who owns an antiquarian bookstore with her husband,
Dan. For the past nine years, they have specialized in early Americana and rare bindings. Edith is responsible for online sales. In addition to their bookstore, The John Bale Book Company, Waterbury, CT,
they sell on eBay (eBay: TAXTER) and at book fairs.
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3) ARTICLE: Andale Auction-Management Software
By Win Bent
Andale (Spanish for "hurry up") is a Web-based service for placing and bidding on auctions (not the same ones, obviously!), tracking them, sending mail when they close,
and even archiving them long after the auction site itself has forgotten them. Andale can post to eBay, Amazon, and Yahoo, and it says they will add more sites in the future.
Andale charges a fee of
2.95% of the winning bid price on successful, closed transactions; there is a minimum of $0.10 per auction. Andale charges a maximum of $30 per item for cars, trucks, RVs, collector cars, and real estate.
There are no fees for listing auctions or for image hosting.
Signing up is a fairly involved procedure because of all the information Andale uses to support your auctions. In addition to logins and
passwords, they collect your name and shipping address, your auction preferences (forms of payment, shipping options, etc), and even set up a "boilerplate" email message to be sent to the winners
of your auctions.
Setting up auctions is fairly straightforward. They offer several "areas" within a description, which can be a bit confusing at first - what's the difference between
"Fine Print" and "Notes on Condition"? When I clicked "Preview this item" before completely filling out the form, they reprinted the form with an error message at the top -
nice, but they positioned the page so that I couldn't see the message! They offer your choice of
templates and colors, or you can use your own HTML - a nice variety of choices.
Andale does not
offer hit counters; at least, I didn't see any mention of them. Once you've set up your auction, you can then schedule when it will be posted to eBay (within a two-hour period); it's nice to be able to
set up several auctions over the space of a day or two, then have them all start close together...or vice versa.
The Image Vault is simple to use. You can upload multiple images to the Andale site,
then select from them when setting up an auction. (I was a bit confused over the images it automatically loaded.)
While your auctions are running, Andale tracks them all on one page, along with
yet-to-be-posted auctions, and those that have ended and require your attention.
Once your auctions have ended, Andale can send mail to the buyer, directing them to a "Web Checkout" page,
which shows the item, the closing price, and mailing address for payments. (In some cases, it shows the shipping rate, but only if you've provided that information in the first place.) It also gives them
links to your current auctions - a nice little bit of advertising. Andele provides you, the seller, with a page summarizing your completed auctions, and allows you to track which have been paid, which you've
shipped, etc. I would like to see dates on those items, e.g., "Sent May 1," but this is still a pretty handy feature.
What's the drawback? Well, like many sites, they add their advertising
to your auction - I can live with that, especially since eBay's new rules made them shrink the logo. However, I got the overall feeling that they were taking more control over my auctions than I really
wanted; I got the feeling that *my* auctions were not really *mine.*
To try Andale for yourself, go to
http://www.andale.com.
Wilson (Win) H. Bent, Jr., has written about auction management software for AuctionBytes-Update. He is
also the AuctionBytes.com Collector's Corner Editor for Comics. Win learned to read from Superman comics and has been collecting off and on ever since. Raised in Ohio, he lived in Boston, New Jersey and
California before settling in Austin, Texas. Win's eBay handle is whbjr. Email Win at collector@haus.org
.
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4) COLLECTOR'S
CORNER: Cleaning and Repairing Advertising Memorabilia - Part 2
by Marlene Earle
Last issue, I answered some questions about cleaning and repairing advertising collectibles, with a focus on
soda-pop memorabilia, my specialty. In this article, I'll share some "success" and "heartbreaker" stories.
What is my best success story of finding a piece that looked banged up or
damaged and having it turn out looking really great?
That has happened more than once. I have a very perceptive eye now. I love it when a sign looks horrible to someone, and it's only a matter of
cleaning and polishing it up a bit. The end results are amazing at times. My favorite Coke machine story is as follows:
My husband knew a guy at work who had an old Coke machine he was giving away.
There was a catch - this machine was in his garage and the whole building had been destroyed by fire. All that was left was the machine. This once-nice little Coke machine was all gray with absolutely no
paint on it. This was back over 15 years ago and, at the time, I was a collector of vintage signs and never had sparked an interest in the machines. Until this day.
I hurried over with my younger
brother in his pickup truck and took the Coke machine home. It wasn't so bad, even though all the decals, paint and wiring and were burnt to a crisp. The mechanism was still there for the vending part and
the drum was still inside.
I was so excited that I immediately started taking it apart. After all, I wanted this new trophy in my home right away. The one thing I didn't do was label the parts. Wrong!
Thank goodness I married a guy that knew how things like mechanics work, because I sure made a lot of extra work for him. (Shhh,..don't tell him but I think he's a genius. As a matter of fact, he can take
any bag of bolts that was once a motor or a coin mechanism or even an old mechanical toy, and I guarantee he can fix it. He is amazing!)
The end result was that we restored that machine to
better-than-original new condition, and it was our first on a long list of many restorations. It was a VMC33. I later sold it to upgrade to another for my collection for $2,000. Not bad for an investment of
$75!
Along with the success stories come the disasters. Do I have a "heartbreaker" story of having damaged a piece myself?
Yes, I sold an automotive 1-gallon oil can a few months
back. I had a great picture of it on eBay. On my auction's last day, I noticed that the can was dirty and sticky and still had oil inside. I drained the oil, put a cork plug in the hole on the top and
thought to myself, 'Why don't you wipe it down?' I did, I sure did! Big mistake!
I put this very nice cleaner on the can and instantly - before my very eyes - one side of the can's entire paint began
flowing down the side, as if it were Niagara Falls! Well, what was I to do? I had sold the can and it was to be shipped that day. I looked at the can and realized, what a mess. The complete side was gone.
Vanished into thin air! So what was the best thing to do? I wiped it dry. Packaged it carefully. Put a very sorry and sincere note inside and mailed the bidder his full refund including shipping and sent it
to him at my cost. Those things do happen and they are never forgotten.
Marlene Earle (ebay:
CCMOOR@aol.com) has an extensive collection of antiques and all types of advertising memorabilia. She recently sold her antiques shop to
focus on online auction selling. Marlene is the Advertising Memorabilia Editor for Collector's Corner. Email her at vintagesigns@aol.com.
Visit the Collector's Corner section of the Web site for
current and past articles along with reference sources and links!
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ADVERTISEMENT -- Your ad could appear here!!
Limited space available in AuctionBytes-Update newsletter. Our rates are low now as we build circulation - take advantage. We'll treat our early
advertisers right in the future for helping us in this early stage. Please email
advert@auctionbytes.com for more information.
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5) ARTICLE: Spam - Think Twice Before You Send It!
By Ina Steiner
The following
paragraph is taken from the Andale Web site. It describes how its auction-management software can help you keep track of your customers:
"A bidder who wins your auction becomes your customer -
and the end of the sale doesn't have to mean the end of your business relationship. Andalé makes it easy to make new sales to old customers. When you register, Andalé gathers the user IDs and email addresses
of your customers and organizes them into a database. Search this database for likely buyers of new items, or use it to keep track of repeat customers who deserve special attention."
Sounds
reasonable. If someone has purchased an item from you, they might be interested in knowing about similar items you have in the future. But where do you draw the line between helpful email alerts and spam?
After reading a recent article in Salon (
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/04/19/state_spam/index.html), I suggest you take the matter seriously. Did you know that some
states in the U.S. have enacted legislation that imposes stiff penalties on spam? I just became aware of an antiques-related site that sent some "well-intentioned bulk e-mail" and had their servers
shut down for a week by their host provider. "It turns out, that sending blind, uninvited
e-mails in or to the state of Virginia is illegal. I suppose we were lucky not to have to do jail time, and
were satisfied with a simple fine, and the promise not to do it again. We apologize to our visitors about the outage, and promise not to let it happen again."
In addition, unsolicted email can be
just plain annoying. In the next article, Hartriono Sastrowardoyo describes his reaction to getting some well-intentioned, but unsolicited, email. So, be careful before you hit the send button!
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6) ARTICLE: No Thanks, I'm On a No-Spam Diet
By Hartriono Sastrowardoyo
I bought a
computer mouse through eBay. One day, I received an email from that seller with a 12K file attached. The file, when opened, contained a story on how the U.S. Postal Service was going to impose a surcharge on
emails. I replied (a bit hot under the collar) to the sender that the story was false and that he should check
www.usps.gov - they have a disclaimer stating that this isn't so.
The sender's response to my email said, in part, "I guess
you're right. I checked it further, and found out this e-mail has been around for a while and there's no truth to it. What if it was true? Wouldn't you want to know about it? I didn't know if it was [true],
but thought I would let people decide for themselves."
Well, no, I wouldn't want to know about it.
Let's take that 12K file. I have dealt with about 1,000 people total buying and selling
on eBay. If all 1,000 people felt that I had to decide for myself whether or not that email message was true, that would mean my mailbox would be clogged up with 12 Megs worth of messages. And that's just
one message. As a comparison, my Web site space is limited to 10 Megs.
If we assume that these 1,000 people also think I want to sign up with PayPal,...or that I want to get paid to surf the Web using
AllAdvantage.com,...or that I could use a service to accept credit cards for my auctions,...or that I can brighten up someone's day by forwarding the message on to ten of my friends,...that's four more
messages. (We've all received these kinds of email messages from eBayers we've done transactions with.)
If all those emails contain 12K file attachments, that's a total of 60 megs for all five
examples. For another comparison, my Zip drive disks I use to back up files has a capacity of 100 Megs. Do you want to wade through 60 Megs of messages? Can your server stand an onslaught of such a magnitude?
If those numbers are too abstract, I'll use another example. I received a forwarded email, asking me to pass it on, because "Intel and AOL are now discussing a merger which would make them the
largest Internet company, and in an effort to make sure that AOL remains the most widely used program, Intel and AOL are running an E-mail beta test. When you forward this E-mail to friends, Intel can and
will track it (if you are a Microsoft Windows user) for a two-week time period." There was also a rate schedule on how much would be paid depending on how many people were contacted, and the whole
message, when printed out, ran to 24 pages! Most of it was headers, because the message also implored people "do not delete any part of this e-mail.... All names must appear." Let's take my 1,000
buyers and sellers and multiply that by the 24 pages-that's 24,000 sheets of paper, or 48 reams, or almost 5 cases of paper - just for this one example! I don't have the time to sift through that much
information. I doubt most people do.
So, take me off your list. Furthermore, don't pass on information without checking into it first. While it may be okay to email a person if they had an interest in
a particular item ("Hey, you had bid on an item from me and lost, thought you might be interested in a similar item I have up."), don't assume that the person on the other end will be interested in
any other sort of solicitation.
As for me, I'll get my information from TV and the newspaper. But do email me when you get that check from Intel, okay?
Hartriono Sastrowardoyo can be found on
eBay (along with Michelle Mango, with whom he shares the account) under "therazoredge". A freelance writer, his Web site is located at
http://razoredge.home.sprynet.com/hots.html. He is still awaiting his check
from Intel he was told he would receive 6 weeks ago.
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7) FOUND IN THE ATTIC - Peanuts &
Crackerjacks: Baseball Rookie Cards
by Michele Alice, Contributing Editor
They say that "April is the cruellest month" (T.S. Eliot, The Wasteland). Wars (American Revolution, Civil),
assassinations (Lincoln, King), and natural and man-made disasters (San Francisco earthquake, Chernobyl) all began or happened in April. Even the Titanic sank in April.
So what does all this have to
do with Found in the Attic? Well, April is also the month when Boston Red Sox fans begin to dream of winning a World Series,... (It's SO CRUEL!) All of which made me think of players and baseball cards
and--VOILA!--Rookie baseball cards! So here they are - got any of these in *your* attic? (Search conducted on eBay on 4/20/00.)
Sammy Sosa Rookie Cards
Number of Items (Lots): 319
High: $200
Low: $0.99
Average: $16.11
Sell-Through Rate: 63%
Mark McGwire Rookie Cards
Number of Items (Lots): 346
High: $1,950
Low: $1.04
Average: $44.22
Sell-Through Rate: 68%
Cal Ripken Rookie Cards
Number of Items (Lots): 95
High: $227.50
Low: $0.99
Average: $40.84
Sell-Through Rate: 80%
Ken Griffey (Jr.) Rookie Cards
Number of Items (Lots): 392
High: $2,650
Low: $0.55
Average: $54.69
Sell-Through Rate: 79%
Roger Clemens Rookie Cards
Number of Items (Lots): 62
High: $87.26
Low: $4.25
Average: $16.09
Sell-Through Rate: 73%
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8) ARTICLE: Auction Peeves
by David Steiner
OK, I'll
admit it. I turned 40 last year and it's turned me into a crank. Not that I didn't have all the makings of one when I was in my 30's, but flipping over another digit on life's little odometer has brought out
all my potential as a irascible, middle-aged guy. Things that I used laugh off, now irritate me like canvas underwear.
As a seller I try to take a grin-and-bear-it attitude. After all, the customer is
always right...right? But between you and me, there are some incredibly annoying parts to this online auction thing and here's just ten of them:
10) People who use wallpaper backgrounds in their
auctions. They're slow-loading, and most would give Ken Kesey flashbacks.
9) Buyers who include nothing but a check or money order in an envelope. No auction number, no item name, no user name. You
must think you're sending payment to Karnak! [Ina just asked me who Karnak is. An old Johnny Carson joke. If you have to expain,...]
8) Fuzzy photographs. Look, I said I had just turned 40, and my
eyes are already on the way out...I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!
7) The credit card spam I now receive since I started using online auctions. If I accepted all the offers, I'd have enough credit to purchase
a small island in the Florida Keys.
6) Telling a buyer how much it's going to cost to ship an item, then going to the P.O. and discovering that you can't send it that way.
5) 300 kilobyte item images. We don't all have T1 lines in our homes!
4) People who email me to ask what my reserve is. Here's a suggestion: Bid and find out!
3) Broken picture links. I'm
bidding HOW much for that little box with the red X in it?
2) People who use music in their auctions. Have you ever heard a MIDI version of "Funkytown"? It's like being trapped in a
Muzak-filled elevator.
1) Buyers who "round off" the amount of payment. No kidding, I've had an item that sold for $102 and had someone send me a check for $1000. No explanation...nothing.
Well guess what...you know the 12-piece set of stemware you won? I just rounded it down to 10!
Nit-picking? Maybe. Aggravating? Definitely!
Now stop bothering me, I have to go find where Ina
hid my reading glasses.
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DO YOU HAVE A SHIPPING QUESTION FOR BILL THE POSTMAN?
Email
askbillthepostman@auctionbytes.com.
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9) AUCTIONBYTES.COM READER QUESTION
As a seller, how do you feel your auctions have been doing over the last 6 months? VOTE NOW!! http://www.auctionbytes.com
Visit the General Message Board and tell us what you
think (and read what others have to say):
http://www.auctionbytes.com/bin/generalbbs/config.pl
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10) REMINDER: Proxy Bidding
Last week, we had a heated discussion about "sniping" in the Message Board. Just a reminder
to buyers that you can use "proxy" bidding to help you win your auctions. Auction sites will automatically place bids for you up to the highest price you specify.
For more information on
proxy (or automatic) bidding, see the auction site help files:
Amazon: http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/help/bidding-by-proxy/058-7758302-4 0552
EBay:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/e_item1.html
Yahoo:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/auct/abid/abid-03.html
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11) Selected News
eBay launched a new Canadian site (www.ca.ebay.com). eBay Canada features listings in Canadian dollars and has new Canadian
categories, such as Inuit Art and CASCAR racing memorabilia.
YardsaleS.com is a site bringing yard sale info all together in one place. Shoppers can search for items, peruse the listings, look at
photos and print a map, all before even getting in the car. It has officially launched in the Atlanta Metropolitan area. It is free as part of an introductory program, and there is a special offer for
sellers on the Web site. (www.yardsales.com)
bid4real will begin auctioning the first pieces of real estate on its Web site ( www.bid4real.com
) starting April 24. bid4real, based in Chicago, is the new online marketplace that enables buyers and sellers to auction and purchase real estate online.
Cnet articles about eBay and Bidder's Edge legal dispute, 4/14/00 http://www.cnetinvestor.com/newsitem-bloomberg.asp?symbol=8414315 3&Ticker=E
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1697820.html
New York Times article about eBay and Bidder's Edge legal dispute, 4/14/00 http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/cyber/cyberlaw/14law.html
eBay announced an agreement with Internet Pictures Corporation (IPIX) to offer eBayers free image hosting beginning in the fall.
eBay also announced an Affiliates Program whereby you get $3 for everyone who clicks through from your site to its site AND registers: http://pages.ebay.com/affiliate/index.html.
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AuctionBytes-Update ISSN 1528-6703
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