AuctionBytes-Update Number 23 - October 8, 2000 - ISSN 1528-6703

AuctionBytes-Update is a free newsletter for online auction buyers and sellers. Read reviews of online-auction products and services, tips on being more efficient, and the latest on antiques and collectibles. 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) eWanted.com: Post Your "Want List" for Free
3) THE TECH FILE: eBay Search Feature Suffers Currency Problem
4) Christmas Shopping for the Online Auction User
5) Yankee Swop Meet
6) PriceRadar's Found in the Attic: For the Birds?
7) Collector's Corner: Toy Shop Magazine, Barf Bag, Ask the Expert
8) LETTER FROM READER
9) This and That
10) Newsflash
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1) FROM THE EDITOR

The leaves are starting to fall here in New England. Leaf-peepers are taking advantage of the long holiday weekend (Columbus Day in U.S., Thanksgiving Day in Canada) to enjoy the foliage. And Maggie the Auction Hound is on a crusade to hunt down every living squirrel in the state of Massachusetts.

David and I remain focused on AuctionBytes, squirrels and foliage not withstanding. We are putting the finishing touches on a new service that we'll be announcing soon. So please tell all your friends and enemies about AuctionBytes.com; every new subscriber makes this job more rewarding.

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We have some of the best WRITERS in the world, and one of them will be on television tomorrow, October 9, 2000! Chiquita Prestwood is an expert collector of McCoy Pottery, and Martha Stewart invited her to come to appear on the Martha Stewart Living show and share her extensive knowledge. See our Collector's Corner below for the full scoop!

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Several weeks ago at a yard sale I came across a mystery board game from the 1950's called Clue. (It's the same one that is still around today - you know, "Mrs. Peacock committed the murder with a wrench in the conservatory.") I was so pleased, because the game was in great shape, and I thought it had all the pieces, including all the murder weapons and cards. Until I got home and David quietly pointed out that it was missing the board itself. (Ugh.) You'd think the first thing to go missing would be those tiny little pieces, like the rope or the pipe. Well, in this issue I write about a service called eWanted.com that lets you post items you are trying to find. I'm going to use it to see if I can find a Clue board to make my set complete!

Also in this issue, David reports on an annoying problem with an eBay search feature, and we both join forces to discuss Christmas shopping for online auction users. Don't roll your eyes, I know for a fact David's almost finished his Christmas shopping. Isn't he annoying?!

Ina Steiner, Editor
email: ina@auctionbytes.com

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2) eWanted.com: Post Your "Want List" for Free
by Ina Steiner

If you are a collector with a wish-list, you may want to check out eWanted.com ( http://www.eWanted.com). This service allows you to post your wanted list for free. Any and all sellers who see your wish-list can make you an offer to sell you an item. You can then review the offers and choose the best price.

eWanted claims it gets over a million unique visitors per month. For buyers, this "reverse auction" model is a nice way to try to get a good price, since sellers are competing with each other for your business. I wouldn't rely solely on this service; you should continue to troll online auction sites to ensure you don't miss an item you are desperate to own.

If you are a seller, eWanted seems a bit inefficient. I typed in the search box "John Grisham Firm" to find people looking to purchase the book, "The Firm" by John Grisham. It came back with zero results. But when I clicked on Books & Magazines, Books:Mystery & Thrillers, I found someone looking for that very title. This can get pretty time-consuming if you have a wide variety of items you are interested in selling.

I also found it irritating that buyers rarely put an amount in the "offer limit" field. Everyone should have an idea of the maximum price they would be willing to pay for an item. It doesn't mean you have to buy the item for that amount! In fact, buyers do not have to accept any offer made to them. eWanted.com only "asks you to be considerate when placing wants and sincere about your interest in purchasing."

The service is free to buyers. It is also anonymous until you accept an offer, at which time contact information is exchanged automatically. So, according to eWanted, there's no need to worry about being spammed by sellers.

While free to buyers, it costs money to sell on eWanted. eWanted charges 5% of the final price for items under $100. There's a flat $500 transaction fee for real estate sales regardless of the final price, and special rates for airline tickets. For detailed information on seller fees, go to http://www.ewanted.com/billing/fees.cfm .

Sellers should note that "no fees will be due if a buyer does not accept your offer. Once an offer is accepted, however, fees will be due regardless of whether the remainder of the transaction between you and the buyer is completed."

It will be interesting to see whether eWanted model can work (sort of the opposite of Half.com where sellers list items for sale, but for a static price.

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3) THE TECH FILE: eBay Search Feature Suffers Currency Problem
By David Steiner

When you do a "Find Item" search on eBay, are you seeing everything you should?

Apparently not, according to many users. A growing number of eBay members are frustrated with the way that eBay searches items using the "Title and Description" feature.

Here's what they find problematic:
Go to eBay's Search Page and do a search of your own items by Title (the default setting). Do they show up along with all of the other auctions listed? Now do a search by Title and Description. (Check the little box under the text box.) Do your items still show up with up-to-date price and bid information? There's a strong likelihood that they don't.

There's a difference in the way eBay's search engine indexes items by "Title," and the way it indexes by "Title and Description." As many eBay users lament, the more thorough method of searching an item by Title and Description does not display items in a timely fashion. This is not a new issue for eBay, and as the auction site becomes busier, this search indexing bug has become more apparent.

What IS Search Indexing?
Indexing is the way eBay captures information about all the items on its site. Several times every day, eBay cycles through the auctions listed and gets information on new listings, high bid, current number of bids, etc., and adds this information to the database that you use to search.

To give you an idea of how this problem manifests itself, I'll relate my latest encounter with this "search bug." I had a Coca-Cola Display up for auction. When I searched by Title, the item came up with the current price and correct number of bids. When I searched by Title and Description, my item again came up - with no bids! To say the least, this can be disconcerting to the seller.

So what can you do to ensure that you are viewing current listings? Well, the solutions are more like stop gaps. The first solution is to only search by Title. While you will miss auctions that have your search term in the description field rather than the title field, it does give current information about the items it finds.

The other solution, according to eBay spokesperson Kevin Pursglove, is to click all the way through to the "View" page of an item. "Although admittedly, it can be a big inconvenience," explains Pursglove, "it might be the most reliable way of verifying the current status of an item."

Consider that eBay may have 5 million items up for auction at any one time. There may be several million people on the site searching and listing at one time. According to Pursglove, the increased activity on eBay can cause the indexing to take an extended period of time to complete, because the database is being continually added to and accessed at the same time.

"If it were a matter of putting in a new piece of hardware to speed up the process, we would do it in a second," says Pursglove. "Our technical people are constantly working to improve the functionality of the site."

The slow-down is more a function of the way eBay's search engine references and cross-references items by title, description, category, etc. The main purpose is to make searching the site as fast as possible.

The trade-off is that the searches are not always up-to-date.

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4) Christmas Shopping for the Online Auction User
by David & Ina Steiner

October is upon us, and the holiday season is peeking over the horizon. If you are reading this, you might want to print this article out and give it to your loved ones. Highlight the parts that are especially interesting to you.

So what does an online auction user want to find under the tree this year? Here's a run-down of some gifts that are sure to be appreciated.

A Digital Camera or Scanner is on the high-end of the shopping list. Yes they can be a bit pricey, but they are a MUST if you're serious about online auctions. A decent scanner can be purchased for well under $100, and digital cameras can range from $250 to over $1,000. Go to http://www.cnet.com and find out how to get the best bang for your buck. Not only can you read user reviews, but after you've decided on the item you're going to buy, you can get a list of online stores that will give you a great price and overnight delivery!

Collectors always appreciate books, and sellers can benefit as well. We go to a lot of yard sales and auctions and are always looking in books to identify pottery, china, glass, toys, etc. Books make a thoughtful present, too. It may require some sleuthing on your part if you're not sure what books your friend already owns. If in doubt, a gift certificate to an online or neighborhood bookstore may do the trick.

If you want to draw a friend into the online auction world, a beginner's book may be the way to go. eBay for Dummies is one of many books about online auctions. Here's a link to the search results page for the search term "online auction" on the Amazon site:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search?tag=auctionbytesc om&keyword=online%20auction&mode=books
Check the reviews posted on Amazon, and check the year the books were published - things change fast on the Internet!

Magazine subscriptions are also useful, and the recipient of this gift will think of you twelve times a year! There are magazines on every topic of collecting, and don't forget "eBay Magazine."

There are antiques newspapers that list auctions and discuss antiques and collectibles, like "Maine Antique Digest," "Antiques and the Arts Weekly," and many more. Be creative.

If your friend has a business or is thinking of starting one, you might consider a subscription to a business-related magazine. Or consider purchasing a domain name. It's only $75. Check out this About.com article that we mentioned last week about registering your own domain name: http://webdesign.about.com/library/weekly/aa082800a.htm?PM=n10091 3g .

Postage scales are a wonderful gift because they can save a lot of time and aggravation at the post office. We wrote about postage scales in February 19th issue, so take a look if this appeals to you: http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/8/8.html#scales .

Auction-management software is a bit tricky as a gift, unless you know which one your friend wants! Everyone has preferences about what features they like and how much time they are willing to put into learning a new software program.

Bubble-wrap, while not romantic, is a practical present that will be GREATLY appreciated by auction sellers. Packing Tape dispensers are INVALUABLE! Notice what kind of envelopes and boxes your seller uses and purchase some at your local office store or via mail order. If you are on a very tight budget, you could get some Priority Mail boxes from the USPS (free), wrap them in a ribbon, and top off with a $3.20-stamp. (Just make sure your friend has room to store the boxes!) You can go to http://supplies.usps.gov and order them online.

Finally, look around the online auction sites for things you can't find in stores. If your mother-in-law has broken one piece from a set of china, chances are that you can locate it on eBay or Yahoo! or any one of the multitude of auction sites. She'll be THRILLED when she opens her present and finds something she thought she would never see again!

Happy shopping!

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If you have any shopping ideas, please visit the AuctionBytes.com forum and share them with the rest of us!

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5) Yankee Swop Meet
by Ina Steiner

Yankee Magazine's Web site has a virtual "swop meet" where you can list items you are looking for in exchange for items you'd like to swap! Go to http://www.newengland.com , and on the pull down Navigation menu, choose "Swops" and hit the "Go There" button. You can browse or search by "Will Swop" or "Wanted."

It is a quaint trading post in the modern World Wide Web!

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6) PriceRadar's Found in the Attic: For the Birds?
by David Steiner

Look up into an October New England sky and you are likely to see Geese, Ducks and other fowl winging South toward a warm Winter retreat. (You might also find a few New Englanders heading the same way.) So what would our feathered friends like to find on their return in the Spring? What else...a nice birdhouse! And what type of birdhouse is most popular? Well so far, no one has gotten an answer from the birds, but here's how collectible birdhouses are to humans!

All searches were done with PriceRadar's Price Guide Tool. Go to http://www.priceradar.com/default.asp?refID=101 and try your own searches!

Barn Birdhouses
Number of Items Sold: 26
Highest Priced Item: $37.83
Lowest Priced Item: $5.95
Average Price: $11.92

Church Birdhouses
Number of Items Sold: 24
Highest Priced Item: $105
Lowest Priced Item: $5
Average Price: $15.22

Cottage Birdhouses
Number of Items Sold: 31
Highest Priced Item: $15.00
Lowest Priced Item: $6.50
Average Price: $11.61

Lighthouse Birdhouses
Number of Items Sold: 52
Highest Priced Item: $19.50
Lowest Priced Item: $2.91
Average Price: $10.19

Log Cabin Birdhouses
Number of Items Sold: 24
Highest Priced Item: $12.95
Lowest Priced Item: $4.50
Average Price: $8.95

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AUCTION FORECAST:

David's auction forecast calls for a mixed day for Sunday, October 8, 2000:
5-day auction: Fair
7-day auction: Good
10-day auction: Bad

Click here for an extended auction forecast:
http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/calendar2/calendar2.ht ml

Brought to you by AuctionBytes.com.
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7) COLLECTOR'S CORNER: Pottery, Toy Shop Magazine, Barf Bags, Ask the Expert

Collector's Corner: Pottery
Our own Chiquita Prestwood will appear on the "Martha Stewart Living" television program tomorrow, October 9th! Chiquita is AuctionBytes' expert on McCoy pottery, and she'll be bringing some pieces from her collection to show Martha. Chiquita and her husband Dewey have collected McCoy pottery for over 20 years. They have over 2,000 pieces, some of which have been featured in recent books. Chiquita also writes a column for NM Express newsletter (http://members.aol.com/nmxpress )

In Boston, tune into Channel 4 (WBZ) at 9am. Go to the Martha Stewart Web site to find what station and time the show airs in your neck of the woods:
http://www.marthastewart.com/television/station_guide/index.asp?subna vcat=station+guide

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Collector's Corner: Toy Shop Magazine
By Ina Steiner

Toy Shop Magazine is a biweekly magazine for toy collectors and dealers. It was created in 1988 to create a marketplace for buyers and sellers of vintage toys and collectibles.

The magazine recently announced some editorial changes, including an expanded "Toy News" column (with the latest on action figures, Barbie, Hot Wheels and more); and several new columns that analyze the secondary market from a collector's perspective.

Toy Shop is published by Krause Publications, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990-0001. For editorial inquiries, call 715-445-4612, ext. #468. For advertising, call 715-445-4612, ext. #781. For subscription information, call 800-258-0929.

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Collector's Corner: Barf Bags
By Ina Steiner

Sometimes we just don't know why we do it. I'm talking about collecting, and this thought crossed my mind when I read a Wall Street Journal article about airsickness bags. You know, those paper bags you find on airplanes "just in case"? (You must be a subscriber to WSJ.com to access the article: http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB970622958889455432.htm.) If you are interested in this strange world of barf-bag collecting (and have time on your hands), go to a search engine and type in barf bags. They are also known as air sickness bags and happy sacks. Here's a site that was featured on National Public Radio's Fresh Air Program: http://www.airsicknessbags.com .

And to think some people just collect frequent flyer miles,...

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Collector's Corner: Ask the Expert

Today's Ask the Expert item is an unusual glass bottle with a buffalo head design. Today's "experts" came from forum and auction sites, and we thank them for their help in answering today's question.

Dear Ask The Expert,

I am wondering if you can help me identify a lovely translucent milk glass bottle that I have. This bottle is 6 1/2" tall and 5 1/2" in diameter, at the widest point. It has lovely scroll work on it and buffalo or bisons heads on 3 sides that are very detailed. It was made from a 3 part mold and has a large M on the bottom of it. I do know that it is missing a stopper as I saw a bottle identical to it at an auction.....but no one knew anything about that one either. Any information that you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Marilyn

http://www.auctionbytes.com/marlene/buffalovase.JPG
http://www.auctionbytes.com/marlene/buffalovase2.JPG
http://www.auctionbytes.com/marlene/buffalovase3.JPG

Dear Marilyn,
The "buffalo vase" is more likely a Victorian dresser bottle. At least it seems to match in shape a couple I had in a different pattern. Check out Ed P.'s auction.
Elizabeth

Hello Marilyn,
The dresser bottle was only one of several dresser pieces utilizing the same design. I have attached some photos. (http://www.auctionbytes.com/images/buffbottle1.jpg ) The "M" imprinted on these items is generally accepted to indicate that it was manufactured by the Bellaire Goblet Co. of Findly, Ohio or Doyle & Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa., both were divisions of the U.S. Glass Co. in operation beginning in 1891.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me.

Ed P.

Note:Due to the popularity of the Ask the Expert column and volume of mail received, we may not be able to answer everyone's question, but we will try! If you have an item you'd like to learn more about, Ask the Expert!

This is not an appraisal service. Our Experts will identify your object and give you background information about it. Your question and the expert's answer will appear in future issues of AuctionBytes-Update.

To ask the expert, send an email to AskTheExpert@AuctionBytes.com. Send a photo to help the Experts identify your item more accurately.

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8) LETTER FROM READER

Dear AuctionBytes:

Your article on Epier was great! I think every seller needs alternatives to Ebay. As you can see I link Epier in each of my Emails and also on my website. Having just uploaded a few auctions and doing so every day, I already have 4 items with bids on them. These sales are free money because the price of listing is zero. I hope you will do more articles of this kind on other auction houses in the future.

I visited Goldsauction.com yesterday. These people seem to have an identity crises. Their instructions and fee schedule is much like Ebay's but when asked, support told me that there are no up front listing fees. In exchanging a few messages with some of the sellers there, I got the distinct impression that fees will be charged soon. Looking at the number of auctions sellers have and the number of corresponding bids, was not encouraging. I certainly would not pay these people any listing fees.

Thanks again for that great article,

Joe G. a.k.a Fearless Fosdick
http://www.epier.com/seller_other.asp?3993
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/fearlessfosdick/
http://www.joe-grossinger.com

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9) This and That
Invenna software is introducing a new version of its auction-management software: Auction Amigo Pro 2.0. It offers lots of interesting features, including a revamped auction creater, inventory-management, built-in FTP client, analysis reports (including Profit & Loss statements) and more.

There is a free 30-day trial period for the program, available sometime this week at http://www.invenna.com. The introductory price is $39.99 (normally $49.99), and for those who have already registered and are using Auction Amigo 1.0, version 2.0 is free!

I spoke to some of the folks at Invenna, and they sound like a good bunch. We'll be reviewing their software in an upcoming issue of AuctionBytes.com. If you have questions, email sales@invenna.com.

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10) Newsflash

Take on the Week's News:

Always able to sniff out a good publicity stunt, Dot.coms continue to put THEMSELVES up for auction. We're sure eBay is dying for a multi-million-dollar dot.com sale -- think of the commission -- but it hasn't happened yet.

This has been a tough week for dot.coms that are trying to raise money. Layoffs and site closings are becoming common. Look for sites that offer "free" services to start charging and coming down hard on users. Let's face it, we either have to start paying or else see a LOT more advertising on our favorite sites.

eBay continues with an almost AOL-like furor to make alliances and marketing agreements. Shareholders demand GROWTH, and eBay seeks to get it from greater advertising revenue, geographic expansion, and service fees (have we mentioned their image-hosting service?).

We think the online auction industry will follow a similar cycle to that of search engine industry and sites like Yahoo and AltaVista. The auction sites will try to be all things to all people, but "vertical" auction sites will find success in specializing in a piece of the pie (i.e., PotteryAuction.com). Don't worry, eBay won't go away; we expect it will continue to do very well. But it isn't the only game in town.

Now for last week's news headlines:

October 6, 2000
Update to Sotheby's & Christie's Price Fixing Case
PayPal Crack Down Continues

October 5, 2000
Bonjour, eBay! (eBay opens French-language site)
Au Revoir, eBay? (eBay Motors Changes)

October 4, 2000
Presidential Election or Popularity Contest? (BiddersEdge predicts winner)
Marks on Pottery & Porcelain - Live Chat Discussion
Meta Search Site to Carry GoTo.com Auction Search Results

October 3, 2000
eBay Ramps Up Advertising Efforts with Help from AOL
Football Season on eBay
Underwear for Sale: $3.8 Million on eBay

October 2, 2000
3.5 Million Use Person-to-Person Payments, $5 Million Transferred Daily

BE SURE AND VISIT OUR WEB SITE FOR THE STORIES BEHIND THE HEADLINES!
"Newsflash" is a feature on the AuctionBytes.com Web site that brings you daily online auction news. Go to http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/newsflash/newsflash.ht ml for the latest online auction news and announcements.

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AuctionBytes-Update ISSN 1528-6703
AUCTIONBYTES.COM CONTACT INFORMATION
Editorial: ina@auctionbytes.com
Advertising: advert@auctionbytes.com or 508-655-5697
Letters, Comments, Suggestions: feedback@auctionbytes.com
Want to Write for AuctionBytes-Update? Go to http://www.auctionbytes.com and click on "write for us" to view author guidelines. If you are interested, send email to ina@bibliodata.com.

Ina Steiner, Editor, Publisher and Co-founder: ina@auctionbytes.com
David Steiner, Webmaster, Technical Editor, President and Co-founder:
dsteiner@auctionbytes.com
Michele Alice, Contributing Editor
AuctionBytes.com
c/o Steiner Associates
PO Box 668
Natick, MA 01760
508-655-5697
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