AuctionBytes-Update Number 42 - July 15, 2001 - 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 information about 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) How To Make Money Selling Books Online, Part III
3) StoreFronts: Opening up Your Virtual Shop
4) Independent Booksellers Experience Identity Crisis Online
5) This & That
6) COLLECTOR'S CORNER
7) Newsflash
8) Letters from Readers
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1) FROM THE EDITOR
David and I went looking for treasures at the Brimfield antiques show on Friday. There's nothing like wandering through fields in beautiful weather
looking for treasures. I found an Agatha Christie hardcover (for myself), David wasn't inspired to buy anything, but it was fun looking!
We'll be making our annual trek to Maine soon. (Maggie the
Auction Hound is coming too.) The vacation will not disrupt our twice-monthly AuctionBytes-Update schedule, but you will have to do without our daily Newsflash for a week <gasp>! Yes, we are leaving
the computers and telephones at home. While I may have to pry David's fingers from the keyboard and force him into the car, he'll be fine once he sees those Maine antique stores. Here's our report on last
year's Maine adventure <
http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/19/19.html#maine>.
Our popular series on book selling continues in this issue
with Craig Stark's third installment. This series has lots of insider tips on how to sell successfully. Today's article focuses on buying books.
ChannelFusion has a special offer for readers this
week in their advertisement. Please patronize all of our sponsors and let them know you saw them in AuctionBytes. They make this newsletter possible.
David has been busy setting up new message forum
software and will be looking for moderators for our forthcoming collectibles forums. You don't have to know EVERYTHING about collecting, just a love for what you collect. We don't mind if you promote your
own enterprise, either - it's interesting to learn about what others are doing.
David says if you're interested in moderating a collectibles forum on our server for books, glass, toys, sci-fi, or
whatever you collect, let him know. He can set you up with moderator privileges and your own moderator's coffee cup! Email him at dsteiner@auctionbytes.com.
Thanks for reading,
Ina Steiner, Editor
email: ina@auctionbytes.com
=======================================
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2) How To Make Money Selling Books Online Part III
by Craig Stark
[INTRODUCTION: This is the third in a series of articles on selling books online profitably. Future
topics include pricing and presenting books for auction or resale. The author is an online bookseller who makes over $1,000 a week selling books exclusively on eBay. The first article may be found at <
http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/39/39.html#books
>. The second article may be found at <http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/41/41.html#books>.]
The question I
hear most often is: Where do you find quality books at reasonable prices? The answer is-and this is the truest thing I know-BOOKS ARE EVERYWHERE. Even good ones. You must simply sharpen your perception.
Used bookstores of the brick-and-mortar (B&M) type, for example, are packed with quality books. It's true that most of the books are priced at or above what you might be able to sell them for online.
But I'll let you in on one of the biggest secrets I know: there's an entire, underground family of books that don't command strong prices in B&M venues but rock the world on eBay.
These are the
ones that require heightened perception to find, and almost every store has at least a few of them. In this circumstance more than any other, careful research pays off. I spend several hundred dollars a
month purchasing inventory in used bookstores, and they're one of my best and steadiest sources.
Naturally some sources are better than others. I've compiled a list of my best five in order of
importance. The list will vary for everyone, but these are the ones that work well for the area I live in.
1. ESTATE SALES. My best source of books, hands down. Somebody dies, and typically the entire
contents of a house are offered for sale to settle an estate. More often than not, the deceased is elderly and has acquired books over a lifetime. Also, estate liquidators often price books low because it's
labor intensive to research individual titles, and there's often a large number of them.
Warning: this is a competitive area. Show up early and be prepared to pull books off shelves quickly,
primarily on instinct alone-oh, yes, and sometimes be shoved while you're doing it. You'll have little time to ponder a purchase, but what you can do is load up a basket of things that catch your eye and
sort through them later, before you go to the checkout table.
2. USED BOOKSTORES. An excellent source for the reason stated at the beginning of this article. Example: I recently purchased a vintage
history of a church in New England for $2.50 at a local used bookstore. This store was over a thousand miles away from New England, so the likelihood of its selling in that venue was next to nothing, thus
the low price. However, I sold it on eBay the following week for $100. Why? Because eBay brings New England to me.
NOTE: You might be amazed at how many used bookstores and thrift shops are in your
area that you were never aware of. <http://www.smartpages.com> is an excellent Web site for locating them, complete with maps and telephone numbers.
3. THRIFT SHOPS. I think I have more fun here than anywhere
else. These places are often half-hidden in out-of-the-way locations, dirty and dimly-lit, all factors which contribute to the aura of adventure. Treasures can be found, but a good deal of patience is
necessary because, frankly, there's lots of garbage to look through, especially (inexplicably) untold numbers of microwave cookbooks. I usually spend a few hours a month looking in a dozen or so shops. With
the exception of Goodwill and Salvation Army stores, which have raised prices in recent months, books can be had for next to nothing.
4. CLASSIFIED ADS. This isn't for everybody, but I run an ad in
the classified section of the newspaper about once a month and title it "CASH FOR BOOKS." Be prepared to get dozens of calls from sellers wanting to part with their "valuable" Reader's
Digest Condensed Books, back issues of National Geographic, and hopelessly outdated encyclopedias. But if you're patient, an occasional call will come from, say, an elderly widow wanting to clean up the
"mess" in her garage, most of which consists of boxes and boxes of her deceased husband's old books.
The downside of this approach is that it requires a fair amount of cash on hand that can
be used at a moment's notice, sometimes as much as $1,000 or more, but the payoffs are potentially huge. Example: several months ago I purchased over 8,000 vintage car brochures for $350 from my ad. I
recovered my investment on the first 20 or 30 I listed.
5. ONLINE. Yes, if you had no other means of purchasing books for resale, you could conceivably make a living using this source alone. There
are several methods for doing this, but the best one is the simplest: research eBay closed auctions of strong selling books and search for them on other sites at bargain prices. Once you find a potential
winner, inquire in detail about the condition and publication data before purchasing. Mistakes are easy to make here, so start slowly. It's also possible to buy low and sell high without ever leaving eBay,
but this requires a more sophisticated approach that would be better left to a future article.
Additional sources, though not usually as productive for me, include: church sales, garage sales, library
sales, word of mouth and auctions-and sometimes, just plain ingenuity. In general, things work best for me when I use a variety of sources and don't depend on one or two for my entire inventory. Also, using
this approach, I've never been in a position of running out of quality books to sell.
Once you've purchased your books, it's time to sell them, and if you're doing this on eBay, presentation is of
critical importance. More about this next time in Part IV: Presenting Books For Auction.
---
Craig Stark is a full-time online bookseller, working at home, and currently making in excess of $1,000
weekly selling exclusively on eBay. He lists anything that will realize a worthwhile profit, including both rare, antique titles, signed first editions, and 20th century books that for whatever reason
command a strong price. In late June he will launch a Web site at <http://www.braintreebooks.com
> and offer a large selection of hard-to-find, quality books. He will begin listing some of his auctions using the ID braintreebooks.
Email Craig at braintreebooks@yahoo.com.
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3) Storefronts: Opening Up Your Virtual Shop
by Ina Steiner
Like many sellers, I had lots of questions about storefronts and decided it was time to dive in and find out what they were all
about. After immersing myself in the various offerings, I got a sense of the different models of storefronts available. There is a chart comparing the major storefronts at <http://www.auctionbytes.com/stores/stores.html>.
The Antique Mall Concept
Tias <
http://www.tias.com> and Ruby Lane <http://www.rubylane.com> have been around for years. Many antiques and collectibles
retailers are familiar with the term "antique malls," and these two companies offer online versions of that concept. You can go to the home pages of these sites and search for particular items, and
it will search all of the stores on the Web site. Yet each store is independent and has its own look and feel, policies and offerings. Both sites allow you to offer your items on auction sites as well. Tias
and Ruby Lane are selective about their storeowners and have strict standards. They want to maintain their reputations and brand names. Both sites tend to specialize in antiques, collectibles, arts &
crafts and the like.
The "Software Tools" Concept
There are many online auction management software tools on the market, and the newest trend is to extend the software to support
fixed-price selling. The same software that tracks inventory and runs reports can be used whether you are selling on auction sites, storefronts, or both. These Storefront offerings give the storeowner
flexibility in how and where they sell, so you aren't locked into any one venue. Andale <
http://www.andale.com> and AuctionWatch <http://www.auctionwatch.com> have provided auction tools for years, and they both
introduced Storefront capabilities in February 2001. Zoovy <http://www.zoovy.com> is a brand new company that launched in June.
Yahoo Stores & Auction Booths
Yahoo Stores <http://store.yahoo.com> is a robust offering for fixed-price selling only.
Their $100/month minimum charge excludes smaller sellers. Yahoo has a free Auction Booth feature for auction listings only <http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/auct/asell/asell-33.html>. It is not a
Storefront offering, but it displays your Yahoo auction listings in one place and you can give it a custom look and feel.
eBay Stores
eBay Stores <http://ebaystores.com> falls into its own category. While eBay Stores has
severe restrictions, it offers the potential to attract a lot of traffic.
Establishing a Brand
If you are considering selling in a Storefront, you must devote some time to marketing yourself. Most
of the Storefronts allow you to either use your own domain name or link back to your own site. For example, if I wanted to open a Storefront called Beagles Rule selling Beagle-related items, I should
register the domain name and get the URL http://www.BeaglesRule.com. Some Storefronts allow you to "redirect" to their sites, so if you type in www.beaglesrule.com, you go to your storefront on their site. Other vendors allow you to
integrate your name on their site, like http://BeaglesRule/VendorName.com. All the sites covered here allow you to at least link to your own Web site, except for eBay, Tias and RubyLane.
Tias and Ruby Lane, by their
very nature, want you to establish your online store in their mall exclusively. In return, they advertise and bring in traffic to the stores. However, they encourage you to build your brand, promote your
bricks & mortar store, and allow you to deal with customers AND potential customers. They also allow storeowners to sell on auction sites. Tias, in fact recently unveiled an "Open Source" API, which will
soon allow storeowners to list on auction sites other than eBay, Yahoo!, and Amazon.
eBay, on the other hand, does not want its sellers to establish their own brands. While eBay brings incredible
traffic to the stores, storeowners are locked into eBay in a very restrictive way. (Note: not enough people take advantage of the "About Me" feature on eBay. This is your one chance to promote
yourself and your Web site. Here's how to do it: <
http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/10/10.html#me2>.)
Other important factors you should consider to help you make
your Storefront decision include flexibility, scalability (ability to grow), and price. Remember that prices and policies change. If you have established your brand, you can take your business elsewhere.
Go to <http://www.auctionbytes.com/stores/stores.html> for a comparison chart of some major Storefront offerings. Please note that I tried to present the most basic option in the pricing column. Most
vendors have lots of other pricing options and additional features.
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4) Independent Booksellers Experience Identity Crisis Online
by Edith Reynolds
Mega corporations with large territory on the World Wide Web seem to crawl through Cyberspace with the power of a glacier, engulfing smaller entities in their path. This
past week, eBay - the online auction granddaddy of all "glaciers" - absorbed a portion of ABE.com's customer base through an affiliation between ABE.com and eBay's Half.com property.
Booksellers listing on ABE's service were invited to add their ISBN-numbered books onto the Half.com site. Requirements were few: be in good standing with ABE.com, be based in the U.S., be able to accept
electronic fund transfers, list book prices in U.S. dollars, and fill out an application to join Half.com. It would cost the seller nothing to participate.
Half.com <http://www.half.com> listings only show the
seller ID and feedback. In the case of ABE.com <http://www.abe.com> sellers, the seller ID is always "abebooks," so you never know the name of the bookseller.
Alibris <http://www.alibris.com> also employs this
sales method (without the seller ID and feedback feature), a move that makes them a wholesale customer for the independent seller. Alibris, and now Half.com, get the original seller to do all the work and
house the books. Prices are often marked up from the seller's original listing, and books ordered via these vehicles are usually mailed out from a clearinghouse where new packaging bearing the company name
and logo is used for direct mailing to the customer.
Half.com and Alibris effectively cut out communications between buyers and sellers. ABE.com, on the other hand, allows sellers and buyers to deal
directly with one another. The only exception is their contract with Barnes & Noble. But unlike the Barnes & Noble deal in which the seller pays a 10% commission to the book-selling giant, Half.com
is not asking for a commission above the price mark-up they employ. At least, not yet...
This brings up a question for the individual seller. Can the larger companies like Half.com, Alibris, Barnes
& Noble, etc., produce enough sales to compensate for the loss of a bookseller's individual identity?
The answer is yes and no. The number of sales may rise, even the income may increase despite
the fees charged against each sale, but there are two concerns that unfold. Price wars ensue, each dealer trying to undercut the other by 50 cents or more. The other concern is that the same book springs up
on various sites, making it seem less rare. Granted, newer books sold via Half.com don't affect the rare antiquarian dealer; but it will exacerbate the competition among sellers who specialize in modern
firsts.
I spoke to Gary Brodeur of Brodeur's Books. He claims that the overall prices of books he sells through Half.com have risen, and books do sell, making them a viable source for moving books
off the shelves and into a customer's hands.
It's an interesting dilemma. Will the independent bookseller become nothing more than an organized book scout for larger services that assume the role of
Internet "bookstore"? What happens to the bookseller that spent years developing a reputable shop presence both in brick & mortar and the Internet? How can they compete?
That question
was pondered by and seemingly answered by Tomfolio.com <http://www.tomfolio.com> and UsedBookCentral.com <
http://www.usedbookcentral.com> by re-instituting the old Bibliofind model of facilitating the sales of books between buyer and
seller, staying out of the game except to collect the fees paid by sellers to list their books online. Unlike the giants, these companies don't have stockholders to please.
Unlike eBay, Amazon, and
the like, the vagaries of the stock market don't force the smaller companies to seek new methods of collecting revenue. But the word "YET' comes to mind. It's no secret the Internet is an ever-changing
place.
The upshot is--Half.com is a company like any other, it's in the business to make a profit. It is a customer-friendly site that, though ownned by eBay, is reminiscent of Amazon.com-- same color
scheme and layout. It's a trading post for people who want to buy things at a fixed price, bypassing the auctions and getting a bargain to boot. Bargains can be found. So can the customers. It'll be up to
the savvy seller to help shape the site into something that can be lucrative and less competitive. But that's a tall order put to a heretofore disorganized crowd like independent booksellers.
---
Edith
Reynolds is a former newspaper and magazine writer. She and her husband Dan own an antiquarian bookstore, The John Bale Book Company, in Waterbury, CT. For the past nine years, they have specialized in early
Americana and rare bindings. They are members of the ABAA - Antiquarian Booksellers of America Association, ILAB - International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, IOBA - International Online Booksellers
Association, and OAUA - Online Auction Users Association. Edith manages online sales. In addition to their bookstore, they sell on eBay and at book fairs. Visit Edith's Web sites,
<http://www.taxter.com>, <http://www.usiana.com>, <http://www.johnbalebooks.com> and <http://www.sellusyourbooks.com>. eBay IDs: TAXTER, TAXTER2, TAXTER3, USIANA, BALEBOOKS.
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5) THIS & THAT
Invenna to Cease Operations September 1st
Auction management
software company Invenna, creators of AuctionAmigo, announced that it will cease most operations on September 1, 2001. According to Invenna, several reasons combined to force the decision: an unforeseen
revenue drop, continued losses, increasing amount of resources required to keep up with eBay changes, the resulting support, and an inability to retain unpaid employees. In a statement to its users, Invenna
stated "Email support for AuctionAmigo paid users will continue through August 1st, 2001. We will strive to keep updating to eBay's ongoing changes until September 1st."
Invenna has made
special arrangements with ChannelFusion and Auctiva to provide a deep discount or extended trial of their auction management systems for all paid users of Auction Amigo Pro. For more information on the
shutdown, visit: <http://www.invenna.com/support/transition_faq.htm
>.
******
New England Guide to Shows & Auctions
Here's Maine Antique Digest's online calendar of shows and auctions.
<
http://www.maineantiquedigest.com/other/shoauc.htm>
******
Half.com Glitch for Hotmail Users
Some Hotmail email users have not been receiving email messages from Half.com. Half.com has determined
that the "Inbox Protector" in Hotmail may be the cause of the problem. The "Inbox Protector" is an option within Hotmail that filters incoming messages and is filtering out Half.com's
automated email messages.
Half.com's recommmended fix:
>From your Hotmail account, click "Options" and then click "Inbox Protector" under "Mail Handling". There is
a safe list option at the bottom of the Inbox Protector Option. In the left window, under Safe List, type Half.com and click "Add". Then, click OK to save the changes.
In the meantime, you may want to check your "Bulk Mail" folder.
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An Artist's Plea to eBay
AuctionBytes reader John Seed is an artist and art professor. He created a consortium
of artists who sell their work on eBay. The "ebsq" group sells in excess of $50,000 worth of art monthly on eBay. John wrote me and asked if I would publish his opinion piece about eBay. We decided
it would be easier to post it to his Web site and provide a link.
John has written a thoughtful and intelligent essay on what he thinks eBay is doing wrong and how they can correct it.
eBay's Mistakes
1) eBay has forgotten its roots
2) Who is most important to eBay's success? It's the Sellers, Stupid!
3) eBay is guilty of excessive hubris (arrogance)
What eBay Should Do to Fix those Mistakes
1) eBay needs to cajole, support, and nurture communities of sellers who present unique, handmade, and collectible items.
2) eBay needs to allow linking from auction listings.
3) eBay needs to listen to sellers.
This is an interesting read if you care about the future of the online auction industry. And if you have
any friends at eBay, be sure and send it to them!
You can find the essay here: <
http://www.johnseed.com/ebay.html>
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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>AUCTION FORECAST:
David's auction forecast calls for a mixed day for Sunday, July 15, 2001:
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/calendar/calendar.html>
Bookmark it!
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Recommend AuctionBytes-Update to a friend! Forward this complete issue to
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6) COLLECTOR'S CORNER
Collector's Corner: Planet of the Apes
by Michele Alice
Big-budget sci-fi films have the potential to generate huge profits for their studios through both ticket sales and merchandising. The same effect can also apply to the secondary-or
collectibles-market, especially when the film just happens to be a remake of the classic Planet of the Apes. (The Tim Burton blockbuster, due to be released on July 27, 2001, is purportedly not an actual
remake of the Charlton Heston vehicle, but is, instead, a "re-imagining" of the Pierre Boulle novel.)
Released to great popular and critical acclaim in 1968, the original Planet of the Apes
(POTA) spawned 4 sequels, 2 television series (one live and one animated), and a plethora of POTA-related merchandise that is increasing in value even as this is being written. In the 60's and 70's, the
merchandising of movie and television tie-ins was in its infancy compared to the excessive marketing practices of today, which is why original POTA, Star Trek, Star Wars, etc., collectibles are now in short
supply.
Whether the new lines of merchandise being released with the Burton film will have as much potential is problematic as everyone is now on the POTA bandwagon. Remember the law of supply and
demand: the more people buying and saving the new merchandise, the less likely that supply will be limited for the foreseeable future. If you are interested in seeing what is now and will be available, check
out the POTA International Fan Club at <~http://www.dlcwest.com/~comicsape/ape.htm
> where you can peruse a list.
For now, though, a search (on 07.14.01) of eBay revealed that a 1975 set of 66 trading cards
(NOT mint in box) recently sold for $103; a 1967 Mego figure of Zira (MOC) sold for $145; and a 1967 plastic bowl sold for $41! There also seems to be a great demand for POTA trash cans/waste baskets with
several selling in the $20 to $50 range! And if you can find a 1963 hardcover edition of the Boulle novel, in English, you might also sell it for $102.01 (unsigned)!
So keep checking those yard sales,
rummage sales, and thrift shops where I recently found a Planet of the Apes puzzle that turned out to have 3 pieces missing. And if you have them, let me know.
For more information, try the following pages and Web sites:
http://www.planetoftheapes.com
The Official Tim Burton site
http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=ape&list Planet of the Apes (POTA) Web Ring List
http://www.geocities.com/drzaius0 The Ultimate POTA Web site (Timeline, chat, gallery of older collectibles)
http://www.geocities.com/apeincharge/index.html?947403895980
The POTA Cage (Movie pics, collectibles)
~http://www.dlcwest.com/~comicsape/ape.htm
The POTA International Fan Club
(REALLY GREAT list of up-to-date movie sites, photo gallery of classic collectibles)
http://www.movieprop.com/tvandmovie/PlanetoftheApes Movie Props and Costumes (This site covers not only POTA, but other sci-fi movies and series also.)
---
Michele Alice is AuctionBytes-Update Contributing
Editor and is a freelance writer in the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts. She collects books, science fiction memorabilia and more. Email her at makalice@adelphia.net eBay ID: Malice9
******
Collector's Corner: Stamp-Collecting Courses Offered Online
The American Philatelic Society offers three online courses on stamp collecting. "Collecting First Day
Covers" begins August 15. The 8-week curriculum covers an introduction and history of FDC collecting, history and types of cancellations, types of cachets, developing a specialized collection, and care
and storage of your collection. It also offers tips for identifying and valuing your collection and information about valuable resources - online and in print.
To sign up or for further information
visit the APS virtual Stamp Campus at <http://www.stampcampus.org> or contact APS director of education Kim Kowalczyk, 814-237-3803 x 239; kim@stamps.org. The $75 fee includes all instructional materials. Members of the APS
receive a $25 discount. The other courses offered online are Basic Stamp Collecting and Using the Internet to Collect Stamps.
The APS is a member-based nonprofit organization for postage stamp
collectors in the United States. Membership is $25 and members receive a monthly journal, The American Philatelist, and may take advantage of other services including the Research Library, online and through
the mail buying and selling of stamps, stamp insurance, and expertization of stamps. Membership information is available from PO Box 8000-N, State College, PA 16803 or the Society's Web site at <http://www.stamps.org>.
PS:
STAMPSHOW 2001 is the nation's largest annual postage stamp show and takes place August 23-26 in Chicago, Illinois.
******
Collector's Corner: Elvis Collectibles @ eBay
Did you know that First Day Covers of the Elvis stamp postmarked with "Return To Sender" are becoming a favorite novelty item? Lea Frydman wrote this article on finding Elvis collectibles
on eBay.
<http://www.elvispresleynews.com/article1003.html>
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7) Newsflash Highlights
See Web Site for Full Details and Continuous Coverage
Go to <http://www.auctionbytes.com
> and click on Newsflash.
July 13, 2001
Newsweek Article Profiles PayPal's Battle to Fight Fraud
Andale Technical Difficulties
Carnaby.com Kicks Off Beta Test with $1,000 Sweepstakes
July 12, 2001
Bidville Files Breach of Contract Suit Against PayPal
Grateful Dead Vaults Private Tour to be Auctioned on eBay
Survey: 60% of Those Polled Approve of Internet Tax
July 12, 2001
PEZAMANIA: PEZ Collectors to Converge on Cleveland
Christmas in July: Hallmark Ornaments "Premier Party"
July 10, 2001
Ashford.com to Sell Luxury Goods on eBay
BayCheck Pro Retrieves Info On Any eBay User's Activities and Feedback
Incentive to Institute Internet Sales Tax?
New Leonard Bernstein Postage Stamp
July 9, 2001
eBay Says Its Competion Is the Offline World
Vintage Marketplace Cooperative Set to Incorporate
PayPal Warning: eBay Now Inserting Unauthorized BillPoint Logos in New Auctions
Pitney Bowes Launches PayPal Clone for B2B Payments
July 6, 2001
Bizarre Tale: Gegy.com Admits Ties to Spam Site
Flaw in Web Software Exposes Credit Cards to Hackers
eBay Live Auctions to Provide Two Live Sales on Sunday
eBay Stores - Not Yet Ready for Prime Time?
July 5, 2001
New Auction Co-op Blazes Trail on 4th of July
AuctionEagle Shut Down for Spamming
Gegy Makes Changes in Beta Test Schedule
Australian News Ltd. Makes Deal with eBay
Microsoft and FairMarket Cancel Exclusivity Deal
eBay Hosts Online Workshops Friday & Saturday
July 3, 2001
Television Shopping Channel to Feature eBay Ads in Auction "Game Show"
Inside Trader Information for EBay
Auctionweiser.com Launches Its Gold Shop Program
July 2, 2001
U.S. Postage Rates Increase Effective July 1st
PayPal Partners in Streaming-Media Deal
PayPal Rumors Swirl Again
Today is Last Day for Bidville $1 Sale
eBay Puts "Collectibles Month" Game on Hold
AND NOW YOU CAN SIGN UP TO RECEIVE NEWSFLASH VIA EMAIL!
Send a blank email to: auctionflash-subscribe@topica.com
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8) Letters from Readers
Dear Ina
Continuing to enjoy your newsletters and newsflashes....
Have you ever done stats on eBay auctions? As in: gallery sales vs. non gallery sales - buy it now stats - etc. Would be most
interested.
Have learned much from your "on top of it" articles. Keep up the great work.
-N
Dear N,
I asked Kevin Pursglove of eBay about these statistics. He replied, "We do
not break down the gallery vs non-gallery figures. To date, Buy It Now account for approximately 30% of all the listings."
When I asked him if he had any figures on the percentage of Buy It Now
auctions that are ended early with the Buy It Now feature, he said they do not release that information. We don't have the tools to analyze eBay's numbers. If anybody has any thoughts on this, please be sure
and write me!
-Ina
****
Hello Ina,
I don't know if you have heard the buzz about Gegy.com, but their bubble has been burst.
I appears that the CEO, Troy E. MacDonald has been
spamming newsgroups for months and was advertising for Someone to harvest email address for him. He has stated he has not affiliation with www.auctioneagle.com, but he was spamming news groups on their behalf as well. www.auctioneagle.com
was shut down for spam yesterday.
This has the auction community up in arms. I have included links to the threads reporting about this information. I thought this would be something you would be
interested in.
Sincerely,
D
Dear D,
Thanks for alerting us to the Gegy story. See the July 6th Newsflash for our coverage of this bizarre tale!
We ALWAYS appreciate tips from readers.
Ina
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