AuctionBytes-Update Number 49 - October 7, 2001 - ISSN 1528-6703

Tell a friend about AuctionBytes-Update, a free newsletter for online auction buyers and sellers. Forward this entire newsletter or go to: <http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/Recommend/recommend .html>

***************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
1) From the Editor
2) University Student Forms Online Auction Society
3) "How to Make a Fortune from Home in Your Spare Time" Part 2
4) This & That
5) Collector's Corner
6) Top 8 Items on eBay
7) Newsflash Highlights
***************************************

1) FROM THE EDITOR

Carol (eBay ID:Easttown) wrote me a letter this week. The manager of her antique mall was called up to duty to support the 101st Airborne Division. "The number of reserves being called up increases every day. These service men and women are trained to do a job and they will almost certainly make us all very proud of them. However, it has to be a lonely feeling, leaving your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, children, spouses, etc. to go someplace you have never been before."

Carol wondered if we were interested in supporting a drive to stay in touch with the service men and women who are away from home. You can read Carol's full note on the forum here:
< http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=81&fo rum=3&1>, and if you have any ideas, please reply on the forum so we can all learn how to help out. I also found a site with tips and addresses on where to send letters to service men and women < http://www.defenselink.mil/faq/pis/PC10PNPL.html>.

Technical Update: Last week I mentioned that we were switching servers. We made the transition, but there may be a few kinks to be worked out. If you find any URLs that aren't working, please let us know!

Thanks for reading,

Ina Steiner, Editor
email: ina@auctionbytes.com

=======================================
Bags Unlimited is a manufacturer and distributor of mailing,
packaging & storage supplies for all of your collectible needs.
Plastic, paper, tyvek and cardboard sleeves, jewel cases, poly
boxes, storage boxes, cleaners, mailer boxes and fillers all in
stock. We specialize in items for records, ephemera, CD's,
posters, comics, postcards, magazines and so much more.
Call 800-767-2247 for a full catalog or see our website at
http://www.bagsunlimited.com !
================================Advertisement=======

***************************************
***************************************
2) University Student Forms Online Auction Society
by Ina Steiner

Matt Cheney, a junior at the University of Illinois, formed the Online Auction Society in the spring of 2001 to help students gain a better understanding of online auction sites as well as how to use them efficiently. Matt recognized that college students could sell some of their extra possessions online to help them get cash to buy needed supplies.

Matt says that most students use online auctions as a way to save money when making purchases. They are able to get a lot of things, from textbooks to kitchen supplies, cheaply. "To a college student, who has inherited most of his or her things from parents or siblings, buying a used item is not a problem," Matt says. "They are only going to use it for a few years anyway."

Students also like online auction sites for their convenience. For students who need a lot of different things (books, tennis rackets, bowls, CDs), sites like eBay are one-stop-shopping. Matt says students appreciate the fact that they don't have to go to a lot of stores, and all items are shipped to a student's dorm or apartment. Delivery is important since many students do not own cars.

There are also a number of students who have online businesses that use auction sites to sell items, according to Matt. "One member of our club goes to garage sales on weekends, buys toys there for pennies, and resells the good ones for hundreds of dollars! Another member makes arts and craft bracelets that she sells online for a hefty profit. One student, a very smart one, collects textbooks that the university book store will not buy back and sells them online to students who go to schools who have not opted to use the new version of the textbook."

I interviewed Matt to find out more about students' use of online auction sites for buying and selling.

AUCTIONBYTES: How widespread is the use of auctions by students?

Matt: To the best of my knowledge, 30% of the student body has used online auctions in some capacity, 20% use them regularly as buyers, and 1-4% sell items online.

AUCTIONBYTES: How do students find out about buying and selling online?

Matt: Almost entirely by word of mouth.

AUCTIONBYTES: Do students take it very seriously and follow through?

Matt: Actually, this has never been a problem in my experience. As a seller, the people I am most worried about are the adults who think my eBay sales is like a store which they can return items to. I have never had an experience with a negative comment about a student.

AUCTIONBYTES: Do you know of any other clubs at other universities? Will you be expanding?

Matt: Nope, this is a University of Illinois thing (I am a student here, much easier).

AUCTIONBYTES: Why did you decide to start the club?

Matt: I am a junior majoring in history. I started the club because I feel a lot of students could really benefit from online auctions but are either one, scared about trying something new or, two, are unaware of the benefits. We try to teach people to be comfortable with auctions and educate them about their existence.

More information about the Online Auction Society (OAS) is available at <http://www.uiuc.edu/ro/auction>. The OAS is currently working on three projects: an informational guide for buyers, an informational guide for sellers, and a series of workshops, from the basics of online auctions to advanced auction strategy.

=======================================
INCREASE YOUR AUCTION SALES. USE ANDALE.
Only Andale provides the easiest auction services.
>From Image hosting to tracking your success with Counters
- we have lots available. No matter how much you sell,
you'll find a product that fits your needs.
One million sellers trust their business to Andale. Shouldn't you?

http://www.andale.com/partners/partners_auctionbytes.jsp
================================Advertisement=======

***************************************
***************************************
3) "How to Make a Fortune from Home in Your Spare Time" Part 2
Selling on eBay & Developing a Web Site
by Yisroel Goodman

Many sellers have made eBay their full-time occupation and many more are joining its ranks. eBay is the biggest auction site on the Internet. Writing an article about selling on the Internet that doesn't mention eBay is like discussing the American Revolution without mentioning the Declaration of Independence.

Some sellers count on eBay for 100% of their sales. But is this a smart way to do business?

I have only been selling on the Net for two years. My rating on eBay is only 81 (that's 84 positives, no negatives, no neutrals). But I still sell at least ten items directly off my site for every item I sell on eBay. eBay auctions should be a means to an end, not an end in itself. Your goal is to get customers, not just close auctions.

The risks of relying on eBay sales exclusively are many: eBay outages that take down auctions; vacation periods where bidding slows down; poor economic conditions causing final values to be lower; and questionable rules that cause auctions to be cancelled.

Start deducting the listing fees for the items that didn't sell. Now throw in a deadbeat or two. Even worse, throw in a customer who returns the item later or, in an ever-increasing scam, pays with a payment service and does a charge back a few months later.

eBay is a good way to start out, a good way to dispose of excess inventory and a good way to get your name out there and keep fishing for new customers. But it should NOT be used exclusively to build a business.

Getting a Web Site
Before you sell on eBay, I strongly suggest that you get yourself a Web site. It does not have to be elaborate nor does it need instant buy buttons with credit card acceptance. It should have photos of your goods, pricing and an email link. Though you may be on a tight budget, do not skimp by using one of those free Web sites that puts pop-up ads on top of your page. This is a mistake I made and one I still regret.

When you own a brick-and-mortar store (called B&M on the boards), customers can form an opinion of you by the size of the store, location, inventory, etc. The same is true of a virtual store. A free Web site implies a seller who has not yet made the commitment to stick around. It indicates that he will do anything to cut his costs, no matter how unprofessional it makes him appear. On top of that, the savings are minimal. A real domain name like johnsvideo.com along with a Web site and your own email ID such as sales@johnsvideo.com will only cost about $10 a month. Since I got my own Web site over a year ago, I easily recover this expense every single day in increased sales.

There are three steps to setting up your Web site. First, you need to register your domain name. Next, you have to find a server to host your domain. Last, you have to actually build the site. This once-complicated process has become much easier. Now many services will both register your domain and host your site.

Microsoft Word and Corel Wordperfect both let you create a file and save it as a Web page. This is fine for simple pages. If you want to do something more elaborate, there are many Web sites that offer free lessons on HTML. If you want to create a database of the items you sell, you will have to learn javascript, cgi and ASP. If you use a database and some programming, your Web pages describing your items and prices are built dynamically right off your database. Visit my site and check out the links on the left for the online catalog and item categories as an example.

Where should you go to get your Web site? There are many services out there, some good and some bad. I have only used one service. If you put up a message in our forum at < http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/viewforum.php?forum=7&2 8>, asking for reliable Web Hosting services, you may get some good recommendations. It is important for you to decide what services you will need of your host. Some hosts offer the site at a low cost but provide no real support. Others charge more but provide shopping carts and credit card processing.

I chose a Web host run by a consulting firm that offered some assistance with setting up ASP pages with database and email lists. It was a bargain for $10 a month. I highly recommend the service I use - contact sruli@shaffren.com for more information.

Now that I have my own Web site and see how much business it brings in, I regret not having done so sooner. I regret not having had one when an article of mine was published in an Internet newsletter. My free Web site got thousands of hits from the article. A number of people emailed me. Many wrote to say that they found the article very professional and well-written and then visited my Web site, only to be disappointed by its amateurish appearance and annoying pop-up ads. I had achieved the goal of a Webmaster - an active site with thousands of hits - only to lose it all in order to save $10 a month.

Your Web site speaks for you. Do it right before the visitors arrive.
NOTE: See Part 1 of Izzy's story at <http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/47/48/48.html#izzy>
---
Yisroel (Izzy) Goodman owns Complete Computer Services Inc. and sells electronics online < http://www.ygoodman.com>. He also writes about online payment services and moderates the AuctionBytes forum on online auction services
< http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/viewforum.php?forum=7&2 5>

***************************************
***************************************
4) THIS & THAT

"PayPal Discloses High Rate of Chargebacks"
This article from The Banking Channel reports that liability for chargebacks from fraudulent transactions could cost PayPal the right to accept credit card payments, which comprises 50.5% of its business. You can read the article by going to <http://www.epaynews.com/links/topstories.html> and under "top stories," click on "PayPal Discloses High Rate of Chargebacks."

To read PayPal's SEC filing to go public (form S-1), go to <http://www.sec.gov>, under "Filings & Forms (EDGAR)" click on "Search for Company Filings," click on "Search the EDGAR Archives," and enter "PayPal Inc." in the search box.

NOTE: Beth Kagel (our Vintage Camera forum moderator) sent me this article about chargebacks. <http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2815396,00. html> Fear of fraud is hindering e-commerce, and it is the online retailers who are responsible for failed transactions.

****
Cookie Jars Featured on Incurable Collector
Barbara Crews, the Collectibles Guide on About.com, will be on today (Sunday)'s episode of "Incurable Collector" talking about cookie jars. <http://collectibles.about.com>
Find out more about the show and check the upcoming schedule on the A&E Web site <http://www.aande.com>.

****
AUCTION CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Want to take a break from listing auctions? Grab a cup of coffee and relax with an online crossword puzzle! <http://www.auctionbytes.com/crossword/crossword.html>

We have another challenging crossword puzzle for you this week! Reyne Haines, from <http://www.justglass.com> has created a crossword made up entirely of Depression Glass patterns. This one should keep you occupied for a while, so put your thinking cap on! You can find the puzzle at <http://www.auctionbytes.com/crossword/cwglass2.html>

If you'd like to submit a crossword puzzle, email dsteiner@auctionbytes.com for details. If we use your puzzle, we'll send you $20 and an AuctionBytes Mug (while supply lasts).

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@
Recommend AuctionBytes-Update to a friend! Forward this complete issue to
them, or go to
http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/Recommend/recommend. html
and fill out the short form. A sample issue will automatically be sent to
your friend with a note from us (and you can add a note too).
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@

***************************************
***************************************
5) COLLECTOR'S CORNER
From Vintage Toys to Life-Saving Equipment: A Quick Look at Robots
by Ina Steiner

My first idea of what a robot should look like was from watching 1960s TV programs like "Lost in Space." These early robots had arms and legs and heads and could speak; they could even become part of the family like Rosie, the "slightly used" maid from the cartoon series, "The Jetsons."

The robot in Lost in Space was never named, and like a guard dog, he would warn the humans when there was danger. Who can forget the robot's deep voice calling "Warning, warning, alien approaching" as it waved its arms and flashed its lights. Robert Kinoshita designed the robot, using fiberglass for his torso, rubber for his arms and legs, and wood for his base. The finished product was over six feet tall, weighed 200 pounds and cost Irwin Allen Productions $75,000. You can learn more (and buy kits) at <http://www.aboyd.com/robots/lis.html >.

Today's kids can create their own robots with LEGO Mindstorms <http://mindstorms.lego.com>. The Robotics Invention System 2.0 allows children to create robots, including a robotic rover that can follow a trail, move around obstacles and duck into dark corners.

On the softer side, My Real Baby is a doll from Hasbro and iRobot that uses the Behavior Language Operating System, developed by Rod Brooks, director of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. The doll uses sensors and artificial intelligence to interact with children. <http://www.irobot.com>

You can view some of today's robots here < http://www.yil.com/features/feature.asp?volume=07&issue=08&keyword =asimo> (keep hitting "next" at the bottom, there are three pages). PaPeRo, a prototype from NEC, will change the channels on your TV if you ask it nicely and will find you in the house to recite your email to you.

For a directory of some classic robots, visit <http://chaoskids.com/ROBOTS/directory.html>. Here you can see pictures of robots like Atomic Robot Man, one of the earliest toy robots, manufactured in occupied Japan in the late 1940s.

For a book on tin space toys, see "Vintage Toys: Robots and Space Toys" by Jim Bunte, Dave Hallman, Heinz Mueller <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/158221025X/auctionbytesco m >.

While robots seemed far-fetched in the 1960s and seem like cool toys today, robots are actually being used in a wide variety of "real-life" applications. They can help surgeons operate on people <~http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~issues/spring98/robotic_surgery.html> and have been sent into space.

And robots are ideal for search and rescue missions <http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,46930-2,00.html> and <http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/27/technology/circuits/27ROBO.html >. They can get to places that humans and dogs cannot, and can relay information to rescue workers through infrared and video cameras. Robots are currently on the scene in New York City as they help in the World Trade Center rescue efforts.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is doing cutting-edge research into many aspects of robotics, including the development of robots that can interact and cooperate with people <http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/humanoid-robotics-group>.

Our fascination with robots is clear, as a search on any auction site will reveal. I'm just waiting for a real life Rosie Robot to help me do housework.

"Warning, warning, dust-bunnies taking over the house."

=======================================
Have you been searching high and low for an affordable yet trustworthy
shipping and packaging service for your auction needs?
Many companies will tell you that they are FULL SERVICE.
Be careful - shipping quotes are often just that - shipping only.
What about packing, pick-up, and insurance?

Make your life easy, use CRATERS & FREIGHTERS,
your FULL SERVICE SHIPPING SOLUTION.
Our quotes include everything from pickup at your door to delivery
at the buyer's door and EVERYTHING in between. And our quotes are FREE.
Call 1-800-736-3335 or point, click and ship on
http://www.cratersandfreighters.com/cgi-bin/gocf.cgi?ref=4MGSJ
================================Advertisement=======

***************************************
***************************************
6) Top 8 Items on eBay
The most searched word on the eBay recently were:

American flag
BMW
DVD
Longaberger
Playstation 2
laptop
Barbie
digital camera

Source: eBay, 10/5/01 <http://www.ebay.com>

***************************************
***************************************
7) NEWSFLASH HIGHLIGHTS

These are just some of the headlines from our daily Newsflash feature - if you aren't reading Newsflash, you are only getting part of the story!

Out-of-Print Book Sites Merge: Abebooks.com Acquires JustBooks
Problems Accelerate AuctionWatch's Implementation of eBay's API
Half.com Now Offers NEW Product Offerings
eBay Members Infected as iPix Hit with Nimda Worm
Andale Hits One Million Registered Sellers, Revenue Grows 500% Over Last Year
eBay Allows Shipping Reimbursement for Auction for America Charity Items
Amazon Sues eBay over Former Executive's Non-Compete Agreement
"Checkout" eBay's New Feature, Due Mid-October
PayPal Files to go Public
Controversial Site to Go Live October 20th
Amazon.com Creates Customized "Store" for Customers
1930 Stutz Hits Auction Block October 12th

< http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/newsflash/newsflash.htm l>

RECEIVE NEWSFLASH VIA EMAIL!
Send a blank email to: auctionflash-subscribe@topica.com

***************************************
***************************************
AUCTIONBYTES.COM SPONSORS

Craters & Freighters
http://www.cratersandfreighters.com/cgi-bin/gocf.cgi?ref=4MGSJ

Vision-0ne
http://www.123wholesaleresources.com

Bags Unlimited
http://www.bagsunlimited.com

ABFS
http://www.abfs.com/tools/ltlquotes/nspquotes/default.asp?rf=ab4

Andale
http://www.andale.com

********************************************************** ********************
Please use the AuctionBytes Yellow Pages when you are shopping for supplies and services for online auctions and collectibles!
< http://www.online-auction-directory.com>
********************************************************** ********************

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@auctionbytes.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
-----------------
Thank you for subscribing to AuctionBytes-Update. AuctionBytes-Update email newsletter may be freely distributed in its entirety, so please pass it on. (Individual sections MAY NOT be copied and/or distributed without written permission of the publisher.)

The Fine Print:
No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Steiner Associates makes diligent efforts to obtain accurate and timely information. However, Steiner Associates disclaims any liability to any party for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in AuctionBytes-Update, whether or not such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause. Scratch scratch.