John and Nancy Culton are retired consultants from Chicago who now live in a small town in Wisconsin. They sell rare and out-of-print books, magazines, prints, and other paper collectibles on online auction sites. They wrote me a very nice letter, and when I asked, they agreed to share their background with everyone.
WHAT THEY SELL: Rare and out-of-print books, magazines, prints, and other paper collectibles. (Auction ID: nansbooks)
SOURCE OF INVENTORY: They have a 35-year collection of books and magazines, which occupies 14 bookcases in their retirement apartment. They buy estates and go to Farm Auctions in Wisconsin. They also buy from antique dealers who don't want to handle books.
GREATEST CHALLENGE: They use a WebTV and have no scanner, so they have to provide very good descriptions.
BEST ONLINE AUCTION EXPERIENCE: They found an estate of rare pigeon and poultry books that sold for between $300 and $1,200 each.
WORST ONLINE AUCTION EXPERIENCE: They haven't had many bad experiences. Once they put up a vintage Barbie doll dress. The high bidder returned the item - she thought she had bid on a full size dress!
CLIENTELE: They have several excellent repeat customers who are collectors and who have asked to be told when John and Nancy will be putting certain items up for auction. They have sold items to people in Japan, England, Australia, Canada, Germany, and France.
WHAT THEY COLLECT: Nancy has over 1,200 cookbooks and over 1,000 cooking magazines, and she is currently writing her own cookbook!
