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Auctionbytes-Update, Number 39 - June 02, 2001 - ISSN 1528-6703
This & That
1) eBay Announces Recommendations Feature
By Ina Steiner
eBay announced a new feature whereby buyers who are outbid on an auction will receive an email containing items similar to the one they did not win http://pages.ebay.com/search/items/recommendations_learnmore.html. If AuctionWatch's forums are any indication, sellers are not happy about this latest eBay policy. http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/read.html?num=2&thread=379361 One member wrote, "Someone explain to me why it is that WE'RE not suppose to contact our under bidders with offers to trade, but eBay can!?!?"
We wonder how this policy will affect closing auction prices. The urgency to win an auction is sure to be lessened since losing bidders can look forward to a list of similar items that are still up for sale. Stay tuned for this one!
2) How to Get Around eBay's 'No Links' Policy
By Ina Steiner
Sellers are not allowed to link to their Web sites on their auctions' "View Item" pages, something that is distressing to many sellers. The Auction Seller's Resource developed some strategies for sellers who would like bidders to know how to find them.
http://www.auction-sellers-resource.com/articles/index.shtml
3) Calling All Collectors - In Boston
By Ina Steiner
Gary Sohmers is the "King of Pop Culture" and frequently appears as an appraiser on the PBS Television Program "Chubb's The Antiques Roadshow." If you live in the Boston area, tune in to Gary's show, "Calling All Collectors," on Sunday mornings from 11 am - 12 noon on WBIX AM 1060. You can call in to 877-711-1060 to ask Gary questions about collectibles and memorabilia. He'll also give you a "Psychic Appraisal" on collectible items. http://www.allcollectors.com
4) Product Recalls and Safety Information
By Ina Steiner
If you are buying and selling used items, you may be interested in a way to look up product recalls for unsafe items. You can review recent recalls or search the database at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. They also have tips like the "Back to School Safety Checklist." The "Thrift Store Checklist" http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/thrift/thrftck .html is also useful.
http://www.cpsc.gov
5) Edith Reynolds Profiled in New York Times
By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes columnist Edith Reynolds was profiled along with her husband, Dan Gaeta. The two are joint owners of The John Bale Book Company, an antiquarian bookstore located in Waterbury, Connecticut http://www.sellusyourbooks.com/contactus.html. The article focused on ways in which sellers of used books have established themselves in cyberspace.
New York Times: "For Used Books, a Shelf in Cyberspace" by Alan Bisbort, 5/20/01
6) Buying & Selling Online
By Ina Steiner
The Collecting Channel opened a new forum on their Message Board called "Buying & Selling Online - News & Views": http://www.collectingchannel.com, click on message board.
7) Why Not Run Another Online Auction Story?
By Ina Steiner
The Industry Standard's Media Grok reports on the attention that online auctions are getting from journalists. http://biz.yahoo.com/st/010601/26842.html
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