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David and I attended the Boston Antiquarian Bookfair yesterday - what a show! I drooled over first edition Agatha Christie novels in the $17,000 price range while David spotted Beatle Paul McCartney's handwritten lyrics for "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" for $145,000. The show featured a pleasing range of books from the 1400s to today, and there was something for everyone. The show continues today at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.
After the show, we went to dinner in Chinatown with AuctionBytes writer Edith Reynolds and her husband, Donato, who were exhibiting wares from their bookstore, The John Bale Book Company. Conversation, of course, centered on the online auction industry - how it's faring and in which direction it's headed. We got our answers sooner than expected when, at the end of the meal, our waiter brought us fortune cookies. Printed on the back of each of our fortunes was an ad for Half.com, "an eBay company". However, none of our fortunes indicated if we would have a good week selling online.
David and I often get notes from readers who thank us for publishing AuctionBytes. We know first-hand how difficult it is to keep up with the constantly changing landscape in this industry. There are many intelligent, hard-working people in the auction community, and we appreciate the time you take to keep us informed and stay in touch with us.
I also want to say a word about our sponsors. David and I began publishing AuctionBytes in 1999. We have been able to make our content free thanks to advertising revenue. I'd like to thank all the companies who have advertised with us over the past two years.
Extra-special thanks go to our long-term supporters: Craters & Freighters, Auction Seller's Resource and TIAS. Craters & Freighters picks up your item at your house or office, packs it, ships it, and delivers it - no matter how large or awkward the item. The Auction Seller's Resource has all kinds of resources for sellers, including a free newsletter. And TIAS is an online "antiques mall" allowing antiques and collectibles dealers to set up shop in cyberspace.
Thank you for supporting our sponsors. Links to all current advertisers are always found at the end of each newsletter. And I hope you can use them to help you in your auction and collecting activities.
Ina Steiner is Editor of AuctionBytes.com and author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). She has a background in marketing and research in the high-tech and publishing fields. If you have story ideas, comments or questions, send them to ina@auctionbytes.com.
