Online sales of antiques and collectibles on the TIAS.com Web site shot up in 2001. And their holiday sales were excellent. (See my report in Article #3.) People are more comfortable shopping online, according to several recent reports. So what should we wish for in 2002? Here are the top three items on my wish list:
1) Online fraud prevention. Auction sites and online payment services should pay more attention to member complaints about fraud. One con artist can do a lot of damage; how many different people have to complain about the same perpetrator before he/she is permanently banned from a site?
2) Low fees, stable postage rates, and free bubble-wrap. Okay, the last one is more a dream than a wish. But lower average selling prices combined with higher costs do not make for happy sellers.
3) Better ways to market myself so I am rewarded with repeat business for good customer service.
Speaking of marketing, we were profiled in the Boston Sunday Globe a few weeks ago in DC Denison's OnSite column. He paid us one of the highest compliments possible (as far as I'm concerned) when he said David and I engage in "Click and Clack" style banter. (If you don't know Click and Clack of Car Talk, shame on you! You should go immediately to http://cartalk.cars.com and listen to their hysterically funny radio show.)
David and I are doing our own gig on the radio, and appear weekly on Gary Sohmer's "Calling All Collectors" program. We are the online-auction correspondents and report the news on Monday mornings at 10am on WSRO 1470AM in Massachusetts. You can call a toll-free number 1-877-977-6100 and ask questions - even if you aren't in the listening area. And Gary does psychic appraisals. Give us a call - we'd love to hear from you!
Besides being an expert himself, Gary has lots of other appraisers and industry gurus on the show every day. Reyne Haines is Gary's regular guest on Thursdays if you have glass questions. (Reyne founded the JustGlass.com auction site.)
I've been keeping you updated about a new Content Management system coming to our Web site in the New Year. Things are still on track for a January launch. This being a "technology thing," there may be a few glitches here and there. If you do experience any problems, let us know!
Here's to a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!
Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and AuctionBytes.com and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @auctionbytes and send news tips to ina@auctionbytes.com.
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