Fixed-price online sales for antiques and collectibles at TIAS.com grew 32% in 2001. Most of this increase was due to better than expected sales in the 4th quarter.

Online-auction sales for merchants grew as well. TIAS.com merchants sold $1.9 million in Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS) on eBay in 2000. In 2001, that grew almost 90% to $3.6 million in GMS.

"This year people were much more comfortable shopping online," said Phillip Davies president of TIAS.com "We saw a tremendous surge in holiday sales in November and December. Our merchants did quite well."

TIAS.com is an online version of an "antiques mall." You can go to the TIAS home page and search for particular items, and it will search all of the stores on the Web site. TIAS is the oldest antiques mall online and has an average of 390,000 items up for sale.

Mr. Davies noticed another interesting trend in 2001 - the sale of furniture online. Shoppers who want to find one-of-a-kind items are turning to sites like AntiqueArts.com, a site specializing in high-end fine antiques. Eight of the top 20 search terms for 2001 on the AntiqueArts.com site were furniture-related; the top four terms were, in order: Furniture, Tables, Beds, and Chairs. Services like Craters & Freighters (an AuctionBytes sponsor) make sales of large items possible online by providing door-to-door packaging and shipping of large and awkward items.

The following "Hot List" from TIAS contains the top 20 search terms in the area of antiques and collectibles for 2001. Remember, these are not sales, but indicate items people were looking for on the TIAS site.

1. Cookie jars
2. Carnival glass
3. Lamps
4. McCoy
5. Depression glass
6. Roseville
7. Dolls
8. China
9. Noritake
10. Furniture
11. Avon
12. Teapots
13. Plates
14. Limoges
15. Rings
16. Clocks
17. Hull
18. Pottery
19. Nippon
20. Milk glass

Source: Tias.com http://www.tias.com