In 1995, when collectors began jumping on the Internet in search of antiques and collectibles, two sites sprang up to serve them. The boyfriend of a Pez collector started a little auction site called AuctionWeb, now known as eBay. And an award-winning photojournalist-turned-antiques dealer created an online version of an antiques mall, called TIAS.com. The two sites continue to serve the needs of dealers and collectors today, and one is celebrating its seventh birthday this month.

TIAS.com is holding "the Web's largest Antique & Collectible sale" on April 21 to celebrate its 7th anniversary of serving the antiques and collectibles marketplace. The site is home to over 700 merchants and also hosts an online store for Collector Books and hosts the free Kovels online price guide published by collectibles experts Ralph and Terry Kovel. Commenting on the anniversary, Ralph and Terry said, "This is our 5th year on TIAS. From the start, TIAS has been a pleasure to work with. Best wishes on many more successful years!"

Phillip Davies, who co-founded TIAS.com in 1995, recognized the potential of the World Wide Web for collectors. He himself has been a collector since the age of 12, when he started accompanying his parents to flea markets as they searched for inventory for their bookstore. His first purchase was a carton of 1940s Pulp magazines. He bought the box and its contents for $5 and resold the individual titles at local flea markets for $10 each. Many years later, after a successful career as a photojournalist, Davies turned his attention back to his love of collecting and started the TIAS.com Web site with two colleagues to provide an efficient marketplace for antiques dealers and collectors. When he has time, Phil collects post-1960 space collectibles, and is sharing his love of collecting with his two children.

Davies is pleased to give back to the collectors who have supported the TIAS site, and he said most of the 700+ TIAS merchants will participate in the anniversary sale next Sunday. "Participating merchants will be offering everything from discounts on listed items to free shipping, special offers and new fresh listings. We've never had a sale with this much merchandise available or this many registered users."

TIAS.com offers merchants an ecommerce system that allows them to sell antiques and collectible in a fixed-price format and also allows them to port items to sell in auction format on sites like eBay. Systems designed by TIAS currently serve over 100,000 unique customers a day.

The TIAS.com anniversary sale will begin Sunday, April 21, at 1 pm EST, when a special page will be activated listing all of the sale participants and merchandise. Collectors who want to take advantage of this special anniversary sale should go to http://www.tias.com.