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When we think of eBay and other online auctions, most of us think only of buying and selling. All this is what auctions were intended for. However, you can do much more than simply find a wanted item to add to your collection, or resell for profit.
The ever-changing listings on eBay and other auctions constitute one of the richest sources of information on the Web. Need to know how much a certain stereo might cost you? Check out the going rates for it on eBay.
You may have figured that one out already. But, what else can you do with auction listings? Searching old books and automotive collectibles listings might turn up a photo of that 1913 Burton car your granddad was always raving about. Or, maybe you wonder what the Cincinnati Reds' Crosley Field looked like in 1940. Odds are that someone is selling a post card or photo of exactly that. Need to know what books have been written on the subject of polo? You will probably find at least one book that isn't listed anywhere else.
Detailed information in some auction listings has helped me nail down history such as the dates of a specific event, or when a business was operating. For example, an old catalog showed that a certain toy company had started in business 10 years earlier than I thought. Another photo solved a mystery about my hometown that had puzzled me for years: What was that pile of rubble in the middle of a major intersection when I was a child? A 1918 post card photo revealed that it was originally a decorative fountain that fed a public horse-watering trough.
Beyond such general-interest and hobby applications, eBay and other auctions can serve as a serious research tool. For example, I've been doing some writing about an automaker named Powel Crosley, Jr. Thanks to eBay searches, I've not only seen (and in some cases, bought) photos of Crosley cars, but I've also found magazine articles about Crosley cars that I didn't know existed.
Too, thanks to eBay, I have found obscure books that are not listed anywhere else (not at Amazon.com, nor even in the Library of Congress copyright listings), and which added much detail on the life of Powel Crosley, Jr. Some photos have provided links between Crosley and people such as Theodore Roosevelt and Charles Lindbergh.
If I want a certain book or magazine I've found, but lose in the bidding, I am still ahead. I know the book or magazine exists, as well as the name of the author and publisher, and I can search for it elsewhere (and watch for it in future auctions).
eBay and other auctions listings can do the same for you. If you have a school paper to complete, or some background research to conduct, do searches on your subject on eBay, Yahoo, Amazon, and other auctions. You won't always turn up what you need, but when you do get relevant information, it's likely to be something you never would have found anywhere else.
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