Surveys about Antiques and Collectibles

[Phil Davies]

TIAS.com and AuctionBytes.com will be conducting future surveys about antiques and collectibles, online buying and selling, and other topics of interest to collectors. If you have questions you would like answered, please let us know.

Feel free to hit the "Post Reply" button and tell us what's on your mind - (almost) anything goes!

Phil Davies, TIAS.com

[rykar]

I completed the survey..but, didn't answer the last two questions honestly. I don't shop on the net for gifts. I do buy a lot for resale.
So I went and said would be buying less. I am a dealer and can find things on Ebay, that I can't find in my area. The sites, are to high to buy for resale.

[Guest]

Hi all,

I think your survey is a fun idea.

Any predictions before you see the numbers?

[jcrawford]

Maybe that would be a good survey question...

"How often do you tell the truth in surveys?"
_________________
Jim Crawford
"ingenious creativity"
www.CrawfordDirect.com
www.OmahaFineDining.com

[Guest]

I enjoy doing surveys. It's interesting to find out what other people think about a product or idea. I have a lot of fun on Ebay so this survey will be particularly interesting to me.

[dolojo]

I responded to your recent survey about online auctions and plans for holiday buying. For the first question, I had to select "Other" because I buy about 80% of my antiques and collectibles are regular ol' auctions, but that choice was not available. Would have been nice to have a place on any survey where you can make a comment, explain an answer (such as choosing "Other"), or say whatever else is on your mind.

That's my $0.02 worth!
Donna

[jlove]

None of the choices regarding shopping on Ebay fits quite what I do. I SHOP a lot on Ebay, but I don't buy. I like to see what's available and what people are willing to pay. Maybe it should be called 'window shopping.'

[Guest]

I would like to see a survey built for the purpose of identifying any up and coming selling venues that might be worth taking a second glance at.

Create a list of say 100 auction sites, and under separate heading, 100 storefront malls, etc. Then do the survey to find out if the respondents are buyers/sellers/both. Check off those sites they have visited or are familiar with, check those they have sold or purchased from, you get the idea... the premise being to identify those alternative sites that deserve a second look.

As for eBay surverys and the like, with an untold number of stockholders, employees, active users etc., its difficult to say, but I think they're worthless - unless we can establish them in a manner such that they're a true random sampling, and not just a bunch of people rooting for the home team.

I just observed one survey on the net asking existing sellers if we need even more sellers selling such and such (in a particularly saturated market), and the response indicated that yes, they need even more sellers... go figure, is that a skewed survey or what?

===========

By the way, if a person opens a storefront on TIAS, how long before they make it live?

[CeChange]

I wonder if -truthfully -anyone ever feels guilty about selling something for a large amount of money that they bargined with someone for at a garage sale etc;. and got for very little cost.
Has anyone ever gone back and shared their gains??? Are there any ethics problems here??

[scotland2]

On the first question, I had to go with "other"
You need a space to check for local auction houses, I am sure MANY people use this outlet for their antiques.

[bobbiejean]

Should I feel guilty for making a profit on something I got at a garage sale? I think not........Do retailer's feel guilty for socking it to us? I think not.........

[hunter724]

[aspoch]

I, too, do most of my shopping at local estate auctions -- not a choice, so I had to select "other."

[etherealadornments]

[elephant10]

Do you collect elephants?

How many people do you know that collect elephants?

Mike Knapik