eBay Watch: eBay News and Tips for Antique Sellers
This week we continue to explore online vintage and antique auctions and offer tips for selling in a recession.
Ask any auctioneer about antiques in a bad economy and you'll likely hear the words "recession-proof commodity." Walt Kolenda (known as Auctionwally) said that antiques always do well, even during downturns in the economy. He said, "Antiques and collectables are always a hot market. Even in a bad economy people look to invest in tangible assets, so antiques become more of an attractive investment." Kolenda also says that while you can expect antique and collectible prices to come down somewhat during tough financial times, overall you will see that auction activity for these items grow as more people look to invest.
Last week we took a look at Ruby Lane, a venue for sellers looking to showcase their vintage, antique, collectible and artisan wares (read the story here). In addition to Ruby Lane, there are other online venues where you can sell your antiques and collectibles or even find good leads for sales, according to Kolenda. One place Kolenda tracks is WorthPoint, a company specializing in high-end referrals that can be contracted to negotiate for the best auction outlet for a piece. Kolenda also says that the online collecting community iTaggit is also an excellent place for sellers to get involved. On iTaggit you can post photos, blogs, classifieds and other details about a collection or item you have for sale.
Kolenda sets himself apart from the competition by both marketing his own site as well as his auctioneer presence. Just recently he hosted a live auction on Bonanzle, an alternative selling venue that doesn't even offer auction-style listings. These auctions are live, real-time auctions that are broadcast over the Talkshoe network, with items available for preview on the Bonanzle Web site prior to bidding. Buyers can bid live in a chat room in Kolenda's booth on Bonanzle.
Live chat bids enable buyers to see exactly where the bidding is at and who the other bidders are, just like a real auction. Citing the somewhat unexpected success of the Bonanzle auction, Kolenda said right now the key to operating a successful online antique business is being creative and taking advantage of all possible opportunities to keep your online sales going strong.
Finally, another great resource for online antique sellers is the new industry group and realted site, the "Antiques, Vintage & Collectibles Online Sellers Association (or AVCOSA)." It is a professional organization that represents the interests of sellers and also promotes professionalism among online vendors of antiques, vintage and collectibles products through education, information and technology. You can get more information at the AVCOSA Web site.
eBay Alternative Updates
The eBay alternative Wensy is now home to more than 50,000 active listings, according to the company. The site is reporting item sales totaling more than $19,000 for January. The online selling venue also says it has contracted a new ASP programmer who will be working on recreating the store front and that it is also working with Spoonfeeder, a developer of the popular Spoonfeeder auction management software.
This month eBid.net members are auctioning off items to raise money for aid agencies helping those affected by the Australian bush fires currently raging throughout Victoria. Live auctions begin from as little as a $1 for items such as card games, stamps, jewelry, chocolates, toys and DVDs. The site is even offering home-made, personalized cookies that the seller says she'll ship anywhere in the world to help raise money for agencies helping out with this disaster.
Over on Bonanzle.com, a new server upgrade is finished. Bonanzle has also been working on grassroots Advertising, offering members instant access to Twitter to write about their new items, and there has also been an announcement regarding a new Craigslist Exporter, a semi-automated tool for getting your Bonanzle booth items posted on Craigslist.
Only on eBay: Free Photos, Cutting Knife Sales, Survey Says Shopper Satisfaction Slipping
In other collectible news this week, eBay announced fee changes to eBay-hosted pictures in the Collectibles, Art, Antiques and Pottery & Glass categories. While your first image is free, starting today, eBay is making all additional pictures, Picture Pack and Gallery Plus free for listings in all four of those categories on the ebay.com Web site. The pictures are also free for all listing formats including auction-style, Fixed Price (all durations), Store Inventory and Classified Ads.
Before today, sellers listing in these four categories paid 15 cents per each additional photo, up to $1 per listing when using Gallery Plus or Picture packs. The free picture services do not apply to other categories on eBay. In its on-site FAQ eBay says the change is a result of the company's review of the more diverse categories.
EBay also indicated that it is working on adding new options for sellers who manage their pictures on external servers with the development of new visual tools that will leverage eBay-hosted photos and give users even more functionality when browsing.
In other eBay news, the auction giant has nixed knife sales on two of its' international sites; eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie.
EBay says that all knives except cutlery will be banned from sale on these two sites. Over the past year, eBay has made changes to policies regarding sales of knives and Samurai swords to ensure that only legal knives are available on the UK and Irish sites. In its' official announcement, eBay cites complex criteria for what constitutes a legal knife and says the banning of knives on these sites is necessary to protect members and to ensure high safety standards.
Finally, a study out this week says eBay buyer satisfaction is slipping, as customer satisfaction for the e-commerce industry as a whole slides downward for the first time since 2004. Consumer satisfaction declined for eBay in 2008 compared to 2007, with the company scoring a rating of 78 out of 100, down 3.7 percent from 2007, according to the survey produced by the American Consumer Satisfaction Index and the University of Michigan.
Vangie Beal is a seasoned online marketplace seller, frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com and avid online bargain hunter. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com.
IE 7
Firefox 2.0
