Hello and thanks for stopping by.

As often happens in Spring, I get busy with live auctions and other events so the number of items I list on eBay tends to drop.  This week I’ll be featuring collectible & antique books that were part of the bookstore buyout I made last Spring. I still have plenty of neat items to list.

This weeks book auctions will feature:

Lot of Animal & Natural History Books

A Boy Scout with Byrd, a rare first edition book dated 1931

1913 1st ed Laddie by Gene Stratton Porter good condition

1895 adventure book Tartarin of Tarascon gold gilt cover

1st edition hand signed Mary Higgins Clark Remember Me

and other antique & collectible book lots, I hope you stop by and check out my auctions.

Click here to view my eBay auctions

This week I’ll be listing antique & collectible books. One of the Feature books I’ll have is a 1946 Copy of the Arabian Nights famous for it’s incredible Maxifield Parrish prints.

I have 3 Antique American hand painted laquered paintings circa 1868

Also a great authentic antique Victorian era altered scrap book made from an 1891 copy of The Statistics of Railways in the United States. This is packed with period scrapbook content. The content includes poetry of the era, important news articles, blurbs and picture. This is a nice piece of Americana.

Also I’ll be auctioning sore real fun vintage mystery paperbacks, vintage Landmark children’s books and more antique books.

Short Blog Post this week, need to get back to listing!

Click here to see my eBay auctions.

This week I’ve acquired most of the lots at my favorite local flea market, Rietta Ranch. Besides my find the day was made interesting by seeing this great Model A Ford truck in the line loaded with antiques & other goodies. Of course we were all hoping the truck was for sale, but no such luck!

It’s an interesting time of year for eBay because it should be a time when the amount of antiques & collectibles listings increase due to the amount availability that the good weather brings.

I myself have been a bit busy with appraisal days and other auction projects and eBay listings have been a bit light, however I plan a very large antique & collectible book listing coming up in the next few weeks.

Here’s a few of the things I have this week.

A batch of 25  vintage  comic magazines  including Creepy, Conan, Masters of Terror and more.

A nice lot of “The Happy Hollisters” vintage children’s books with original dust jackets in very good condition.

A lot of Landmark Books in nice condition.

Some Boy Scout’s Manuals

A rare book titled “Survival into the 21st Century”, the cover for this was done by Peter Max and artist who did much of the Beatles Yellow Submarine artwork.

You’ll notice I’ve started adding other pages on this blog which I hope you’ll visit. They include articles and posts on “How to do eBay” and will add them as often as possible.

Click here to visit other eBay auctions.

Hello there, not much was listed today, it’s a time of year when I am very busy with other projects and eBay listings start to decrease, Powerseller status usually slips and I get fresh air for the first time in 6 months as I un-glue myself from my computer chair.

This is does not at all mean it’s a slow time for everyone on eBay, to the contrary. Many people list a large volume of items they find at yard sales, local auctions and outdoor fleas, so I will find plenty to write about to keep the blog fresh. It’s just that as an auctioneer, I have other things to tend to at this time of year which take up eBay time.

Here’s what I did manage to get up today. A very nice, 1979, 1st edition copy of Frogs Into Princes by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, and early Neuro Linguistic Programming Book. I guess this is what gave Tony Robbins his juice on this subject.

I also listed a 1933 copy of the Girls Own Annual and the 1899 World Almanac.

See you soon.

Hello all. It’s been a while between posts and that’s because Spring is a busy time of year for an auctioneer and juggling eBay activities with live auction tasks is always a challenge. That said, I’ll try to post here a bit more often.

What you’ll notice this week is that I’ll be listing more “lots or dealer lots” as I call them. This is to save me time when time is the shortest for me and should result in some great buys for resellers & collectors. Dealers should take special note of my bulk paper & ephemera lots.

So let’s see a sample of the things I’ll be listing this week. I have a very neat original circa 1952 Roy Rogers Frontier shirt made by Rob Roy. It’s a large child’s size 14. This items was acquired at one of my local auction haunts’ County Auctions in Gardner MA.

Also listed this week are a lot of 3 vintage movie posters of the type that were for actual display in the theater lobby’s. There’s a 1959 Frank Sinatra and a 1960 & a 61 Walt Disney  poster lot. All  3 of these will be sold as a lot.

Starting at an insane $9.95 I have a great antique & vintage bulk epemera lot that will feature, prints, Black Americana labels, ink blotters, stamps, old prints & etchings from books and much more, I’ll have  200 pieces into the lot or more!. See the auction for details!

Of course I’ll be running antique & collectible books include some lots on Japanese Culture, a couple of lots of “back to the earth type books”, the 1963 edition of Lloyd’s Register of American Yachts, Native American and more book lots.

And of course, this is only a sample of what I’ll be listing, stop by the auctions and say hello.

Also, I’d love to hear about your eBay finds.

I would like to take a moment to write a few words of respect in Memory of Mr. Paul Drowne of Gardner MA who I recently learned had passed away two weeks ago. The book store buyout that I’ve referenced for the last 8 months came through Mr Drowne who I’d first met about 25 years earlier when I was a picker and he purchased a few book lots from me at a fair price when I was breaking into the business. He was a wise man who instinctively knew and valued the hard work of a grunt. If his family or friends should ever stumble upon this listing, know that the only two times I ever transacted with him, I found him to be a complete caring and understanding person. I was honored to have done business with him and learned a lot both times I did. It seems ironic, no more than that, that I was able to be on completely polar opposite transactions each time, the first when I’d needed money for a few handfuls of books, and the last being a large bulk buyout of his life’s work in the book selling world.

He’d had one van full left that I hadn’t noticed until well after the deal was consumed, so naturally I’d asked about it. His son explained that it was stock for upcoming flea market season at Rietta Ranch where the father and son team were a fixture on the field for many years. At better than 80 years old Paul & Derek went out for the Umpteenth time, to ‘work Rietta’. Now that’s work ethic! I understand he wrote poetry and published a collection called deep thoughts, which I know I have a copy of, and look forward slowing down a bit to read soon.

Good by Mr. Paul Drowne and thanks.

I look forward to another season of picking Rietta Ranch in Hubbardston MA myself this year, it’s one of the last great giant outdoor weekly fleamarkets in New England. I believe there are over 600 spots! When you hit Rietta at the crack of dawn, business will be done. It’s not a slow flea by any means and many dealers are sold out and gone by 10:00 am. It opens at 6am and if there are any steals left after 7:30, you can be sure there’s another special event that Sunday close by. Every year there are rumors of it closing and every year we clean it to the bones of it’s best treasures until October comes around to argue. I can’t wait! My best Rietta finds will come here on eBay.

But I lured you here with the promise of what I’d be listing on eBay this week. If you read my last post, you’ll see that I did indeed with the bids on a few of the items I was hoping to get at one of my favorite live local auction haunts County Auctions in Gardner MA.

The one I’m most excited about is that little doozie of a guitar The vintage Epephone model acoustic guitar made by Epiphone Industries of Calcutta, Model #150

There’s a neat vintage brass & plated desk sculpture of the earth that’s tarnished green in a very interesting way.

This weeks finds also include the largest escutcheon I’ve even had, circa early 1900s,

A very heavy and I think early brass mortar

a leather whip, Check out the picture with my finger next to the broken braid, this is what you get when you buy an item without inspecting it closely. Fortunately I know enough to only bid low on items I haven’t checked out closely and only paid $5.00 for these and Pinocchio’s feet, which are these neat vintage shoe forms great for re-painting as door stops or other crafts.

and my usual round of books, rather then listing book details here, I’ll let the listings do the talking for themselves on the books this week, suffice it to say, I’ll start most of them at 99 cent’s.

I’ve finally managed to achieve my goal of having the “My eBay” listings post up a day before listing them, so if your reading this on Saturday, they will be up on Sunday evening.

Click here to see my current eBay auctions.

Well this post is getting off a little late, and I’m just listing some of the items I won at County Auctions in Garner MA.

I ended up winning quite a bit at that auction, I’ll be listing the rest of the items very soon.

The neatest thing I won that I’m very excited about is an antique Epiphone Acoustic Dreadnought guitar, that will be listed this coming Sunday evening along with other antiques and collectibles.

What I’ve listed this week:

An antique wall mount tin match pocket

A vintage brass soap holder in the seashell format.

A vintage copper sugar shaker.

A wonderful retro chrome & glass compote.

A retro chrome creamer by Faber bros.

Click here to see these items which all start at 99 cents.

The start of Spring in New England always means abundance for the collectibles and antique marketplace. This was evident upon my week ritual Tuesday inspection of County Auction House on Main St in Gardner MA. The last few weeks held slim pickins’ at this local auction house as is the case with most country auctions in the winter months. Reason’s being that most people in New England being tucked away for the winter usually don’t want to let pickers tramp about the barn and other buildings in freezing weather. If such an effort is attempted in the frigid months, usually the picker and the prospect only go through the process on a very limited basis, each opting to dig deeper when can feel their fingers and toes.

So yes Spring brings and abundance of fresh merchandise on the market, this Spring especially so, here’s why. Whenever the economy is in turmoil, recession, a slowdown or whatever else you want to call it, more people are looking to sell what they have, it’s really simple math. That said, pickers should be careful with the prices they pay for things, because while there is a lot more out there, selling prices will likely be down. This is OK as long as you buy right.

So here are a few of the things I have my eye on at this auction in Gardner, I’ll be posting anything I actually win on eBay.

A 1950s Epiphone Guitar

some very early large iron keys

several antique clarinet’s and a trumpet

an R. Atkinson Fox print

some cast iron book ends etc and much more.

Local country auctions are one of the best way’s to get merchandise to re-sell on eBay. Sometimes they can be crowded and prices are high, but there are times when almost no one is there and you can get some great deals. Attend an auction this week, it’s the only market where the buyer is the boss!

It’s been a pretty busy week, I’ve got an eBook published, but it’s not the one I the one I’d planned on publishing! It’s titled “The Top Ten Ways to get the Best Money for Your Old Baseball Cards on eBay”. The reason I published this book first rather than the one I’d planned on, (How to Get the Best Money for Your Antiques & Collectibles Fast) is because of the popularity of the complete standard Baseball Card Grading guide I posted on Auctionwally.com a while back.

That guide page has been one of the most visited pages on that blog and as a result people are always asking me how to get the stratospheric prices that some sellers always seem to get for their valuable cards. Rather than say much more about that, I’ll end the subject by saying you can find links to those here and at Auctionwally.com

The primary purpose of this post is to give readers an insight into the story and detail behind some of the things I’m listing this week on eBay. So here we go:

As usual, I’ve got a round of interesting collectible books up from the Bookstore buyout I’ve referenced before. So far there’s a 1951 copy of Big League Baseball with stories by Damon Runyon and others.

The Shirley Temple edition of Captain January with the original Dust Jacket

1920s edition of The Last of the Mohicans

1936 ed of West Point Full Back by Herb Kent w/ orignial DJ

Milton Glasser Graphic Design Book (Glassed did the famous Bob Dylan Poster)

A wonderful 1941 Random House edition of Don Quixote with it’s original slip cover

The Concordance of Shakspere

A batch of Louis L’Amour books that will be sold as a lot.

1934 ed of the Little Book About God by Lauren Ford

1854 edition of Lalla Rookh by Thomas Moore

Minnie Pearl’s Christmas at Grinder’s Switch 1963 ed.

I’ll also have a large 2 lb lot of antique buttons

a real pearl pendant necklace

There will be more antique & collectible books added as well as other items.

As of late, I’ve found myself listing more than one day a week so check with the blog later in the week or just check the auctions.

A bit about these lots.

Those of you who check in with me here or at Auctionwally.com know that I preach buying in large lots from estates or dealers that wholesale. Well the auctions I’m listing this week are fresh to market antiques & collectibles, but they are from lots I’ve purchased long ago. Lots that have already paid for themselves. When you make a big purchase that has hundreds or thousands of items, it’s like the gift that keeps on giving and you’ll never starve for things to sell when you buy like this. So if I can leave you with one thought this post let it be, “Well bought is half sold”.

Click here to see my eBay auctions. 

Maintaining Your Supply Network

Maintaining a reliable source of suppliers is one of the hardest parts of running a profitable online auction business. If you can’t get a consistent source of genuine, low-cost goods, then it’s hard to break even – let alone make any money. If you have tried to search for wholesalers and dropshippers yourself, then you probably know how difficult it is to find the right ones. You can spend days perusing lists, and then run into suppliers who refuse to do business with auction sellers, like you, who usually place small orders. That’s where a premium directory of eBay wholesaler sources can really help. But before you sign up for a directory, you need to ask several questions:

1. Is the supplier list updated?
2. Is any user-generated feedback on the supplier available?
3. Do they cater to home-based businesses wanting to order small quantities?
4. Do they offer a massive inventory of goods?
5. Do they offer a guarantee?

One directory that meets all these requirements and gets mostly good reviews is SaleHoo. SaleHoo offers a comprehensive directory of over 5,000 wholesale suppliers. And it also has active advice forums with over 40,000 members. On the forums you can check to find user reviews and feedback for many of the suppliers. SaleHoo also gives you the wholesaler contact information you need – up front – so you’ll never have to go through any extra steps to find it.

There are other places to look for free information, but it can often take an incredible amount of time to find what you’re looking for. So, if you’re serious about expanding your online auction business and supply network, SaleHoo is worth looking into. SaleHoo membership comes with a money back guarantee so there’s no real risk or commitment.