WorthPoint » Will Seippel

Where’s Will? Postcards from the Edge of the Collecting World

Will Seippel — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:55:30 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio – There has been a spirited conversation in the comment sections of some of our WorthPoint articles about whether collecting is in danger of dying out because younger people do not collect. It is my belief that yes, there are young collectors, and no, collecting is not dying.

First I have to laughingly try to define, “younger.” For the sake of argument, I will define that as people younger than me, which is younger than 50.

I totally disagree with the thought process that younger people don’t collect. I do believe that they:

• Buy differently than we have in the past. For example, they generally do not want to drive all over the countryside to find one item. Thus, as I noticed at the Miami Beach International Antiques Show in January, they will go to shows where a large group of quality items are in one place. They also shop online, as it is quick to find a group of items that they are interested in and they are comfortable making online purchases.

• They buy different items then we did. This should not come as a surprise as this happens with every generation. Styles and tastes change. Also, furniture trends have been bad for years, as first home sizes shrank and the amount paid in mortgages went up. Thus, smaller collectibles and antiques became increasingly popular, especially things that could be put in the mail and paid for out of next week’s paycheck.

• Typically, for those in what I call the “hormone years,” collecting stops. People in the 18-35 age group, are chasing each other and put their collections aside. Once they catch one in other, they start collecting again, filling their dwelling with things that will tie them to their past. I resumed my collecting with Lionel trains and coins.

Collecting is in people’s genes and is not removed in a generation. And it will always tie a person securely back to a point in the past.

As a dealer, I must also remember that I am also, by definition, a marketer. This means I need to look for groups of buyers and determine how much money they have to spend and how to reach them. I then need to translate that knowledge into what I buy for resale. If you see me in your booth or shop, you will also see that I ask a lot of questions as I am always trying to learn about something new.

Looking at potential customers aged 12 from 40; what are they buying or collecting? I have seen a host of items. Some might associate a younger audience with a collectible such as PEZ dispensers, and others would just scratch their heads when you tell them there is a market for Sandinista rebel art. Personally, I did not know the latter existed. My best PEZ buyer is 14 and I learned I could also sell a certain PEZ dispenser for more than $1,000. Other items younger people collect are Civil War accoutrements, Marilyn Monroe, Japanese Manga art, Transformers, inside door knockers and postcards. I am always asking young people what they collect. Glass seems to be fading, but it has also been dropping from everyday use for some time.

One of my friend Krista’s postcards from your collection, advertising a vintage bicycle company. The fact that Krista, who is in her 20s, is collecting postcards, shows that younger people are collecting; they’re just collections include items that we older folks seldom think about.

I spend a lot of time in Columbus, Ohio, where WorthPoint has it tech facility, and consequently, spend several nights a week living at a hotel. One of my favorite 20-something cocktail waitresses there, Krista, is a collector. She collects postcards, which was something that surprised me. But it should not have, as I have a 12-year-old who collects them, too. Post cards were once a way of life, first popularized at the Columbian Worlds Fair. They were hugely popular up into the 1960s, but are disappearing from the shelves of the newsstands at the airports and hotels. Pretty soon, we may not be able to find current postcards, as they are disappearing from our lives, along with all the other paper items that used to be part of the our daily lives. They are quickly being replaced with digital photos I take from my cell phone and e-mail. The later is quicker and I can send the photo I want to, for free.

Krista brought her collection of postcards in for me to see. I have included some of these with this article. They fell into various groups of subjects, and they spanned about 80-plus years. (I have included some that I took pictures of with my cell phone.) Subject matters included;

• Hot looking guys. (Why not, men collected their pin up photo postcards for years of hot girls.)
• Photo postcards of art she enjoyed. It was always priced more reasonably than original works of art. The artists ranged from the 1920s to modern.
• Humor
• Geographical. Krista is Hispanic and many of the cards tied her back to places she had been to the Caribbean.

A couple more postcards from Krista’s collection. First, the iconic photograph from the end of the Second World War.

The second, a postcard featuring Marilyn Monroe. Who says youngsters have no appreciation of history.

I had a blast going through her collection and it took me more than an hour to go through it with her, as her attention was interrupted by paying customers wanting service. I also learned a lot more about Krista as a person. It is always fun to do this and to make new friends this way. It helps make new customers, which expands my sales and helps to grow an industry I love. I now have a new postcard customer in Krista. She will join my younger 14-year-old PEZ collector in my group of “younger customers.” When you start to realize that the 14-year-old kid in your booth may lay out $1,000-plus for a PEZ dispenser, your view of these kids takes on a whole new vantage point. Just take the time to ask the kids what they collect. You may help yourself to a new market and also help build new collectors for the industry.

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with a emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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Where’s Will? – Scott Antique Markets, Atlanta

Will Seippel — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:34:02 +0000

The US Army dirigible RS-1 at Scott Field in Illinois.

ATLANTA – I wandered off to the Scott Antiques Markets in Atlanta (Scott is a show that that runs monthly shows in Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio). The show in Atlanta is larger and is run on the second weekend of the month. I would guess that the Atlanta show has more than 1,000 dealers.

I like going to markets that are focused on antiques and that encourage sellers who are actual house pickers. These types of sellers get you closer to the source of material, and their items are usually fresh to the market and unique in nature. While Scott cannot quite compete with a good, old-fashioned New England flea market, it does a very good job in keeping the junk dealers out of the show and segregates the more sophisticated, high-end dealers in the North Building and the more casual dealers in the Southern Building. I immediately head for the southern building, as that is where I typically make the discoveries.

A pilot from an observation squadron stationed in Long Island, N.Y.

I had gone to my first Scott show several months ago with a friend who got me off my duff one Sunday. I actually came back from the show with a prized cabinet photo of Gen. George Custer’s 7th Calvary officers and wives on the porch of Fort Lincoln, taken a little more than a year before their ill-fated fight with the Sioux at the Little Big Horn (there is a similar photo on www.Mandanhistory.org). True to my above point, I found this photograph in the South building with a part-time dealer who was selling the photo for a neighbor of his. I found some other neat items there, including a 19th-century US Army regimental flag that will require further research when I find the time.

So, I went back this month with the anticipation of some more great finds. I immediately headed for the southern building, as I decided that was where I wanted to spend the two hours that I had allotted for this visit. I paid my $5 for parking, which also covered admissions for both buildings for the multi day event, parked and headed in. I immediately placed a phone call to a dealer I knew who was setting up there and needed his location, as this place is just so big I’d never find him. He gave me his coordinates and I was off.

The first thing that grabbed my eye was a book of WWII German aeronautical maps. This was an unusual find. Not that I have customers lining up for these, but I figured I might if I advertised them. They were large—at about two feet by three feet—and were neatly folded and numbered in the original notebook that they had been liberated from. These were Luftwaffe maps and covered many major European cities. I could only imagine their use by a German WWII pilot. These were an immediate buy for me, as they only cost about $6 a map (there were 80 of them); I figured if I could not sell them, I would use it as an excuse to pay for a trip to Europe to see if I could use them to travel to major cities. I also grabbed a flight log of a WWII military officer who had flown many flights connected to the test dropping of the atomic bombs on the Bikini Atolls in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This log is another future research project that I will eventually get to, but some of the items in the book and signatures speak to its importance. Additionally, ephemera and historical items involving the development of the atomic bomb are always good sellers.

A “Land Battleship” tank at Fort Benning, Ga.

Once I was ready to check out, my friend introduced me to a dealer in the next booth by the name of Gordon. Gordon is what I refer to as a “house picker.” He is generally the first person to get into a house and buys up whatever a family is willing to part with to earn extra cash. Thus, Gordon is a good source for new things to the market. Gordon’s philosophy is buy good things and to turn his inventory over quickly; a “wholesaler” and someone who I enjoyed meeting.

What immediately caught my eye were two scrapbooks of 1920s US army photos. Normally, photos “between wars” are not very exciting, and do not sell well. But these photos were in a league of their own, as they taken by someone with a good eye for a picture and subject. They contained about 400 photos of the army’s early ballooning and flight efforts at Scott Field, outside of Chicago, and then in Forts Bragg and Benning. The soldier/photographer had a great eye for detail and subject, and appeared to also have been an aviator. The batch was a gem, but I did not want to let on to much with Gordon about my enthusiasm. We were finally able to negotiate a price for them and I have included some of the remarkable photos in this article. The photographer’s eye also caught some of the less obvious detail around the base by even recording the various bases’ canine mascots. He also meticulously documented the subjects and dates on the back with typed notes containing various pertinent bits of information. While this purchase ran into the four figures, selling this type of content quickly and making a profit will be a rather easy thing to do, thanks to the soldier’s attentiveness to subject and detail.

The dirigible “sign post” outside the barracks for the Second Balloon Group at Fort Bragg, N.C.

A kite balloon in practice at Fort Bragg.

As usual, the best is saved for last. The last item we bought, also from Gordon, was a small 19th-century chest that was folk-art painted with blue with a gold horn of Gabriel on top that resembled a Civil War Union soldier’s infantry cap insignia. This in itself was an unusual find in Dixieland. Gordon explained to me that this was a trunk that he had pulled out of a house in southern Georgia from an African-American family and the trunk was full of early African-American Masonic gear from the little known fraternal mason group called the Heroines of Jeherico, which turned out to be the African-American equivalent of the Order of the Eastern Star. (African American’s in the 19th century had their own branch of Masons called the Royal Arch Masons.)

I found this as an intriguing find, and quickly negotiated a purchase with Gordon, and my partner-in-crime for the day—my son Jacob—loaded up and headed home. I will say that the Masonic gear bought that day, and the story of the African American Heroines of Jericho, are worthy of a future WorthPoint article, as information of that organization is very scarce.

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with a emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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Where’s Will? – Ross’ Garage Sale Warehouse

Will Seippel — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:33:57 +0000

A photo of Bob Lang and other members of the Wild Weasel, and F-4 squadron in Viet Nam. Will purchased this pilot’s flight gear, as well as some 1,000 photos from Ross Kapstein’s Garage Sale Warehouse in Atlanta.

WorthPoint CEO and President Will Seippel will be traveling to numerous antique and collectibles shows throughout 2010. He will Twitter where he’s going each week. Anyone who sees him there and comes up to say hello will receive a one-year CEO Club discount membership to WorthPoint. You’ll know it’s Will because he’ll be wearing a white WorthPoint polo shirt.

ATLANTA – This week I made an unannounced stop to on my weekly schedule to Helen Daesy’s estate liquidation sale in the Atlanta NW warehouse District. Helen is the first lady of Atlanta antiques. She knows everyone. She knows more people than I have forgotten. (I will write about Helen another week.)

So, last weekend I was going to do my taxes. Taxes for me, as a dealer, are difficult, as I do not know how much I paid for half of my items, and because I buy in lots, it is near impossible to assign a value to everything.

Anyway, Helen had mentioned to me that I should stop by Logan Circle, down by Chattahoochee, sometime and go see her friend Ross Kapstein, who is opening a new antique store. He sells the type of things I like, she said. Hmm . . . Part of me is thinking: “I have a lot to do this today, Helen, and it is almost noon and I have not shown up at the WorthPoint Corporate offices yet to show the employees I do work on Friday. How do you think I have time to go to a preopening to a new store?” The other side of me is thinking: “Hey, this is cool. Who needs to go to an office on Friday? I can still make it to my patent attorney by 5 p.m. and maybe I can beat everyone else to the stuff that I like and get the good deals!”

Lang’s helmet visor.

Well, the buyer side of me one out and I was off to Ross’s (after I stopped by the office and had lunch with the employees). Totally a good decision. First, let me welcome Ross to the trade. Ross is a retired Atlanta school teacher. He, like some of the rest of us, has been buying things for years. His wife insists it is time for him to start selling some of the things that he has been buying and get that which some of us buyers do not rank as a top priority, otherwise known as “cash flow.”

I was a few minutes late to see Ross, as the Atlanta traffic was itself, exasperated by rain. It took me more than 40 minutes to do what my GPS said I could do in 10. I found Ross the warehouse that he shared with a Chinese importer of new antiques that have the “look” that many Atlantans are chasing at the fraction of the cost of the older items. Then I saw Ross’s inventory that he had set up. I said “wow” to myself as I saw his inventory beautifully displayed in lighted cabinets, but kept my composure. Ross had a very good eye for what to buy and detail. I asked him to walk me through all of his items. It was very quickly clear that:

• Ross loved what he had assembled and sort of collected;
• His favorite was photography and 1960s paintings;
• He did meticulous work on researching the history of his items.

Lang’s flight suit.

A few of the items that he focused on were photographs and photographers of the ’60s. Other items that Ross had that caught me eye were a cabinet photo of a former slave who had the foresight to write his life’s history on the back of the photo; a history book with 200 photos of the 40th US Army Division, in World War Two that ends in the taking of the Negros Islands and McArthur coming in by plane to take over his newly captured prize. Ross’ photo collection of the Southern Ballet left me speechless. He also had vintage electric guitars, Army uniforms, ephemera, early baseball items . . . and much more coming in.

After taking a tour of Ross’s world, we talked for several hours. Ross’s new venture is called the “Garage Sale Warehouse.” Ross is cleaning out all of the cool things he purchased and saved in his travels through Atlanta over the years, moving it form his house to the warehouse. We laughed as I noted his collection was significant enough to open up a museum, covering a lot of Atlanta’s post-Civil War history. He says he focuses on paperbillia and is an eclectologist. He also has a Board of Advisors to council him on purchases he likes but does not understand! We discussed electronic selling and I suspect that you will see Ross on WorthPoint and GoAntiques in the near future. I sensed that Ross liked the hunt so much, and was good at it, he should find a Georgia Tech student to help him start photographing and getting his inventory on line to start producing some cash flow so he could reinvest in additional new inventory. Thus, his former accumulation disease would quickly become a business. This proves to be a difficult transition for many new dealers, as they mostly experienced the buying side, have not worked with computers in this form and often rue parting with some of their beloved stock.

I purchased a car full of WWII- and Viet Nam-era military items from Ross. This included the a Wild Weasel pilot’s flight gear from Viet Nam, about 1,000 photos and the papers, and WWII Army Air pilot flight jacket—very interesting items and things my customers will love.

I will return to Ross’s store soon as he has more I would like to purchase. I also enjoyed making a new friend in the trade and in Atlanta.

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with a emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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Where’s Will? – Militaria-Heavy Chattanooga Estate Sale

Will Seippel — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:53:39 +0000

One of the photos Will bought at the John Smickle estate sale in Chattanooga, Tenn., was this one showing Generals George S. Patton (left), George C. Marshall (trench coat), Omar Bradley (over Marshall’s shoulder) and Dwight D. Eisenhower (center), watching former concentration camp prisoners demonstrating tortures used on them.

This is just a fraction of the merchandise available at the John Smickle estate sale.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – My trip into the collecting world this week was a tremendous event, as I traveled north from Atlanta to Chattanooga and the sale of the estate of John Smickle. For those of you that want to know the story behind the man, unfortunately, I do not fully know it. I did meet someone in the line that morning who knew him and told me John passed in his 50s. I did see some Smickle family World War Two documents in the sale, so I would have to assume that they belonged to his dad.

The first part of the Smickle sale was held three weeks ago. For those of you not familiar with the sale, John Smickle had one of the largest collections of stuff that I had seen in my life. Apparently, he bought a lot from estates and certainly bought more than he sold through the malls he would frequent. But I can say that he had a good eye and seemed to have a focus on militaria and old records, as they made up about two-thirds of the sale.

The first weekend of the sale was the militaria zenith, as there were more than 185 vintage World War One and WWII helmets available, some quite rare. Loose lips slipped, as several people actually slept out in zero degree weather the night before to be the first in line for numbers handed out at 4 a.m. I did not arrive until noon on the first day, and I knew the militaria would be picked hard by that time, but did not feel like leaving at 2 a.m. to get a ticket at 4.

By noon, the militaria was indeed picked hard, but there was still some phenomenal bargains to be had. For example I got a Gorham Joseph Bissell 1916 Gorham bronze plaque of Thomas Jefferson, in an Art & Crafts oak easel frame, for $60. George Bissell works start at several thousand dollars. Another favorite find of mine was a Carlisle Indian School Post card I picked up for $2. I bought several soldier scrapbooks and many other items that I have already turned around and sold, including WWII-era street propaganda posters from the Philippines.

One of the interesting pickups of the day was an ashtray made by an German Afrika Corps prisoner.

The bottom of the ashtray is marked “PW Camp 126,” which was Mellands Camp, located in Gorton, Manchester, Lancashire, England.

Aside from the 185 helmets, there were scores of rare Nazi/SS collar insignias, a (disarmed) aerial bomb, a WWII cockpit canopy, and more than 10,000 WWII photos, which I was able to purchase the majority of them. In regard to the albums, there were more than 25,000 albums and the dealers noted they were cleaning up.

Given my success at the first day, I truly understood the breadth and depth of this sale and was eager for second part of the sale. Apparently, there were several more tractor-trailer loads of items to unload for Part II. I did not know what to expect but I had hoped it would be as good as Part I. I also vowed to get up early this time so I could arrive an hour or so before the doors opened to get a number and go have breakfast before getting down to business.

Planning is great, but reality often the killer. With a son and daughter to act as accomplices, we left my house as planned on Saturday morning at 6 a.m. I had thought about leaving the night before, but the snow/freezing rain anticipated in Tennessee was a concern. I was fortunate I thought about this decision as Interstate 75 was treacherous the night before and was actually closed for several hours. Driving up the next morning I could still see the abandoned cars on the shoulder of the freeway. We got to the sale an hour before it opened and was No. 3 in line! The only problem was they were not giving out numbers and I would have to wait out in the below freezing weather. I resigned my body to that fate and persevered for the next hour standing in a mix of snow and cold rain. The kids stayed in the car.

Another interesting pick includes this Pan Pacific Exposition medallion.

This pair of pre-war Japanese dolls was still in their original cardboard box.

Alas, the Welch’s Antique and Estate Sales, the sale facilitator, held the doors until 9 a.m., sharp, and made sure that the lines were organized and no one cheated to get in early. Given the quality and fair pricing I saw at the previous sale, I immediately found the ephemera and took every stack of paper and photos and gently dumped them into boxes or bags. As I filled each box, my kids hauled them to the storage spot for check outs. This enabled me to work much faster, but I wasn’t sure about what all I was getting or what I was spending, but that did not matter; this was cool, unpicked stuff that my buyers would love (they get frustrated that I only have a virtual store and they can not come to a physical one.)

The next five hours that day were spent picking though John Smickle’s life collection and spending $3,700, mostly on “smalls.” It was quite a sale. My Grand Cherokee was so packed that I practically could not fit my son and daughter in to drive back with me.

The unique items abounded: WWII German POW African Corps-made ashtray; Howard Hughes Spruce Goose crew photo… The list goes on and on. I saw things I have never seen in my almost 40 years of selling.

Jo Welch of Welch’s Antique and Estate Sales of Chattanooga.

Kim, another Welch employee.

Josh made sure everything was under control.

The sale was run by Welch’s Antique and Estate Sales of Chattanooga. They run an extremely professional sale and I would use them as a seller. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff and provide all kinds of bags and boxes to take things home, security . . . you name it. Their focus on detail is fantastic. For me, Chattanooga is now on my list of places to go, if they are running a sale. Thank you Jo and team.

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Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with a emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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Where’s Will? – The Original Miami Beach International Antiques Show

Will Seippel — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:26:51 +0000

There were lines of people at the doors on opening day of the Original Miami Beach International Antiques Show. So many people, in fact, that show officials were forced to open early to control the crowd. That is a very good sign for all of us dealers.

Editor’s Note: WorthPoint CEO and President Will Seippel will be traveling to numerous antique and collectibles shows throughout 2010. He will Twitter where he’s going each week. Anyone who sees him there and comes up to say hello will receive a one-year CEO Club discount membership to WorthPoint. You’ll know it’s Will because he’ll be wearing a white WorthPoint polo shirt.

MIAMI – How is the economy doing . . . hmm . . . if the antiques and collectibles market in South Beach and Miami are any indication, it is doing pretty good. I am spending much of my time in the field with buyers and sellers in 2010. It was a New Year’s resolution. I know, it sure sounds like a hardship to start off with Miami in January, while the rest of the country in an icebox! Yes, I even went for a swim while down here and would recommend that the rest of you make the trip and meet me here next year and take in the show.

Will’s tour guide for the Original Miami International Antiques Show was Wortholgist David Mycko, who specialized in horology.

I toured the Original Miami Beach Antiques Show at the Miami Convention Center with our horologist Worthologist David Mycko. For those of you who think that is a dirty word, let me assure you that David is a timepiece expert who specializes in watches. I asked David to help me learn the ropes of the show. I came down on the second day of the show (which ran from Jan. 21 to 25, 2010) and David already had a great opening day, having bought and sold numerous items. David told me there were lines of people at the doors on opening day. So many people, in fact, that show officials were forced to open early to control the crowd. That is a very good sign for all of us dealers.

While walking the floor with David, I immediately noticed two things. The first was the amazing amount of energy present, as the hall nearly crackled with it. The second thing I noticed was that one of my kids had borrowed my memory card from my camera and that I was out of luck as far as taking photographs to illustrate my first thought. Luckily, I was at the booth of Matt Bain of Miami Beach when I realized I was to go photo-less. Matt had a killer display of wristwatches and is a great person. But it was Alison, who works with him, who immediately came to my rescue, offering me the card from her camera. With two gigs of memory, I was back in business at one of the world’s greatest watch and clock shows.

This tiny box, with a portrait of Kaiser Wilhelm painted on the front and edged in diamonds and rubies, was, according to the dealer, a gift from the Kaiser to his daughter.

The thing that caught my eye immediately at Matt’s booth was a really cool James Bond watch. All of us guys want to be like Bond, or at least experience a Bond-like situation, and it is cool to see such a famous timepiece. Matt had a great collection of Rolexes, Breitlings and anything else you could possibly want in a wristwatch. If you’d like to for any of you that want to ask Matt about the Bond watch, you can visit his Web site.

We wondered around some more and I found a New England dealer by the name of Butch McGrath of Scituate, Maine. Butch, who runs a booth with his dad, was an oasis for me, as I am from Maine and it was nice to see New England antiques in Miami. One of things that peaked my interest was a tiny box with Kaiser Wilhelm painted on the front that was edged in diamonds and rubies. On the back was the date of a daughter’s birthday. According to Butch, this was a gift from the Kaiser to his daughter. Another item he had that I thought quite highly of was a leather World War Two flight jacket from the 14th Air Force with the original leather local theatre patches and the flyers bag with the original accoutrements. The flyer’s name was sewn in the bag so someone could have fun with doing research on this ensemble. If you are interested in the above items, Butch can be reached at 781.545.3661.

Next David showed me another watch dealer by the name of Steve Smith. Steve was a great guy that a buyer would feel immediately comfortable with. He seemed to have a watch for everyone (and in their price range).

My favorite watch of the show was the timepiece once owned by Lt. Col. Edward R. Warner of the 1st NY Volunteer Light Artillery.

While I was blown away with some of the pocket watches I had seen earlier, and despite the glory of the earlier European examples, my favorite watch of the show was the timepiece owned by Lt. Col. Edward R. Warner of the 1st NY Volunteers Light Artillery. This group saw very heavy action in the Civil War. The unit’s history can be found at this very cool Web site.

While looking at this watch, I noticed a couple of restored 1960s-era Vespas nearby. The good life would be to drive one of those out with a new vintage time piece in your pocket.

We had a lot of fun. We spotted another great watch over at The Red Barron’s of Atlanta. The watch was attached to an ancient—well old—single-shot percussion gun with a very decorative chain. It was for a gambler, so the story went.

David and I then walked over to see another watch he was looking at buying, but by the time we got there, it was gone. This was another sign that buying that was going on and can only reaffirm the old adage: “you snooze, you lose.”

At this point I was tired and Dave was going on. I ran into a friendly visitor from Baltimore who gladly shared his lunch with me, as I was too tired to wait in line.

All-in-all, it was a great day, and I left the show to head off to the airport. And a special thanks to Andrea and Mary from show promoters DMG World Media for such a fun time. I would highly recommend the show to others next year and heard very good things from shoppers and dealers and that each year the show only gets better.

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things antique—with a emphasis on ephemera—since 1984.

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Brimfield Antiques & Collectibles: Amazing Finds

Will Seippel — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:04:41 +0000

Brimfield is a always a mecca for dealers and fans including WorthPoint’s CEO and founder, Will Seippel, a lifelong collector. In this video, shot during the July Brimfield, Will walks around Brimfield sharing his experience as a collector and dealer and finding treasures including Edison Cylinders, state license plates and a phonograph from the Sonora company, which his grandfather owned.

Videographer: Scott J. Shactman
Editor: Sharon Levy

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WorthPoint to Launch Redesigned Site

Will Seippel — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:33:22 +0000

We have put our heart and souls into the upcoming launch of the redesigned worthpoint.com, and we hope that our readers and members will find it as exciting as we do.

Today, as I write this, we are a little more than a year old. We are ranked in the top 6,000 sites on the Internet, our page views have jumped to 1.5 million a month, and we are growing at a 5-percent compounded rate.

You have been good to us, checking us out and coming back again and again. We take that as a sign that you like what you see. I promise you that when we launch the new WorthPoint, it is going to get even better. On the redesigned WorthPoint site, we have created the tools for networking, learning, pricing, buying, selling and making a profit. The new site will make all of our collecting experiences easier and more productive. During the next week, we will showcase many of the features and benefits of the new site, and our new membership levels, but here’s a sneak preview of some of the highlights.

What You Can Do on WorthPoint’s Redesigned Site

• Use your profile page to connect with others who share your collecting interests

• Find people who own items you want to buy or who want to buy what you need to sell

• Find and bookmark events and shows on WorthPoint’s extensive, searchable calendar

• Post events and shows on your calendar that others can follow

• Locate business professionals by city and state, for example, estate planners or insurance agents specializing in antiques and collectibles

• Learn about the items you own or want to buy or sell with more than 100 videos and thousands of articles by experts

• Ask our expert Worthologists for evaluations or seek information from the global community of collectors

• Use our extensive database of millions (100 million by the end of 2009) of historical items to price items you want to sell or determine the price you want to pay

• Sell your items: on the classifieds, in our GoAntiques marketplace (dealers only), at one of our auction house partners, through a dealer at an antique show or other venues you find on the site

Room for Everyone

We have room for everyone connected to the collecting world: collectors, buyers, sellers, dealers, Worthologists, galleries, associations, clubs, auction houses, auctioneers, writers, content producers, media professionals, educators, estate planners, insurers, museums, book publishers, repairers, restorers, show promoters, suppliers and wholesalers—you are all valuable members of the collecting community.

I have seen many professionals and respected experts in the collecting world struggle for years to grow their Web traffic, yet they still don’t rate in the top 100,000 sites. Please know that if you are laboring in obscurity, posting useful information on the Internet that no one is seeing, you can put your profile on our site. With a professional membership, you can link to your own site and use our page views to help you build traffic, whether you are an expert collector, a museum or provide professional services to the collecting community.

Last week, our organic traffic grew by a very hefty 16 percent. We expect to continue to grow at a rapid rate because what we offer is valuable to all segments of the collecting industry. Together, by sharing our knowledge, providing information buyers and sellers can trust, creating a fair marketplace for buyers and sellers, we will level the playing field, and that will bring new people into the collecting world.

When we launch next week, I hope you will take a look and let me know what you think of the features on the new site, what works best for you and what changes you’d like to see. We will be adding new features and tools throughout the year, and as always, we intend to listen closely to what our users and members want and need.

Thank you for your trust and support during our inaugural year. In return, we plan to provide you with the best possible experiences on the Internet in the collecting world.

Will Seippel
CEO & founder of WorthPoint

Lt. Reichard’s WWII Diary – Will Seippel’s Introduction

Will Seippel — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:17:11 +0000

Introduction by Will Seippel, CEO – WorthPoint.com

Tom Brokaw called them The Greatest Generation—and they were. They lived through the greatest changes a generation has ever seen, from horse-and-buggy days to men on the moon. As children, they struggled through the Great Depression. In their teens and 20s, more than 16 million of them marched off to war in Europe and the Pacific to save the world from fascism.
Some 400,000 were killed in action. Today, World War II veterans are in their ’80s and ’90s.

Photo from Lt. Reichard's album

Nearly a 1,000 a day are dying, and they are taking their memories with them. Most of them never really talked much about the war. Having grown up in a military family, and having never really understood what my dad did in WWII or Vietnam, I have always been intrigued reading other soldiers’ stories. Thus, when I learned of a group of WWII papers available at a local estate sale, I jumped at the opportunity to purchase them.

Finding my way to the sale was an arduous task in Atlanta’s northern suburbs. Twisted roads and limited signage, and I was running several hours late. I did manage to get to the sale and was amazed that most of the items I was interested in were still there and priced quite reasonably.
It was a sale that you shake your head at and question the pricing logic as many of the better WWII items were priced fairly and some of the Korean- and Vietnam-era items were priced way too high, as the sellers assumed all of the late officer’s items dated to WWII. In such a sale, there is no chance to keep the collection together unless you overpay.

I also found it fascinating that a Lt. Reichard, to whom the items had belonged, rose to the rank of captain in the war and later became a flourishing artist in Atlanta. He obviously was interested in photography, as I found his photographic work throughout the house.

Lt. Reichard's Photo Album

Coincidentally, at the time I bought his diaries, I discovered what looked like some of his photos of the 1944 Mt. Vesuvius eruption, which ended up unattributed in a National Geographic article. I attribute the connecting of the dots on this to fate as I never read the magazine. (I never even knew I had a subscription.) Something made me pick up and look at a copy my older son had left on our kitchen counter. It opened right to the page where they showed a picture of a WWII army bomber trying to fly around the ash cloud that was eerily similar to one in Reichard’s dairy. I went on to read his diary entry for that day in which he writes vividly about the experience.

Other questions that I have may never be answered, as this was an estate sale, with the former owner of the goods being deceased. Although Reichard left us a detailed record of these years, many questions screamed at me, including:
• Why wasn’t his family interested in the items, and who are the remaining relatives?
• Another soldier’s gripping postwar diaries were with his. These discussed the return to civilian life and praying to God that he is not wiped out by floods or crop disease as a farmer with consistent bad luck. How were these men related?

Lt. Reichard began writing in his diary on January 1, 1943. In February, he bought a camera and began taking some photos. For the next three years, he wrote almost every day. When I started reading his diary, I thought it should be shared and that perhaps WorthPoint’s community of collectors, people like me who are intrigued by the past, might find the diary as fascinating as I did.

So we decided to have the diary transcribed. Kathleen Long, a producer from Los Angeles, is transcribing the diary. Our Peabody award-winning editor, Alison Harder, is working with teacher Jeremy Goldson and the students in Mountain Vista High School’s Theatre Department in Colorado to record the first few weeks of the diary. Using those readings and photos of the diary, Alison produces a short daily diary video.

On January 1, we’ll begin posting Lt. Reichard’s diary, one day at a time. In February, if there is still interest in the diary, we’ll begin adding his photos. Our newsletter editor, Greg Watkins, will soon begin posting a few lines each day about what was happening in the world in 1943. We’d like to find a high-school history class or a group of veterans that would be interested in taking on that aspect of this project. If you are interested, contact Mary Brenneman at news [at] worthpoint [dot] com, and put Lt. Reichard in the subject line.

If you are a veteran, a member of the Greatest Generation, or just interested in history, drop us a note, and let us know what you think of Lt. Reichard’s diary and our project. We are fairly sure we’re not the only ones interested in what one soldier was thinking 65 years ago when the entire world seemed in turmoil, and our young men and women marched off to war to save the world for future generations.

This project is our way of acknowledging our debt, appreciating our freedom and saying thank you to the men and women who fought on the battlefield and also to those who stayed home and helped save the world by supporting the war effort.

Will Seippel

Additions/corrections: Since we began this project we have been lucky enough to find Lt. Reichard’s sons, Bailey and Scott. Thanks to their generous offer to help with the diary, we now know that Lt. Reichard’s middle name was Funk. We also know that he rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel. We know that although he was a photographer, his wife was the artist in the family and the paintings I saw in the home when I bought the diary were created by his wife. The diary is now being produced mainly by volunteers: Shari Seippel is translating the diary. Alison Harder continues to post the diary on the Internet. Scott and Bailey Reichard are joining us as consultants. We would still like to identify the men in the photos if possible. We know that man behind the desk is Lt. Reichard. Thank you all for your help and support. Please read the notes from Scott and Bailey below.

To view all the diary entries, click here.

Lt. Reichard’s World War II Diary

Will Seippel — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:46:45 +0000

Some 400,000 were killed in action. Today, World War II veterans are in their ’80s and ’90s.

It was a sale that you shake your head at and question the pricing logic as many of the better WWII items were priced fairly and some of the Korean- and Vietnam-era items were priced way too high, as the sellers assumed all of the late officer’s items dated to WWII. In such a sale, there is no chance to keep the collection together unless you overpay.

How did he end up going from being a Dartmouth grad to the lieutenant of a motor pool?
Why wasn’t his family interested in the items, and who are the remaining relatives?
Another soldier’s gripping postwar diaries were with his. These discussed the return to civilian life and praying to God that he is not wiped out by floods or crop disease as a farmer with consistent bad luck. How were these men related?

So we decided to have the diary transcribed. Kathleen Long, a producer from Los Angeles, is transcribing the diary. Our Peabody award-winning editor, Alison Harder, is working with teacher Jeremy Goldson and the students in Mountain Vista High School’s Theatre Department in Colorado to record the first few weeks of the diary. She is also editing the readings and the transcribed entries to create short videos for each day.

Will Seippel

Read the January 6, 1943 entry here.

Immigration, learning from our antiques

Will Seippel — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:43:19 +0000

As the founder of WorthPoint, I have been asked countless times what I collect. I think it is a funny question, as I have learned that a collector’s attention span is usually measured in a 5-6 year time span. I am typical in that respect, as, what I collect changes every 5-6 years. The problem is that I keep what I collected, thus, I have many collections that I am not active in. Thus, how do I answer the question?

My current focus as both a collector and a dealer is in paper. By paper, I mean anything produced on paper. This includes photos, letters, autographs, tobacco cards…. As a seller I like these as people around the world are my customers. They are easy to put in the mail, and the audience is large, as people can put the items in notebooks and live in an apartment. The buyers for your items are limitless, compared to selling a table or a sofa.

I personally like paper because I learn a lot from it as I read it and can experience history. I recently went through the new Smithsonian aviation museum, at the Dulles airport, in VA, and knew so much about the planes there because I have read and sold documents related, to the planes, that I bought out of attics and flea markets in Maine. It was like I have lived the history, uncensored, or through a participants eyes.

I am, through my mother’s family, a second generation American. With the recent controversy about immigration, I have wondered how American’s historically viewed my grandmother’s immigration to the United States less than 100 years ago.

Interestingly, I recently came upon a document in my buying that is from the late 1800′s, from a ship’s captain, that was immigrating to the US and had an American born wife and children. The letter is quite interesting as he is quite educated, and refers to the mass immigration rush to the US, the giveaway of land to immigrants and the immense opportunity in this country. I have shared the letter in my blog and it is quite fascinating. I suppose it is worth about $40, but, the contents, and learning about our history, is worth much more than that, to me. Ultimately, the value is worth whatever the contents are worth to a collector!

I recently spoke at a press conference, in Denver, about WorthPoint’s hosting of the American Presidential Experience, at the Democratic National Convention, in August. It is a tremendous event and I would encourage all that can attend to do so. I will take my family of 7, from Atlanta, to Denver to see it. Not because I am the CEO of WorthPoint, but because of the experience and what one can learn from the history that is there. Like reading the posted letter, and seeing from the eyes of an immigrant, the US in the 1880′s, there is so much to learn about the US presidency in this exhibition in Denver. There are documents, letters, clothes and such that the president or their spouse wore or created. There is so much to learn.

As I mentioned at the press conference, antiques are there as survivors to help us learn about the past. For me, it is more relevant to understanding the past then reading a book that is someone else’s interpretation 100 years later. You just have to take the time to do it!

“Dear Friend

Many thanks for your kind favor including my clearance from Atlantic Lodge Portland.

Will you please inform me if you think I could get the government to locate the 160 acres of land in a Western or Southern State, as I might prefer, or must I take it just wherever they happen to locate it;-have I no right to have any choice in the matter?

Would it meet the requirements of the Government if my wife is a native born American and my came to reside on the land in a couple of years; or must I myself in person occupy same in order to obtain clear and proper title to the same.

I have four years contract with the French (Messageries Maritimes Mail Steamship Company); commencing from late January. As this brings me a pretty good income. I would not like to resign the position-, until the contract is finished: but Mrs. Dithlefsen and my children may wish to come to America soon, provided it (the land grant) was located in a place not to wild and uncivilized. Mrs. Dithlefson says she would not mind to occupy such land, especially if there would be a school for our children at not too great a distance from it.

Although of course Uncle Sam will have land to give away for many many years yet to come, still with the immense immigration constantly pouring into America, would I – in your opininion – be less likely to get good land from him by writing than by claiming and occupying – it soon.

I suppose a few years would not make a difference in that respect. But no doubt – if I now at once could get it in a place already begining to be settled by immigrants, – by the time I arrived in America it might already be pretty valuable.

In conclusion: – would you advise me to try to obtain (as regards these 160 acres) timberland, mineral – land- or purely agricultural – land?

With kindest regards from Mrs. Dithlefson, my children and myself I remain

Yours truely,

Paul A. Dithlefsen”

What’s in your basement?

Will Seippel — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:17:01 +0000

Recently, rummaging through my basement, I put two and two together and came up with twenty-two. OK, I realize that this is improper math, that only an accountant could make happen, but I once toiled in life as an accountant, so I feel justified on the math.

You have to understand that my basement is like few other basements. It is literally filled to the rafters with boxes of stuff. In fact, it overflowed, and I went to the garage. It too overflowed and I bought another house, and… you get the picture.

Anyway, I begrudgingly agreed with my wife to empty one box, in the basement. (She does not read this column, so we will not let her know about the other house filled to the brim.) In the box, I found a whale’s tooth. Wow, I had long forgotten about it, and I greeted it like a long lost friend. I had meant to get it scrimshawed before, and this time I was not going to let the opportunity pass.

I did 30 seconds of research on the web (the length of my elongated attention span), and hired Tina White of Washington State to produce a piece of commissioned scrimshaw. I have, hopefully, attached these pictures. These are meaningful to me because one of them is from the HMS Cygnet, a British gunship that a relative of mine by the name of Thomas Bennett commanded. While doing my research I found that he rose to the rank of full Admiral, and was in the British Navy for 68 years, starting in 1797 at the age of 12. While Captain of the Rainbow in Jamaica, his eldest son died under his command. Somehow, Thomas became mayor of Hereford, England, while in the Navy during the 1840′s. I have also attached his wife’s Sarah Watkin’s calling card case. It is of finely carved ivory. I had been told it was the Admiral’s, but clearly it has his wife’s monogram. I do not know whose coat of arms is on it. Once upon a time I was told it had royal significance. It is a later mystery to solve. (Maybe I am eligible to be the Duke of Earl.) Somewhere in my basement I have the Cygnet’s log.

The second ship is in remembrance of my great-grandfather, John Seippel. He was Captain of his pilot ship, Calvert, in the Chesapeake. While I do not have a picture of his exact vessel, this is a picture of one of the famous Chesapeake Bay vessels that were renown around the world for their speed and endurance. I have a lot of his navigational items in my possession.

While doing this work, a lot of things occurred to me, including that I am the first male in the long history of my family who has not made a living from the sea. Also, I don’t know how to sail. (I don’t get sea sick.) Thus I plan to remedy this when I hit 60, in 9 years, and retire as the CEO of WorthPoint, and consider my current mission accomplished, which is to create the ultimate web site for collecting. I have had many friends tell me they want to join me on my 3 masted schooner.

Interestingly, yesterday I ran into a new member on Worthpoint, Doug, who is an advanced collector of scrimshaw. Doug and I talked about his collection and site. He has shared many of his pieces, including a very rare Sea Turtle shell, on our site for us. It turns out that Doug has many commissioned pieces and they are also done by Tina White, the scrimshawer of my tooth. It also shows you what a small world collecting is and that you never know where a box in your basement may lead!

Click here for Tina White’s website.

Errors in the State Quarters are Worth Lots of Money

Will Seippel — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:34:23 +0000

I have always liked coin collecting. When I was a kid, there was not a lot to do in the tiny town I grew up in. I think there were 100 people in town, when everyone was home on Sunday. One of the things we would do, is get our parents to take us to the neighboring town, where there was a bank, to get rolls of coins from the tellers, to search through. My favorites were the dimes, where it was quick and easy to pull out the Mercury dimes, from the Roosevelts and refill the rolls and go back and get new rolls.

Today, coin collecting, in the United States, has been revived by the US Mint issuing the state quarters. We are almost through the 50 state quarters, and the US government relizes they have a good thing going with coin collectors. I have seen 1 statistic where there are now 140 million collectors of these things. That includes me, I have made a set for all 5 of my children, including the silver ones.

I noticed bacck in 1999, an error in the Delaware quarter, that was sitting on the desk, in my office. I could not figure out at first, what was the matter with the coin, until I noticed after several days that the “e” was missing off of the words “The First Stat”e”". That was to be the first of many errors the Mint was to make on these coins. The Delaware error is common, and was caused by grease. It is worth about $20.

I am collecting a set of error quarters, for myself, as a different project, to complement the sets I made for my kids. I am not worrying about Mint marks,and such. I am just trying to get a good error coin for each State. The Mint does a pretty good job on quality, so these coins are difficult to find in change, but they are out there. I have included pictures of some of my favorites. These include; a Maryland, Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida struck on a 5 cent planchet; Maryland and Virginia with clips from the coins; South Carolina and Virginia with a missing layer of “silver” from the reverse; Conneticut that was mistruck, and my favorite, Missouri, that the Mint caught the error and then cancelled the coin by waffling it. Somehow, the coin then escaped from the Mint and made it out into circulation, where I saved it from destruction.

No one knows how many of these errors the mint makes, or, how many coins escape from the waffle machine. They are scarce, and you should be on the look out for these and other error coins. The payoff can be high. The ones I pictured are worth up to $5,000. Not a bad deal if you are getting change back for a dollar. The lucky finder can then start their own collection or,with a membership, will soon be able to sell it to collectors on WorthPoint, or through one of our auction house partners.

Good hunting! I will continue to show, in future blogs, other error coins from the US Mint.

11/17/ Garage Sailing in Atlanta

Will Seippel — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:48:54 +0000

Ok, so I did not spell saling correctly. I do know how to spell it, but, I consider going through these garage sales as much fun as diving and sailing in the Carribean. (Diving there is a favorite thing to do for me.) Ok, so I went to 4 or 5 places today and got some neat things and found some friends. My purchase had a wide range. There was the high end; an 18th century teapot New Hall teapot and tray, some sterling Gorham candalabras, a 6 board Queene Anne bootjack end NH blanket box, 18th century Darby platter… Well, I also got some newer things that all of us can relate to. My house is kind of eclectic and covers the gamut. On the newer side, I found a cool 5054 Victorian townhouse that was retired in 1982 by Depatment 56. I got a neat “Ponytail” 45 vinyl record full of Elvis records, a mostly complete occupied Japan blue willow tea set, some great earrings for my daughters AND wonderful clothes for the 3 girls at $2 an item. They loved the Abercrombie. (I prefer the pre bankruptcy Abercrombie Fitch collectibles, but time changes all.) Thus today was a hit for the entire family. I also intoduce you to Judy, an old friend. I ran into her today and she will be including her conducted sales on WorthPoint soon, as will another friend I ran into later today. So look forward to them in December when our conducted estate sale listings are added in the Buy/Sell area. It is too bad we did not have that up yet, as there was a vintage Edison victrola with the wax roll records at one of their sales today. A great item, but the crowd was not biting.

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