People all over the internet are finding that it’s ultimately more profitable and much less work in the long run if they learn to market their products and services on their own websites. By building a trusted community of customers aka “friend marketing” it’s possible to avoid the tiresome wheel spinning activities and learning curves of the corporate online selling sites. Once you’ve built a good foundation, you’ll never have to worry about anyone upping fees or taking privileges away.

The first post here in this community will therefore contain the appropriate content “Steps to Selling on Your Own”.

I never consider ANYTHING to be the last word on a subject, and I welcome community members to weigh in with tips and suggestions to this and any post. Please note that as I myself think of more steps to apply here, I will edit the post and add them.

Here in no particular order are Steps to Selling on Your Own.

-If your on eBay already, take the best of what you’ve learned from the site and apply it in anyway you can to your own marketing system. Why try to reinvent the wheel?
- Again, if your already on eBay and you have a good feedback rating, get a screen capture of that rating so you’ll always have it to use as a reference no matter what happens. If you keep it active, a link to it can help lend credence to anything else you do.
- You MUST get your own website or a blog to market your own products.
- Keep and maintain a house list.
- Listen to podcasts and read blogs that keep current with subjects your interested in. It’s a free education.
- If you don’t already, look into getting an online shopping cart or storefront.
- Grow your community by commenting on blogs and podcasts. There is nothing that will get you quicker recognition than adding value to the conversation of a blog or podcast, it’s the lifeblood of those mediums.
- Focus on ONE THING ONLY, customer service. The reason your probably reading this is because your fed up with customer service at some corporate site with lousy customer support. In the online world, very happy customers become evangelists for your business.
- Get a Mentor or a few. A Mentor need not even know your their apprentice, but follow someone who is going along the path you want to go and learn from their shortcuts and mistakes. Just remember that it’s important to do it in your own style and flavor if you want to stand out.
- Be different, you must have a USP (Unique Selling Proposition)find something in your product or service that you do better than anyone else and make that the focus of your pitch.
- Find what your passionate about and work in that field, it’s what you’ll be the most successful at and you’ll enjoy doing it. There will still be hard times and obstacles along the way, but they’ll be much easier to overcome if you use this approach.
- Help others to be successful, this is and has always been the key to becoming very wealthy, and it gives you a nice warm fuzzy.
- Have fun, don’t take anything too seriously and come back here often!

Thanks for reading.
AW

You can also find me at www.auctionwally.com

In the Stone Age days before the Internet Revolution, you had to travel to auctions. Otherwise, you had to buy and sell locally. Long-distance communication within the art world depended on phones, letters and faxes, and information about upcoming auctions or one-of-a-kind items could be gleaned only through dealers, other collectors, trade publications and trade shows.

Ahh, the age of snail-mailing when you often missed superior art and collectibles because you found out too late they were available.

Now, thanks to the Internet, you can get the latest updates from a whole swath of auction houses, stumble across treasures you would never have encountered in your area and do business with anyone anywhere in the world. It is quick, cost effective and with search-engine researches, just a click away, satisfying.

Be cautious

As in the nonvirtual world, collectors should take precautions when making a purchase online. Use due diligence. Check the seller’s online reputation and record of previous and ongoing sales. Does he/she have plenty of positive feedback?

Research, research, then research some more

Research artwork and collectibles thoroughly. This can’t be said enough. Find out everything you can about the item—when and how it was made, what its past online or regular-sales history was, the background of the artist and his/her career. Consult art experts, art historians and art dealers before you buy.

Examine the photographs of the item and ask for closeups of details if necessary. Check signatures and labels.

Description once-over—better twice-over

Read the item’s description carefully. Is it an original work or a reproduction? Is there a clear mention of condition and of any repair or restoration work? If it is described as “original,” “antique” or “rare,” is this claim backed up by valid documentation—receipts, sales records, art catalogs, published news articles, etc—and by the opinion of reputed experts?

Always check where this documentation originated, and contact the experts personally to verify the claim. Ask the seller for names and addresses of previous owners, if any, and contact them to check on provenance.

Back up dealings with the seller

Get answers to any questions you have before you bid, and save all e-mail correspondence with the seller. Also keep a record of chats, phone calls, faxes, etc.

Make sure there is a written, money-back guarantee. If after you buy and get an expert appraisal, the work doesn’t measure up to the seller’s claims, you should be able to return it and get your money back.

And don’t forget shipping charges and policies.

Pay with a credit card. Then you can dispute the charge if you are not satisfied with the purchase.

Other things a buyer should know

Bidding at online auctions is fast. Many people engage in auction sniping, and the only way you can win against such bidders is setting up sniper software of your own.

If “exceptional” collectibles are bunched with ordinary ones that have similar descriptions or are offered at exceptionally low prices, either the seller is clueless or making inflated claims. Be cautious. Watch out, too, for low-priced “exceptional” items with few or no bids. Given the abundance of well-informed buyers, such works are usually inundated with bids.

Following this advice, you should be able to successfully buy and sell art and collectibles online.

WorthPoint—the premier Web site for art, antiques and collectibles

This first-of-its-kind centralized online media network will help companies, agencies and media buyers market to leading online art, antiques and collectibles Web sites through a single point of contact. Founding members WorthPoint, GoAntiques and TIAS.com believe that the AACMN will provide a unique way to target an upscale, hard-to-reach population with disposable income, as well as a wider middle-income demographic.

The AACMN currently reaches 1.5 million unique visitors per month and is expected to grow rapidly as other businesses join the network.

“The goal of WorthPoint is to help our customers make money,” said WorthPoint CEO Will Seippel. “The same is true for the AACMN. Our online network will help advertisers use existing resources to reach fans of art, antiques and collectibles. As our network expands, we anticipate the AACMN will deliver even more value through even greater economies of scale.”

“The average GoAntiques user is successful, well educated and has an appreciation for the arts,” said Jim Kamnikar, president of GoAntiques. “The AACMN will help advertisers target a highly valued audience.”

“Our new partnership with WorthPoint and GoAntiques creates an unprecedented opportunity for advertisers seeking to connect with high-end consumers,” said Phillip Davies, president of TIAS.com. “The AACMN does not only benefit merchants, auctioneers and show promoters. Advertisers such as automotive, insurance and pharmaceutical companies can cost effectively target this sought-after audience.”

For more information about the AACMN, send inquires to sales@worthpoint.com

About WorthPoint

Atlanta-based WorthPoint Corp. (http://www.worthpoint.com) is an Internet-based data-and-media company that offers a vast database of sales records on art, antiques and collectibles. Founded in 2007, WorthPoint has quickly become the world’s largest social network for researching the worth of antiques and collectibles. WorthPoint helps collectors understand the worth of their items and provides expert advice from its team of Worthologists on how to preserve or sell antiques and collectibles.

About TIAS.com

TIAS serves approximately 160,000 unique customers a day. About 510 merchants sell through the TIAS system, listing well more than 600,000 items for sale online. The company has been building e-commerce systems for merchants who sell antiques and collectibles since 1995. Sites affiliated with TIAS.com include CollectorOnline.com, Curioscape.com, Earthling.com and AntiqueArts.com.

About GoAntiques

Founded in 1994, by Kathy Kamnikar as Antique Networking, GoAntiques is the oldest antiques and collectibles site on the Internet. It offers more than 600,000 items from more than 1,300 dealers in 31 countries and the world’s largest antiques-and-collectibles price guide, PriceMiner(R). GoAntiques logs nearly a million visits and thousands of transactions each month and has more than 350,000 registered members. WorthPoint recently announced plans to acquire GoAntiques.

News Contact:

WorthPoint Corporation
Steve Johnson
(877) 734-7735 x9019 (O)
(703) 798-5236 (C)
steve.johnson@worthpoint.com

Everybody loves the circus. That may sound like a cliché but, it’s a fact. If you’re interested in collecting circus memorabilia and learning more about the circus, look no further. Below is information from the websites of some of the better known organizations and links to their web sites. Have fun!

Circus Historical Society (CHS)

Founded in 1939, the Circus Historical Society, Inc. (CHS) is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit educational organization dedicated to recording the history of the American circus from the first one in Philadelphia during 1793 to today. Membership includes people from all walks of life including historians, scholars, circus personnel, memorabilia collectors, Americana specialists and just folks who share both a love of the circus and a desire to preserve and disseminate its great and interesting heritage.

As in most organizations that share a common interest, the CHS members gather at a different location annually in North America to hold a convention. Papers are given, films and slides are presented, meaty tidbits of circus history are exchanged, current circus executives set forth their views and challenges, friendships are renewed and new ones made, all in the interest of circus history preservation. These sessions represent the culmination of a focused year of circus research and writings on the part of many CHS members and are cherished visits to the circus past and present.

Bandwagon, the CHS’s bimonthly journal, publishes captivating articles relating to circus history. Articles have explored such far ranging topics such as the Forepaugh-Sells seasons 1910-1911, seal lion training, circus balloon ascensions, circus parades of the 1930’s and the Ringling Bros. winter quarters in the early 1900’s. Most issues cover a half dozen topics varying in length from a single page to fifteen pages

Circus Fans Association of America (CFA)

The CFA dates back to 1926 when the first annual convention was held in Washington, D.C. in conjunction with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. The purpose of the Circus Fans Association of America is:

Education & Understanding – To provide educational resources related the circus. To promote an understanding and appreciation of the art of the circus.

Communication – To be a point of contact between the people of the circus, artists or executives, and the outside world.

Support – To help insure the Circus will continue to exist among us as a social, educational and recreational art form. Visit our Calendar page to view support events..

Preservation- The National Circus Preservation Society (NCPS) is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization affiliated with CFA. Its main goal is to develop, promote, and advance information and knowledge for a better understanding of the American Circus, and to preserve the circus as part ofAmerican history.

Publishing – The White Tops is the official magazine of the Circus Fans Association of America. It began as a newsletter in May, 1927 and now is a color magazine that comes with the CFA membership six times a year.

Circus Model Builders (CMB)

Circus Model Builders are men and women, boys and girls who love the circus so much they want to have a show of their own. They know and are fascinated by the circus as a whole. They know the progress of a circus day from the minute the first train or truck pulls into sight until the fading lights in the distance tell them that the show is gone and that another circus day has become a memory. A Circus Model Builder’s goal is to own a show in miniature-down to the last performer, roustabout, bull, wagon, or prop. Whatever the size-one wagon or a complete show-you can be sure it is a true replica of this great institution.

The Little Circus Wagon is the official magazine of the Circus Model Builders, Inc. and is one of the many benefits of joining the CMB. It is published six times a year. This is the authority on Circus models and model building. In it’s pages you’ll find great articles, circus pictures, circus news, modeling plans and other things of interest to circus enthusiast, all contributed by members, for members

Windjammers Unlimited

Windjammers Unlimited is an historical music society that is dedicated to the preservation of traditional music of the circus. This music is kept alive via live performances and recording sessions at the annual convention and summer meetings.

Annual membership includes a subscription to the Circus Fanfare newsletter, the official publication of the Windjammers. The Circus Fanfare is published bi-monthly and is mailed to current members. It contains articles, reviews and information on Windjammer events.

Membership is open to all who share an interest in playing, hearing and preserving the traditional music of the circus.

Atlanta, Sept. 2, 2008—WorthPoint Corp., the premier Web site for art, antiques and collectibles, announced Tuesday that Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer and third-largest auction house, has selected WorthPoint as a data-publishing partner.

Under the new agreement, Heritage will provide WorthPoint with upcoming and historical auction data to be published on the WorthPoint Web site. With information provided by Heritage, WorthPoint is now able to provide more comprehensive data than ever.

“Heritage Auction Galleries is the undisputed Internet leader in its field,” said WorthPoint founder and CEO Will Seippel. “Heritage’s nearly 400,000 registered online bidder-members in 164 countries are a testament to the usefulness of its Web site, its reputation for professional business practices and its vast expertise in the field of art and collectibles.”

“WorthPoint’s cutting-edge technology, its visionary management team, its roster of “Worthologists”—men and women who share an expertise in and a passion for collectibles—and its planned acquisition of GoAntiques.com, make WorthPoint a perfect partner for us,” said Heritage Auction Galleries Co-Chairman Jim Halperin.

About WorthPoint

Atlanta-based WorthPoint Corp. is an Internet-based data and media company that offers a vast database of sales records on art, antiques and collectibles. Founded in 2007, WorthPoint has quickly become the world’s largest social network for researching the worth of antiques and collectibles. WorthPoint helps collectors understand the worth of their items and provides expert advice from its team of Worthologists on how to preserve or sell antiques and collectibles.

WorthPoint recently announced plans to acquire Dublin, Ohio-based GoAntiques, the oldest antiques-and-collectibles site on the Web. GoAntiques offers 600,000 items from more than 1,300 dealers in 31 countries and the world’s largest antiques and collectibles price guide, PriceMiner®. GoAntiques logs nearly a million visits and thousands of transactions each month and has more than 350,000 registered members.

About Heritage Auction Galleries

Heritage Auction Galleries, established in 1976, offers a wide range of U.S. and world coins, rare currency, fine and decorative art, Western art, illustration art, vintage comic books and comic art, movie posters, entertainment memorabilia, jewelry and timepieces, vintage and couture handbags, sports collectibles, stamps, historical and political memorabilia, rare books and manuscripts, American Indian art, air and space memorabilia, Civil War memorabilia, vintage and contemporary photography, natural history specimens and more.

Headquartered in Dallas, Heritage has representatives across the United States, as well as agents in France, the Netherlands and Italy.

WorthPoint—the premier Web site for art, antiques and collectibles

ATLANTA, GA, September 2, 2008 — WorthPoint Corporation, the premier website for art, antiques, and collectibles, announced on Tuesday that Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer and third largest auction house, has selected WorthPoint as a data publishing partner.

Under the new agreement, Heritage will provide WorthPoint with upcoming and historical auction data to be published on the WorthPoint website. With information provided by Heritage, WorthPoint is now able to provide more comprehensive data than ever.

“Heritage Auction Galleries is the undisputed Internet leader in its field,” said WorthPoint Founder and CEO Will Seippel. “Heritage’s nearly 400,000 registered online bidder-members in 164 countries are a testament to the usefulness of its website, its reputation for professional business practices and its vast expertise in the field of art and collectibles.”

“WorthPoint’s cutting-edge technology, its visionary management team, its roster of ‘Worthologists’ — men and women who share an expertise in and a passion for collectibles — and its planned acquisition of GoAntiques.com, make WorthPoint a perfect partner for us,” said Heritage Auction Galleries Co-Chairman Jim Halperin.

About WorthPoint

Atlanta-based WorthPoint Corporation (www.worthpoint.com) is an Internet-based data and media company that offers a vast database of sales records on art, antiques and collectibles. Founded in 2007, WorthPoint has quickly become the world’s largest social network for researching the worth of antiques and collectibles. WorthPoint helps collectors understand the worth of their items, and provides expert advice from its team of Worthologists on how to preserve or sell antiques and collectibles. WorthPoint recently announced plans to acquire Dublin, Ohio-based GoAntiques, the oldest antiques-and-collectibles site on the Web. GoAntiques offers 600,000 items from more than 1,300 dealers in 31 countries and the world’s largest antiques and collectibles price guide, PriceMiner(R). GoAntiques logs nearly a million visits and thousands of transactions each month and has more than 350,000 registered members.

About Heritage Auction Galleries

Heritage Auction Galleries (www.HA.com) , established in 1976, offers a wide range of U.S. & World Coins, Rare Currency, Fine & Decorative Art, Western Art, Illustration Art, Vintage Comic Books & Comic Art, Movie Posters, Entertainment Memorabilia, Jewelry & Timepieces, Vintage & Couture Handbags, Sports Collectibles, Stamps, Historical & Political Memorabilia, Rare Books & Manuscripts, American Indian Art, Air & Space Memorabilia, Civil War Memorabilia, Vintage & Contemporary Photography, Natural History Specimens and more. Headquartered in Dallas Texas, Heritage Auction Galleries has representatives across the United States, as well as agents around the world.

News Contact:

WorthPoint Corporation
Steve Johnson
(877) 734-7735 x9019 (O)
(703) 798-5236 (C)
steve.johnson@worthpoint.com

Your Worthpoint Page was developed when you registered with Worthpoint. You can use this page to organize your images, post blogs and navigate the site.

To post a question or comment in this community, you must first be a member of the community. At the lower right of the page you are reading now, you’ll find the “Join this Community” button. Click through, you will become a member automatically.

Next, choose “Write a Blog” from the options on the right side bar of either this community page or your Worthpoint page. Give the blog a title. Add “blog tags”. Blog tags are key words and can contain information that points to your discussion. Your keywords must be separated by commas.

Enter your comment in the “Post” box.

NEXT & VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure this community “Art Glass and Glassware” is checked under “Audience” at the bottom of the form. NOTE: if you have not joined the Art Glass and Glassware community, it will be available as an Audience. Only the communities you’ve joined will be available to select for your audience.

Although you have not uploaded your images YET, the next step is to “Preview” or “Submit”. In preview you can check your comment post and change the words if you want. Press “Submit” to post your comment. Your comment is now submitted and ready for image upload.

Look at the top left corner of your post and you will find three tabs. Click on the tab marked “Images”. Follow the prompts to add your image(s). To upload your images from your hard drive, simply press the browse buttom, follow the prompts, and double click on your saved image and it will auto input the correct address. Click “submit” at the bottom of the page again to view your comment with image included.

It’s easier than it sounds! You’ll only need to learn the process once.

Granted, there is an art and science to eliciting information. Reporters and detectives are specially trained. Still, it’s not rocket science. So let me give you a few tips on asking good, better, the best questions.

Simplifying the process

This takes a little more work on your end. You must look at the antique or collectible that you have a question about (and ultimately want to know the value of), and tell us what you see after using these simple steps.

One: Provide an image (aka a picture)

By sending an image with your question, our community and Worthologists have a visual picture from which to make identification along with a valuation of your item. Images are particularly helpful if you haven’t a clue what the item is. If it’s a piece of furniture, include images of the top, front, back and sides. And don’t forget the drawer construction. Slide out the drawer, paying close attention. Take closeups of to how the drawer is put together with closeups of the dovetailing (that’s where the sides are jointed to the front.)

Two: Provide information about the object

As Joe Friday of “Dragnet” fame used to say, what we need here is “just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.” By this, we don’t mean who owned it previously and for how long, although this can be useful information if we need to establish an historical timeline for the piece. More useful is what you see, feel, touch and smell. Identifying a piece brings all the senses into play.

Let me give you an example. A painted chest of drawers. You may have purchased it at a sleepy, rainy auction and got a great deal or got what you paid for. Provide us with dimensions—height, width and depth. Try if possible to identify the wood by looking inside, particularly at the underside of the top. Check the sides and back of the drawers to determine what they are made of. Most furniture has primary (the frame) and secondary (the sides and back of the drawers) wood. Finally, describe the back of the piece. Again, it helps tremendously if you include images with your description.

Three: Significant details: Becoming the detective

This is a grab-bag category with all sorts of cross references. Sticking with the chest of drawers, add details of the hardware (the drawer pulls or knobs) or escutcheons (decorative piece that fits around the keyhole). What are they made of—brass, glass, steel, wood? Are there castors on the feet—brass or porcelain wheels?

Are there any decorative details such as moldings or wooden trim that have been applied to the piece that would help us in the recognition/decision process? Are there any identification numbers, manufacturers’ labels or signatures either in chalk or pencil? Does the back have hand-cut nails (they look rectangular)?

Is the piece pegged (dowels that hold the piece together, usually found in the corners of the frame)? Is there any significant wear to the surface or structural damage to the piece? Do you suspect, upon close examination, that it has been significantly restored (new wood where old wood should be)?

So that’s it. You can apply these three steps—image, information and details—to all your questions whether they are about furniture, silver, porcelain, china or that telescope your great-uncle left you. The more concise, detailed information you provide, the better WorthPoint can evaluate your antiques and collectibles. In the details alone, there may be a real find.

Keep those questions coming in, and we’ll keep the answers going out.

With 100 million avid collectors around the world and the global collectibles market estimated at $150 billion a year, combining two of the premier Web sites for art, antiques and collectibles was just common sense for Will Seippel, Founder and CEO of WorthPoint Corporation and Jim Kamnikar, President and CEO of GoAntiques, Inc.

Founded in 2007, WorthPoint has quickly become the largest social network for researching the worth of antiques and collectibles. More than 50,000 people registered as WorthPoint members in the company’s first nine months.

WorthPoint offers a rich multimedia experience that helps collectors understand the worth of their items, and it provides expert advice from its team of Worthologists on how to preserve or sell antiques and collectibles. Members can also share their knowledge and create online collecting communities.

Founded in 1994, by Kathy Kamnikar, as Antique Networking, GoAntiques is the oldest Web antiques-and-collectibles site. It offers 600,000 items from more than 1,300 dealers in 31 countries and the world’s largest antiques and collectibles price guide, PriceMiner®. GoAntiques logs nearly a million visits and thousands of transactions each month and has more than 350,000 registered members.

“GoAntiques is a perfect fit for WorthPoint,” WorthPoint CEO Seippel said. “It is the longest-running and most experienced antiques-and-collectibles site on the Internet and has a great staff. Combined, we will have more than 1 million visitors a month to our Web pages.

“Our acquisition of GoAntiques will accelerate our growth by introducing the antique-dealer community to WorthPoint,” said Seippel. “More importantly, it will introduce thousands of antique dealers to the thousands of homeowners who come to the WorthPoint site daily looking to sell some of their possessions.”

GoAntiques’ Kathy Kamnikar said she is thrilled to be part of the WorthPoint team. “Fifteen years ago my dream was to serve the antiques market. With Jim as President we’ve come a long way and now with WorthPoint we can go even further.”

GoAntiques’ Jim Kamnikar said: “This is a good match. WorthPoint will give us the added resources we need to expand our marketplace and provide additional value to our buyers and sellers. The people looking for assistance with estates and collections, who come to our site, will benefit greatly from having access to WorthPoint’s rapidly expanding team of experts.”

“WorthPoint represents the future of collecting worldwide, and we are happy to be part of that exciting future.”

Steve Johnson, Corporate Communications, WorthPoint Corporation
Steve.johnson@worthpoint.com
(877) 734-7735 x9019
(703) 798-5236 (Cell)

WorthPoint announced Wednesday, August 20, 2008 that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Dublin, Ohio-based GoAntiques, an online network for buying and selling antiques and collectibles.

GoAntiques, the oldest antiques-and-collectibles Web site, was founded in 1994, by Kathy Kamnikar, as Antique Networking. It offers 600,000 items from more than 1,300 dealers in 31 countries and the world’s largest antiques and collectibles price guide, PriceMiner ®. GoAntiques logs nearly a million visits and thousands of transactions each month and has more than 350,000 registered members.

“GoAntiques is a perfect fit for WorthPoint,” WorthPoint CEO Seippel said.

“It is the longest-running and most experienced antiques-and-collectibles site on the Internet and has a great staff. Combined, we will have more than 1 million visitors a month to our Web pages.

“Our acquisition of GoAntiques will accelerate our growth by introducing the antique-dealer community to WorthPoint,” said Seippel. “More importantly, it will introduce thousands of antique dealers to the thousands of homeowners who come to the WorthPoint site daily looking to sell some of their possessions.”

GoAntiques’ Kathy Kamnikar said she is thrilled to be part of the WorthPoint team. “Fifteen years ago my dream was to serve the antiques market. With Jim as President we’ve come a long way and now with WorthPoint we can go even further.”

GoAntiques’ Jim Kamnikar said: “This is a good match. WorthPoint will give us the added resources we need to expand our marketplace and provide additional value to our buyers and sellers.

“WorthPoint represents the future of collecting worldwide, and we are happy to be part of that exciting future.”

WorthPoint was founded in 2007, but it has quickly become the largest social network for researching the worth of antiques and collectibles.

Read the entire WorthPoint Press Release.