Here is a followup to our Part 1 in this series

National aggregate websites
Anyone who is serious about getting the full benefits of using the Internet knows that there are national auction advertising websites who specialize in getting your upcoming auction listing in front of as many potential bidders as possible. Bidders and collectors may be quite interested in items at one of your upcoming sales, but only if they know about it. Bidders 50 miles down the road may not have ever heard of your company, may not read the same newspapers you advertise in and are out of range of any radio advertising you may do. But they may watch the listings for their home state on a national auction website. Most importantly, they may SEARCH for a specific item they are interested in or have an email alert set for that search term so that they are immediately alerted when you add that sale.

Auctioneers know that since the Internet became popular, they can never underestimate the tenacity of a collector to travel across long distances for the opportunity to bid on a single specific item. If an auctioneer is planning to do even 1 sale a year using live online bidding, they should be taking every advantage to advertise outside their local area with every service possible.

The added benefit to an individual sales bottom line from one extra bidder can easily pay for an auctioneers entire Internet advertising budget for the year.

These websites have such credibility with the search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN that they can get your name and upcoming sale into the 1st page of results usually within a few days. Just having your own website linked to from these high credibility websites will help your own website show higher.

The largest and most effective of the national services are AuctionZip.com and GlobalAuctionGuide.com . These sites have 2 distinct business models and target bidders in completely different ways , so they are both very worthwhile to advertise with.

AuctionZip.com is the largest auction website on the Internet with thousands of auctioneers posting sales for free. They are very strong in the eastern part of the United States and have a great following of bidders.

GlobalAuctionGuide.com is the largest network of auction advertising websites on the Internet with over 50 websites carrying auction content for as little as one dollar a day. These include many newspaper, radio networks and niche websites, and are especially strong in the Midwest and in certain industry segments.

Central Auction Hub
The Central Auction Hub is an industry initiative to help auctioneers get the most of their Internet advertising without spending days doing it. The ability to add your information to one website in a few minutes and forward it to multiple other websites in one click is the next level of service offered to auctioneers.
This allows the auctioneer to add/edit their text and photos at any participating website without needing any special computer knowledge. They can then have their information show on their own website, their national websites, their state association websites and many other auction advertising websites.

As mentioned in the title of this Blog Series, this is part of how to get 30,772 pageviews of your next upcoming auction sale.

Text / Photos / PDF’s

Bidders are using the Internet in more sophisticated ways every day. They are looking across larger areas for specific items and especially want more detailed information about these items. An auctioneer who simply posts a date and location is losing out immensely on potential bidders .

The attached pie graph courtesy GlobalAuctionGuide.Com shows how nearly half of their users are searching for specific items in their database.

If you only post the basic details of a sale trying to get bidders to click on a link to go back to another site for details, you can see how you are missing out on a large amount of traffic.

Time
The ability to have an upcoming sale advertised for the longest period possible is one of the most important tricks to having a successful sale. Many auctions in Western Canada are posted in October for a sale date the following April. You can see how this will give the auctioneer the maximum exposure to browsers and searchers. This length of time also gives high ranking for your sale in general search engines such as Google.

While 6 months is not the usual timeframe for most auctioneers, the shorter the timeframe the more important it is to get the information online as soon as possible.

A trick of the most successful auctioneers is to sign a contract in the morning, post the basic information by lunchtime. Add photos and then type out their salebill and have it posted by 5 PM.

The client will be very impressed to see their entire auction professionally posted and advertised the same day.

The more details, the more text, the more photos, the more pageviews, the more bidders, the more time, the more websites = a better bottom line.

Popularity: 20% [?]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2008

AUCTION GALLERY OF THE PALM BEACHES
Sale February 25, 2008
West Palm Beach, FL

The painting by American Guy Wiggins was the top lot at Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches at $28,080.

A Vero Beach estate provided plenty of action for the 555 registered bidders who participated in the February 25 sale at Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, FL. The sale attracted an unusually high amount of online activity through LiveAuctioneers.com because of the quality and volume of the inventory according to Auction owner Brian Kogan. The 100 inhouse registered bidders were joined by 455 who signed up though LiveAuctioneers.com along with 80 phone and absentee bidders. Overall 25 percent of the 372 lot inventory was won by online bidders.

Art led the way to the top lot in the form of an oil on canvas board, 16 by 20in, from American painter Guy Carleton Wiggins (1883-1962). His Impressionist painting of an urban snow scene entitled “Fifth Ave” sold to a local collector in the room for $28,080 including the buyer’s premium (est $20,000/$30,000). Following close behind was an original painting in acrylic and ink by Joan Miro (Spanish 1893-1983) which was included in the book “MIRO LITHOGRAPHS II,” preface by Raymond Gueneau, Leon Amiel publisher, New York 1975. The signed work and the copy of the book sold in the room for $24,750. A 17½in diameter disk, bronze with verdigris patina, signed by Alexander Archipenko (American 1881-1964) featuring Russian peasant figures was a protest work inscribed with a Ukranian poem referring to Stalin. Estimated at $10,000/$15,000, it sold on the floor for $23,400.

Other works of art included an oil on canvas in the manner of Jean Marc Nattier (French 1685-1766). “Mother and Child with Dog” was a 49¼ by 38in 19th century paining in a gilded frame. Estimated at $2,000/$3,000, it closed at $8,482 and a Spanish School oil on canvas, “Portrait of an Officer,” circa 1800, estimated at $1,000-$1,500, it was hammered down to an Internet bidder for $6,710.

Both period and reproduction furniture was strong. A set of four walnut George III Irish Chippendale chairs had some old restorations but generally were in very good condition. They found a new home with a floor bidder for $16,380 (est $6,000/$8,000). Need a table for those chairs? Along came a George III mahogany triple pedestal dining table with a satinwood crossbanded top, oval ends and vase shape standards raised on downswept reeded legs ending in brass caps and castors, circa 1800. The 89in by 41in table with two 20¾in extension leaves closed at $8,190 (est $4,000/$6,000). A George III style mahogany tall case clock, American circa 1880 with a movement stamped twice “Walter Durfee, Providence R .I.,” a hood with broken pediment and a dial signed by Henry A. Turner & Co, Boston, estimated at $5,000/$8,000, sold for $9,360.

Louis XVI 20th century reproductions were popular. A French Louis XVI style bureau plat with gilt bronze mounts and frieze brought $2,808, well above the $1,200/$1,600 estimate. A French Louis XVI chest, circa 1900, with four long drawers raised on short circular legs sold for $2,574 (est $500/$700) and a French Louis XVI gilt bronze mounted mahogany game table, circa 1910, 44½ by 25¼in, went for $2,223 (est $800/$1,200).

Fancy lighting was in heavy demand. A pair of Empire style gilt and patinated bronze figural six light candelabra, French 19th century, each cast as a semi-nude Grecian female holding aloft a vase issuing candle arms, 39¾in high, raised on a gilt marble mounted plinth, estimated at $3,000/$5,000, had extremely heavy phone bidding but sold in the room for $11,700. A rare pair of George III cut glass two light sconces, English circa 1775, with a provenance from Shreve, Crump & Low of Boston, roared over the estimate of $500/$800 to close at $4,914.

For more information about this sale and upcoming sales including the Chess Collectors International chess sale in May call (561) 805-7115, email info@agopb.com or visit the website at http://www.agopb.com. The Gallery is located at 1609 South Dixie Hwy, Suite 5, West Palm Beach, Florida 33401.

Written by:
Fred Taylor
http://www.furnituredetective.com/
800-387-6377

PHOTO CAPTIONS FOR AUCTION GALLERY OF THE PALM BEACHES

This 16 by 20in oil on canvas board by Guy C. Wiggins was top lot at
$28,080.

This bronze disk entitled “Ukraine 1931” was signed by Alexander
Archipneko. It closed above estimate at $23,400.

An acrylic and ink work by Joan Miro brought $24,750.

A pair of George III walnut Iris Chippendale chairs in good condition doubled
the $6,000/$8,000 estimate to close at $16,380.

This magnificent pair of 19th century French Empire style candelabra
soared over estimate closing at $11,300.

This fine pair of William IV English Sheffield coasters was made by K.G. &
Co in 1834. Estimated at $800/$1,200, they sold online for $2,928.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Popularity: 17% [?]

This is huge  !

From the Paid Content Blog

By Joseph Weisenthal - Fri 28 Mar 2008 11:42 AM PST

Newspaper publishers might hope there’s some truth to the old line about it being darkest before the dawn. A new report from the Newspaper Association of America says the newspaper print ad downturn in 2007 was the worst it had seen in more than 50 years of measuring the numbers. Total revenue for the industry fell 7.9 percent to $45.3 billion, with print revenue falling by 9.4 percent to $42 billion. The previous worst was during the recession of 2001 (online ads weren’t being measured). Prior to that, the worst was a 6 percent slide during the recession of 1991. Of course, the industry is getting hit with a double whammy: secular industry shifts, and the effects of a sorry economy, which has decimated core revenue bases like housing, employment and auto ads. Full data. (via E&P)

The online picture is brighter, with revenue growing by 19 percent for the year. But the cloud behind that silver lining is that digital still accounts for just 7.5 percent of the total. And in many instances, as we’ve seen, digital growth is well below the industry total. Release.

Popularity: 17% [?]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2008

PROFESSIONAL APPRAISERS & LIQUIDATORS
Crystal River, FL
Sale March 29-30, 2008

Name dropping art treasures from the estate of Dr. Charles William Inman of Lakeland will dominate the March 29-30 sale in Crystal River, FL of more than 1,000 lots. ABSOLUTE SALE! NO RESERVES!

The estate of Dr. Inman has chosen a pair of veteran Florida auctioneers, Charlie Fudge of Crystal River, FL, owner of Professional Appraisers & Liquidators and Kale Albritton of Lakeland, FL, to facilitate the sale of Dr. Inman’s fabulous collection of art glass, silver, fine art, music boxes and antiques. Albritton, who knew Dr. Inman for over thirty years, said “Dr. Inman was very much an astute collector. He was a student of the subject – a collector with a method.”

Added to the 700 items from the Inman estate will be 300 more quality lots from various estates with names like Doulton, Limoges, R.S. Prussia, Fenton, Fulper and Northwood plus antique German dolls, works by listed artists, gold and silver coins and estate jewelry as well as paintings by 19th and 20th century listed artists.

More than twenty art glass lots bear signatures of L. C. Tiffany, LCT and Tiffany Studios and include a Cypriote Spot vase, Favrile vases including a special order green cased vase with pulled leaf and vine decoration, a rare blue Jack in the Pulpit vase, a Favrile compote, a Favrile Aurene bowl and many more. There are over fifty pieces of signed Steuben glass (some signed by the master, F. Carder) including bowls, art glass shades with fleur de lis signature, vases, a dresser jar, a flower frog and twenty three pieces of Selenium Red. There are Moser works with the Karlsbad signature, several pieces of signed Emile Galle’ cameo glass vases, over twenty-five pieces signed R. Lalique or Rene’ Lalique, Baccarat paperweights, Swarovski crystal including animals, cars and a train, over seventy-five pieces of Waterford crystal including a chandelier, lamps, bowls, plates and stemware and many pieces of American Brilliant Period cut glass signed by T. G. Hawkes, J. Hoare and Sinclair.

Artwork will include an oil on board by A.Y. (Alexander Young) Jackson (Canadian 1882-1974). Jackson was an Impressionist painter who belonged to the Group of Seven, a band of Canadian artists who painted native landscapes. There also will be an Impressionist landscape by A. Paul Madeline (French 1863-1920) plus works by D. R. Sellars, Ernest Fredericks (American 1877-1927), a great Florida scene by original Florida Highwayman Robert Butler and many more important 19th and 20th century paintings.

A large selection of sterling silver, over seventy-five pieces, will cross the block. Among them are a Fisher sterling five piece tea set, a Tiffany sterling tea set, Tiffany three-handled loving cups, Gorham three-handled cups and a 73 piece flatware service in Strasbourg pattern as well as a number of sterling silver trays, pitchers, compotes, bowls, serving pieces and sterling silver plateau with applied grape and vine.

One of the estates has over seventy-five three handled items, including the ones mentioned above by Tiffany and Gorham but also including items from Doulton Lambeth, Lenox (with silver repousse’ top), Limoges, Fulper, several Moser pieces, Henry Kohn and Sons (sterling cup) as well as a sterling cup with three handles made of stag horn marked “Made for Tiffany”.

This outstanding opportunity, noted by Fudge to be “The biggest one I have ever done in my thirty five years in the business,” will be presented as an absolute auction with no reserves. The sale will be held at the facility of Professional Appraisers & Liquidators beginning Saturday March 29 at 1:00PM and will continue Sunday at 1:00PM. Preview is Friday March 28 from 1:00PM – 6:00PM and Saturday and Sunday 10:00AM – 1:00PM. Both sessions of the sale will be carried live online by Proxibid. Professional Appraisers & Liquidators is located at 811 SE Highway 19, Crystal River, FL, 34429. Absentee and phone bids are welcomed. Reserve seating is available on a first come, first served basis by reservation by phone. For more information contact the auction at (352) 795-2061, (800) 542-3877, email to webuyit@tampabay.rr.com or visit the website at www.charliefudge.com.
Written by:
Fred Taylor
http://www.furnituredetective.com/
800-387-6377

PHOTO CAPTIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL APPRAISERS

Oil on Artist Board Painting by A.Y. Jackson (Alexander Young 1882-1974). 8’ X 10’ oil on artist board depicting single lone tree on hillside, signed Lower Right A.Y. Jackson in gilt mold frame of the period - Estimate: $10,000 to $15,000

L.C. Tiffany Favrile Vase. Special Order Green Cased Favrile with Pulled Leaf & Vine Decoration, 11 1/2 “ high, signed – Estimate: $6,000 to $8,000

L. C. Tiffany Favrile Cypriote Vase. 4 ½” h X 7 ½” w decorated with Cypriote spots and applied threading on purple ground, signed L.C.T. 017451 – Estimate: $8,000 to $10,000

Moser, Karlsbad Marqueterie Sur-Verre Vase – Auction Estimate: $2,000 to $4,000

19th Century Cylinder Music Box by A. Jaccard du Grand Swiss Orchestra Bell & Drum Cylinder with Enameled Butterfly and Bee Strikers. Forte-piccolo Tambone Timbres, measures 31 ½ X 10 ¾ X 14 ¾. A ten-tune box with floral inlay to top and front. Excellent working condition - Estimate: $5,000 to 7,500

Tiffany Studios Desk/Harp Lamp with dark brown and green patina having a gold aurene shade, 18 ¾” h X 9” w, stamped Tiffany Studios New York 424 – Estimate $2,000 to $4,000

Popularity: 19% [?]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Philip Weiss
(516) 594-0731

PAIR OF ORIGINAL CHARLES SCHULZ “PEANUTS” STRIPS TOP $100,000, AND ORIGINAL X-MEN #99 COVER ART FETCHES $55,370 AT PHILIP WEISS AUCTIONS’ APRIL 26th SALE

(Oceanside, N.Y.) - A pair of original Charles Schulz “Peanuts” comic strips – one daily, one Sunday – sold for a combined $106,270, and original cover art by Dave Cockrum for the “X-Men” #99 comic book hit $55,370 at a multi-estate sale held April 26 by Philip Weiss Auctions. The Dave Cockrum piece was the top lot in a sale that saw about 750 items change hands and grossed $500,000.

“I know I sound like a broken record, but even in a sour economy if you offer top-quality, fresh-to-the-market merchandise, then people will come to your auctions and people will spend their money,” said Philip Weiss, “and that’s exactly what happened at this sale. Attendance was somewhat light at right around 50 in-house bidders, but Internet, phone and absentee bidding was very strong.”

Mr. Weiss said the online bidding component (via eBayLive and LiveAuctioneers.com) was particularly active, with about 4,000 registered Internet bidders comprising the vast bulk of the nearly 6,000 total bids submitted during the sale. “But the phones were ringing all day, too, for almost every lot,” he added, “and the absentee bids included 1,500 ‘left’ bids. It was just a great day overall.”

The “Peanuts” strips sold for similar amounts, even though the Sunday was 13 panels and the daily was only four. But the daily (signed by Schulz and dated 6-27-57) featured an early Snoopy in all four panels, plus Charlie Brown in the last panel. It sold for $52,110. The Sunday strip, dated 4-8-62, had a great baseball gag featuring Linus and Snoopy. After spirited bidding, it went for $54,160.

The Cockrum “X-Men” cover art was one of the noted illustrator’s finest efforts, a pen-and-ink drawing of an intergalactic battle scene in outer space. The piece – measuring 11-1/2” x 17-1/2” — was signed in the lower right by the artist. It was executed in 1976. Also, a lot of 21 original Spiderman sketches by John Romita, all from the 1960s and accompanied by a trace splash page, realized $27,120.

Following are additional sale highlights. All prices quoted include a 13% buyer’s premium.

Comic books were a hot commodity. A copy of “Journey Into Mystery” (#83), graded 6.5 and introducing the Mighty Thor (dated 8-13-62), hammered for $3,730; a giant-size (68-page) copy of “X-Men” (#1), graded 9.6 and featuring all the X-Men superheroes on the cover (Summer 1975), made $2,710; and a rare copy of “Sub-Mariner” (#32) from July 1949, graded 7.5, changed hands for $4,065.

A fabulous Apollo 11 Flight Plan, personally signed on the cover by 21 NASA astronauts for “Arlene” (who worked as a NASA hostess and entertained astronauts and their families in her home near Houston in the 1960s) blasted off for $8,190. The Flight Plan, housed in a three-ring binder, had the signatures of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldren and Michael Collins (all of Apollo 11) and many others.

Animation art was led by a marvelous production cel from the classic 1930s Disney movie “Snow White,” depicting a wide-eyed Snow White and a rabbit on a Courvoisier background. The cel, framed and measuring 5” x 6-1/4”, achieved $4,802. Also, a complete, unused ticket to the Beatles’ concert at Shea Stadium in New York, dated August 23, 1966 (face value: $5.75), gaveled for $1,648.

Philip Weiss Auctions’ next big sale will be held on Saturday, May 17. It will be Part 2 of The Newport Stamp Collection. Part 1 made headlines when, on February 9, an unused 1869 24-cent inverted center U.S. stamp, #120b, certified Fine and one of only four unused examples know to exist, soared to $1.271 million. It was a new world record for a U.S. invert (the previous record: $825,000).

Part 2 of the sale promises to be just as enticing for collectors. Highlights will include U.S. singles and great rarities such as August issues #55-62; Continental and American special printings, complete #’s 167-177, 180-181, 192-204, 205C, 211D and J8-J14; 1857 and 1861 reprints, complete #’s 233A and 314A mint pair (Ex. Cromwell and Engle, one of only six such pairs known to exist). Also:

316 line pair; 318 pair; 321 pair; 322 pair; 356 line pair; an Orangeburg Coil used single; 4C and 8C blue papers; 485 double error; 544 used; 594 mint; 596 pre-cancelled; O94; PR47; R157 and R158; Hawaii #12; and many more. To learn more about the second component of this fabulous collection, click on the Philip Weiss Auctions website as sale day approaches: www.prwauctions.com.

Also on May 17, 200 other stamp, coin and paper money lots will also be sold from various collections, to include: The Chesapeake Collection featuring 50+ Scott specialty albums loaded with foreign mint sets and singles; British Colonies; four stamp collections now being broken down; and the “Silver Salt Cellar” recovered from the treasure ship Atocha (appraised value: more than $300,000).

The following day, Sunday, May 18, another blockbuster sale will be held, featuring about 200 lots of Civil War photos, ribbons, letters and many identified carte de vistes (CDVs); a collection of Jack London first-edition books and other important first-editions; 150-200 lots of better Americana, literature and illustrated books; three Charles Schulz “Peanuts” strips; and two Kentucky Long Rifles.

May 18 will also feature sports memorabilia, to include a signed Babe Ruth photograph; examples of the rare and coveted T-206 baseball cards; and more. Also slated to cross the block will be a collection of rare Russian propaganda posters from the 1930s; movie posters; post cards; and more. Check the website for more lot listings as the May dates approach. Click on www.prwauctions.com.

Looking a little further into the year, Philip Weiss Auctions also has sales planned for June and September (times and dates to be announced). Already secured for June is a beautiful, fresh-to-the-market oil-on-canvas painting by the Spanish artist Emilio Grau Sala (1911-1975). The September auction will feature a military collection that, according to Mr. Weiss, “must be seen to be believed.”

Philip Weiss Auctions conducts its sales in a spacious showroom facility, located at #1 Neil Court, In Oceanside, N.Y. (on Long Island). The firm is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, estate or collection, you may call them directly, at (516) 594-0731, or e-mail them at phil@prwauctions.com. To learn more about the firm, click on www.prwauctions.com.

Popularity: 18% [?]

This shows how Google has become an important part of marketing auction sales on the Internet. To give you an example of what it can do for you when done properly, Global Auction Guide received over 100,000 organic referrals from Google in the past 30 days .

From the Satellite ProLink Blog

The Certified Auctioneers Institute, 2008 Class III, listens as Julie Carter, Satellite ProLink, (pictured to right of the screen) explains how people are finding auction information using Google. Also discussed were Web Ad Placement programs, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) as auction marketing tools. http://www.satelliteprolink.com/02b.php

Popularity: 17% [?]

From the Incredible Ebay Resource Site

By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com

Small-business owner Barry Fallon was scheduled to appear before the Pennsylvania State Board of Auctioneer Examiners on May 12, 2008, to face charges of conducting an auction on eBay and operating an auction house without a license. Fallon sold his consignment drop-off store in 2007 after regulators required him to get an auctioneer’s license to operate the store, which operated as an iSold It franchise.

“It would be wonderful if a lot of Pennsylvania eBay Trading Assistants and Power Sellers could attend this hearing in support of all of us,” Fallon said. “A show of strength might help sway their decision. If I am convicted everyone else in the state will be next. Any promotion of such mass show of support would greatly be appreciated.”

Fallon said he would be defending himself since a lawyer would cost over $10,000. He faces fines of at least $2,000.

Fallon is not alone in facing government officials who want to regulate eBay sellers. Last year, AuctionBytes documented eBay license requirements of all 50 states ( http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m05/i17/s04).

The research showed that some states require drop-off stores to hold an auctioneer’s license, while others required stores to comply with rules for pawnshops or consignment shops. Other states have no regulations in place specifically dealing with drop-off stores, though some local law-enforcement agencies have interpreted existing laws written for pawnshops and consignment stores to apply to drop-off stores.

Fallon said eBay has not supported his case, and wished it would file a friend of the court brief to explain to the board why he is exempt from the licensing requirement.

eBay spokesperson Kim Rubey said eBay has been in regular contact with Fallon since this issue first came up more than 15 months ago.

“We continue to believe that the Auctioneers Board is incorrectly reading the statute and that people selling on eBay are not conducting an auction under Pennsylvania law. In this case the Auctioneer Examiners Board has set the rules and is acting as the judge of those rules. We believe that is grossly unfair and look forward to a full legal review of the Board’s actions.”

Rubey said eBay is not a party to the hearing so will not be attending. “We will be watching the results carefully and will determine next steps, if any, following the decision of the Auctioneers Board,” she said.

eBay has lobbied legislators in Pennsylvania to pass legislation that would exempt eBay sellers from auctioneer’s licensing. The licensing board had agreed to wait for legislation to pass before taking action against him, but Fallon said legislators are dragging their feet and the board got tired of waiting.

Pennsylvania had also charged a home-based eBay Trading Assistant with failing to get an auctioneer’s license, but that case became an embarrassment to officials when newspapers picked up on the “heart-tugging” story ( http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/224400). The Trading Assistant ran an eBay consignment business so she could stay at home with her ill child. Fallon claims the board dropped charges against her when it caught wind that “Dr. Phil” was going to feature her on his popular television show.

eBay created a program called eBay Main Street to help its members stay informed about regulatory issues and published its position on Auctioneering Regulation on the site ( http://www.ebaymainstreet.com/state/auctioneering-regulation).

Earlier this year, eBay put new requirements in place for its Trading Assistant program, prohibiting TAs from using the term “auction” or “auctioneer” in their business names, signage and marketing materials, unless they are licensed auctioneers. It also requires drop-off stores to have comprehensive public liability insurance, casualty insurance, bailee’s insurance, a $25,000 bond to protect sellers’ checks, business interruption insurance, and Internet insurance ( http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y08/m01/i17/s01).

Fallon’s hearing before the Auctioneer Examiners Board had been scheduled to take place on Monday, May 12, but on May 2nd was continued (postponed), with Fallon finding out just hours before press time. AuctionBytes will continue to follow this story in the daily Newsflash newsletter.

You can hear an interview with Barry Fallon conducted last week on the Ecommerce Industry Soundbytes podcast:
http://podcast.auctionbytes.com

About the author:

Ina Steiner is Editor of AuctionBytes.com and author of “Turn eBay Data Into Dollars” (McGraw-Hill 2006). She has a background in marketing and research in the high-tech and publishing fields. If you have story ideas, comments or questions, send them to ina@auctionbytes.com.

Popularity: 18% [?]

From the News-antique.com Press Release service

Dallas, Texas: The best copies known to exist of some of the most beloved comics of the Baby Boomer generation will be sold at auction May 22-23 by Heritage Auction Galleries as part of the David N. Toth collection, valued at over $300,000.

The first appearances of the Justice League of America, Supergirl, Batgirl, and the Legion of Super-Heroes are among the key issues to be auctioned. Most date from 1957-1963.

“Condition is everything to the comic collector,” said Jim Steele, Chief Comic Cataloger for Heritage. “You can find these comics in average shape pretty easily, but some of these had never been reported in true Near Mint condition before, as comics weren’t typically seen as ‘collectible’ until the mid-1960s. Back in the late 50s/early 60s, they were primarily entertaining - and disposable - reading for kids.”

“Most of these comics come to auction with some frequency, but to have the best copy we’ve ever seen of each, together in one collection, is truly awe-inspiring,” Steele said. “High-grade books from this period are extremely hot right now, so we expect quite a bidding frenzy to take place as soon as this auction opens!”

Highlights of the collection include:

The Brave and the Bold #28 (DC, 1960) CGC Near Mint- 9.2

First appearance of the Justice League of America; second-highest grade ever assigned

Estimate: $25,000 - up

Action Comics #252 (DC, 1959) CGC Very Fine/Near Mint 9.0.

First appearance of Supergirl; highest grade yet assigned

Estimate: $8,000 - up

Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #1 (DC, 1958) CGC Very Fine- 7.5

Considered one of the most difficult 1950s comics to find in high grade

Estimate: $3,500 - up

The Flash #123 (DC, 1961) CGC Near Mint 9.4.

The Flash of the 1960s meets his predecessor from the 1940s; Highest grade yet assigned.

Estimate: $15,000-up

Heritage’s Vintage Comic and Comic Art auction will be held May 22-23, 2008, in Dallas, Texas. For more information, please visit www.HA.com.

Prospective consignors and sellers of Comics and Comic Art are invited to www.HA.com/Sell. Or simply email Ed Jaster at EdJ@HA.com, or call 1-800-872-6467, ext. 1288.

Popularity: 17% [?]

By Rich Shur  of Shur Success Auction Services - Colorado’s Onsite Auction Experts

I know, it sounded weird to me too. But here’s the deal. Our good friend and auctioneer Linda Tegtmeier has an incredible green thumb, and is very active with the Front Range Organic Gardeners (FROG). This Denver-based gardener group is hosting an auction and sale on Thursday, May 15, 2008, at the Denver Presbytery Hall at 1710 S. Grant Street, Denver, CO 80210.

There will be more than 60 varieties of tomatoes (I didn’t know there were 60 varieties of tomatoes) for sale. There will be vegetables, herbs, berries, even flowers, vines and ground covers. Now here’s the neat part – it’s all organic! ALL of the plants and vegetables were either seed-started by these Organic Gardeners, or were divided from their own organic gardens.

The sale will start at 6:30 pm, and the auction will start at 7:30 pm. Want to see something different and get some wonderful veggies at the same time? Don’t miss out. Contact Linda for more details. You can email Linda at frogardeners@comcast.net or call her at (303) 744-7871.

You can also check out the Colorado Garden Clubs website.

Popularity: 17% [?]