Daryle Lambert: Ebay "Specials" Won't Raise the Sinking Ship

Contact Lists of Collectors and What Items They Want to Buy

eBay has sent out several e-mails to their customers announcing "specials" they are running. I believe the time for that is long gone. Now, it's time for them to come clean and raise their sinking ship. If they don't, their next quarter earnings are going to really shock their stockholders.

Up to this point, the market has been wonderful to the eBay stockholders and their buyers and sellers. However, the bulk of eBay's business is the middle to lower priced merchandise, and now the ability to make enough profit on these items is seriously in question. The game is over when the expense of doing business becomes so great that a merchant no longer has the incentive to do business. That's what is happening to eBay users today.

In my opinion, it isn't the commissions that are going to do the damage. It's the number of customers they won't retain. I'm guessing they won't be able to continue to add new customers as fast as the old customers high tail it out.

For the members of our 31 Club, I will be watching new developments in the market place. I know that a few "specials" offered won't stop the impending strike that's been planned by merchants, nor will it defer the competition from eating away at their customer base. eBay will either have to change their business model, or the results could prove disastrous for them. We would all lose if this happens.

As all this disorder takes place, believe it or not, listing your items in the local newspapers or trade magazines such as Antique Trader, Antique Week and Maine Antique Digest might be coming back as an effective way of merchandising. Also, private websites such as ours (www.31corp.com) are coming into vogue again, so you might want to check it out. We provide a great place to list your paintings and other items at a low fee with no buyers premiums to discourage your buyers. Private sites like ours have the ability to link to hundreds of other sites where your items will be seen.

Other resources that help you locate collectors for your particular items are right in the back of antique and collectible magazines. They often will have an ad in the classifieds and will list the items they're looking for. This is a quick way of finding a new buyer you haven't dealt with before.

There are books on the market that list collectors and what items they collect. One that I like and have used is Trash or Treasure Guide to the Best Buyers: How and Where to Easily Sell Collectibles, Antiques & Other Treasures by Tony Hyman. This book has contact listings of collectors and what they collect.

Some of these suggestions will eliminate the commissions all together and enhance your profits tremendously.

One of the most overlooked ways of making a sale is to go back to a person who has purchased from you before. This is the easiest sale you'll ever make, because they have already done business with you and know that you're honest and truthful. These sales represent over 50% of my business. I've got no advertising costs or commissions to pay. What could be better than that?

Don't worry too much if eBay doesn't wake up and smell the coffee soon. There are a lot of ways to turn a profit with antiques, collectibles and fine arts. Maybe soon they'll realize the world does not revolve around them. There has always been a market, and there always will be.

Learn about Antiques & Collectibles and Learn How to Invest in Antiques & Collectibles. We use a wealth building plan to get the most out of buying and selling that will help you accumulate enough wealth to last a lifetime. Join the 31 Club. When you join today, you'll receive my 200 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles, FREE.

"...I spent about 15 years in the antiques and collectible field
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"It has been a great pleasure knowing Daryle for more than
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Consultant, Antique RoadShow

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Daryle Lambert: Out West Today. North Dakota School of Mines Pottery

UND is one of my favorite potteries. It was produced at the University of North Dakota starting in 1904, and had its first pottery display at the St. Louis Worlds Fair that year.

Years back, a very large deposit of natural clay was found in the area of the university, so it was natural that the school started art classes using this new found resource. Many teachers of potting joined the university, and their wares soon became the rage.

These pieces have a hand-made feel to them. They are heavy in weight, with thick walls, and typically have glazed muted colors of mostly earth tones, blues, and pinks.

All of the UND pieces are marked with a round cobalt blue seal, and most have the artist initials engraved in the wet clay.

There are four special ladies that came to the school to teach, and they are Margaret Kelly Cable, her sister Flora Cable Huckfield, Julia Edna Mattson and Hildegarde Fried. Any of these names on a piece will assure you that the price for it will be substantial. Margaret Cable my be the best known, but all their works are desirable.

The pieces of North Dakota pottery that I like best are the prairie motif pieces. This style might include a western theme with animals and western scenes. There are many pieces with cowboy decorations and some with stagecoaches. The first piece of UND pottery that I ever purchase was a plaque about four inches by 6 inches of a lady tennis player. This piece was given as a award for a tournament and the winners name was on the back of the plaque plus the artist initials. It had the proper stamped mark, so I knew it was going to be mine. I was able to purchase it for about $100. I sold it at auction it brought I think about $500.

As the popularity of the University of Dakota Pottery increased, so did their prices. For example a plaque by Hildegarde Fried may bring $2500 today while candlesticks marked, Mattson, could command a price of $3000. I have been fortunate enough to own several Margaret Cable pieces, and each time I sold one, the values kept going up. A deer vase may bring $2500 today even though its height may be only four inches. the common pieces bring much less, so study the rarities.

Generally, larger pieces of decorated pottery, 12" and up, will be that rare piece many collectors look for.

There were many potteries in North Dakota, and a great book to learn more about them was written by Darlene Hurst Dommel. Some of the other North Dakota Potteries are Pine Ridge and Rosemeade. The more you learn about, the better your eyes will be skilled in spotting various pieces of UND pottery, as well as all the others we discuss.

You might find the average pottery dealer will not be as well versed on UND as they will be on Roseville, Weller or other more familiar works. Use this to your advantage.

When I find a great piece of North Dakota I have to admit it is hard for me to give it up. But my rule is that if someone wants something I own bad enough, it can be theirs.

Today's Photo is courtesy of Just Art Pottery. You can get an excellent overview of what many of the art pottery pieces we discuss look like, all at one place by visiting their site.

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If you haven't yet had a chance to see what we've got listed in the 31 Gallery & Marketplace, click on over and take a look. You might even find a real bargain. We've got many high quality items priced reasonably. If you have a high quality piece you'd like us to find a buyer for, why not consign your item to us. No high fees when you sell with us. Contact us here.

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Daryle Lambert: Hale to Ale - Collectible Beer Cans

Being that I am a teetotaler, I really haven't had the opportunity to collect beer cans much. But "there's money in them there cans," as we would say in the South.. The canning of beer started in 1934 by American Can Company and continues to be the most popular way to serve beer today. Storage, breakage, and the ability to cool it faster seems to be the reasons for the change from the glass bottles.

Where I'm from, most of the people that wanted to enjoy this type of beverage simply brewed it for themselves, but I guess in the cities, beer served this way was the rage. Until 1934, beer came in kegs or bottles.

Most cans back then, from 1934 till 1962, were made from steel, but later ones are aluminum. It has been amazing to me how the thickness of these cans have been reduced while still being strong enough to hold the drink.

The style of the beer cans has changed from what were called the cone top, to what is now called the flat top. The earlier cone top cans bring the largest rewards. The true collector tries to find cans that were opened from the bottom, but for the life of me, I can't understand why someone would have done this, but I guess they did.

Remember that condition is of upmost importance in collecting these cans. No dents, paint loss or rust can be on them, if they are the early ones. Beer bottles are also collectible, but I will leave that subject for another time.

There are people that, believe it or not, make their living today picking up beer cans on the side of the road. You may have seen them. As the price of aluminum increased, it made it profitable to collect these cans and sell them back to the processors. Did you know that in some state their is a return policy and you can return these cans for up to fifteen cents rebate? Just to throwing in a little trivia. Did you know that aluminum was more expensive than gold before the discovery of bauxite?

But let's talk about values. When collecting these cans, you will find that there were many bottlers, as they were known in the early years. The ones that carry the highest values are cans used by the least known of these companies back then. For example, a can by Edelweiss Beer Company might bring a few hundred dollars today. can you imagine what the person that drank it and paid only five cents for the can full of beer would think if you told him the can alone today would be worth maybe three hundred dollars? Another great can to own is the Storz Gold Crest Beer Company can.

Most of the older cans will still be found at garage sales, and when you pick them up for five or ten cent each, they will definitely make you happy when the final price is registered on your on line auction. By the way, when I was a kid, I would go the the ball games and pick up cold drink bottles and sell them back to the stores. That's where my spending money came from up until I was about fifteen years old. --Daryle
Today's picture is courtesy of Gene's Can Shop

Be sure to visit our web site for more information about how you can join the 31 Club Wealth Building and start your own race to your millions! Read more about The Million Dollar Challenge.

If you haven't yet had a chance to see what we've got listed in the 31 Gallery & Marketplace, click on over and take a look. You might even find a real bargain. We've got many high quality items priced reasonably. If you have a high quality piece you'd like us to find a buyer for, why not consign your item to us. No high fees when you sell with us. Contact us here.

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Daryle Lambert: Fire Screens & Andirons on a Frosty Winter Night

Winter is just around the corner, so this might be a great time to cuddle around that wonderful fireplace. On the farm, when I was young, we would fix egg nog and homemade cookies, huddle around the fireplace and tell stories about the great adventures that had taken place over the past year.

Now as I have grown older, my eyes see different things. Sure, I yearn for the times I spent with my family, but that was then and this is today. How can we take advantage of wintertime and what Antiques and Collectibles does winter afford us?

Andirons, Bellows, Fenders, Fire Screens and Tool Sets are just a few of the items used in conjunction with your fireplace. I would bet you have passed by several of these items in your searches, never giving them a second thought. I know I did, until I took the time to learn about them. I encourage to take some time to familiarize yourself with these types of items so you don't miss the boat the next time you are at a sale and these items are there.

At a sale, these types of antiques and collectibles aren’t displayed in prominent places. These usually are found sitting on the floor, behind pieces of furniture.

A pair of andirons with brass and wrought iron Square Plinths (square base at the bottom of a column) with swags from 1765 and 26 inches tall might command a price of $10,000 in the market today.

Say that is a little to rich for your blood? Then how about a pair of brass ones, Federal, with spurred arched legs and slipper feet for a mere $5,500

Brass seems to be the choice of the day. Urn Finial, Spread winged Eagle pair with Penny Feet By J. Bailey $7500.00 and then there are the Bronze ones, Putti and Sea Monsters , Italy for a fair price of $12,500.00. You may never look at Andirons the same way again.

But it doesn’t stop there. Bellows can bring over $1,000. Fenders $5,000 and Screens up to $20,000 or more. You might be have sitting in front of a fortune all this time and not know it.

You might research on eBay for antique andirons, fireplace screens and fireplace tools. Be sure to check the completed listings, as well, to see what items are actually selling for. You can even have them list the items from the highest to lowest price. You'll find many different price ranges here, while getting exposure to valuable items.

Research and learn. The average dealer will never recognize their true value but you as a informed hunter will be able to swoop them up at tremendous bargains. By finding things of this nature, it won’t take long for you to see the progress that will that together with the 31 Club Antique & Collectible Wealth Building, we are on the right track.

Be sure to visit our web site for more information about how you can join the 31 Club Wealth Building and start your own race to your millions! Read more about it here!"The Guy in the Red Tie" --- Daryle Lambert

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VETERANS DAY - Trench Art & Military Memorabilia

My father was in the Merchant Marines, and to this day, I can still remember how proud he was to wear that uniform. We have sent America's finest to war, and they have asked for little in return.

Watching television last night, I saw a young man talk about being a Marine. He said "I am re-enlisting because there is no more noble thing I could give my life for than for this country's freedom and the safety of its citizens." Wow, that is still bringing tears to my eyes as I write this blog.

But, I want to tell you the rest of his story. He has just written a poem about serving this country and there are many that are offering him large sums of money to pursue a writing and singing career. But, serving his country is where his heart is. I wonder how many of us would do as he is doing. I would hope that I could make that same decision, but I wonder.

During our many wars, there have been hundreds of thousands of young men marching off to battle, and the one thing that most all of them carried in their hearts was a love of this country and of the ones they were separated from.

In their loneliness, they often made things from old shell casings or pieces of metal such as vases, sculpture, and ash trays. Jewelry was often fashioned from whatever was available for sweethearts, and there are whole collections dedicated to this jewelry. "Trench Art" is what these items are often called, and a good resource for this type of art is a book called "Trench Art: An Illustrated History" by Jane A. Kimball. You can find it through our Amazon Link on our 31 Club Recommended Reading Page.

These pieces can bring good money today from those that appreciate their gift to all of us. Uniforms and metals are also collected, and it seems that we just might want to keep these brave young men in our hearts. What better thing could we do to pay tribute to our soldiers than to have their treasures around us.


When my uncle was a Marine Tank Commander, he took a little piece of aluminum and made me a bracelet with my name on it. I was only about two years old when he did this for me. I can’t imagine the horror that he was seeing, and I am in awe that he took time to think about a small child at home. God Bless our soldiers, and if anyone doesn’t like it, well -- they can kiss my !!!!. I cross my chest when the National Anthem is sung, and I nod my head when I pass a soldier. They deserve it.

I wish that I could write more but I think you will understand if I quit. It is hard to continue when I can’t see the keys. Sleep good tonight because it is the sacrifices they are making that give us that opportunity.

Be sure to visit our web site for more information about how you can join the 31 Club and start your own race to your millions! Read more about it here!"The Guy in the Red Tie" --- Daryle Lambert

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