Like Antiques and Collectibles?

By Janet Dodrill

Coca-Cola crate and Coke glasses.

Have the antiques and collectibles bug? You are not alone. With the downturn of the economy and people looking for extra income, it has become more common for people to try to sell their possessions on Craigslist, eBay, and by auction house. I have been brought up with an appreciation for antiques since many items have been passed down generations in our family, and I have collections going back to my childhood, being told that one day they might be valuable. The average person is becoming more educated on the subject, and many have become amateur ‘pickers’, going to garage sales, flea markets, and antique stores and finding items to add value to their collections or to resell for a profit. With a computer and time on your hands, it is not difficult to perform basic research on an item and discover its current worth.

According to Kovels’ Antiques Inc., information publishing firm and local authority on antiques and collectibles, there are currently more than 20 antiques-related realty TV shows (that can be watched on network TV, cable, and some online at their web sites and on Netflix streaming). They’ve listed them in their free weekly Ezine, Kovels Komments, September 28, 2011 issue, and they are:

American Pickers, Mondays 9 p.m., History
American Restoration, Fridays 10 p.m., History
American Treasures, Tuesdays, 7 p.m., Discovery
Antiques Roadshow, Mondays 8 p.m. (check local listings), PBS
Antiques Roadshow UK, day varies, 11 p.m. (reruns), BBC
Antique Warriors, in production, Network TBD
Auctioneer$, Saturdays 10 p.m., TLC
Auction Hunters, Tuesdays 10 p.m., Spike
Auction Kings, Tuesdays 10 p.m., Discovery

Auction Packed, Tuesdays 8 p.m., National Geographic
Buried Treasure, Wednesdays 8 p.m., Fox
Cash & Cari, Sundays 7:30 p.m., HGTV

Cash in the Attic, Wednesdays 8 p.m., HGTV
Hardcore Pawn, Tuesdays 9 p.m., Tru TV
History Detectives, Tuesdays 8 p.m. (check local listings), PBS
Hollywood Treasure, Wednesdays 10 p.m., Syfy
It’s Worth What?! Tuesdays 8 p.m., NBC
My Collection Obsession, in production, TLC
Oddities, Thursdays 10:30 p.m., Discovery

Pawn Stars, Mondays 10 p.m., History
Picker Sisters, Tuesdays 10 p.m., Lifetime
Storage Wars, Wednesdays 10 p.m., A & E
The Great Big American Auction, in production, ABC

I personally, have enjoyed watching Antiques Roadshow on network TV and online, American Pickers via Netflix streaming, Pawn Stars online, Auction Hunters online, and Buried Treasure on network TV and online. Additionally, I learn things on the subject by subscribing to Kovels’ enewsletter, which anyone can sign-up for at Kovels.com.

Kovels has also just begun informal YouTube segments on collecting advice and tips, with Terry Kovel at Youtube.com/KovelsAntiques. You can subscribe, and be informed of new videos published to this online channel. Keep collecting!

‘Craigslist Helper’ Enhances User Experience, Adds Efficiency

By Janet Dodrill

Craigslist Helper is a free browser extension.

A powerful browser extension is available for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari, called Craigslist Helper.

I have been using it regularly in Firefox for a few months and absolutely enjoy using it, and want it on every computer I use!

For ads that post images, the images are viewable without clicking on each ad. Also, you can preview the ads without clicking on and opening them. This means you can skim the ads much quicker and save time.

Other features of the product include the ability to add notes to an ad, and bookmarking adds to see them all together. Designate which ads to remove from view to keep your search results lean. Get alerts when something matching your recent search term is posted. Fine tune your look and feel!

Above all the good things about it, is that it’s FREE. See other features, sample screens, and download it at www.ziink.com.

Have you shopped on Etsy.com?

By Janet Dodrill

A web site design client of mine who is a glass artist told me about Etsy.com about a year ago and asked me if I thought it was a viable place to sell handmade art pieces online. I checked it out and said why reinvent the wheel when Etsy seemed an advanced professional site with all the ecommerce amenities that an artist could want, made easy through PayPal integration. The Etsy and PayPal fees are minimal so there is little risk in getting started selling.

Since then, I have observed the site becoming more popular, and at a recent holiday art sale, I noticed that a large percentage of artists had their Etsy web address on their business cards and that some of them are using it for their sole web presence.

In addition to a vast variety of handmade artist items on Etsy, one can also buy or sell vintage items, and supplies for arts and crafts. This may be an ideal place for me to sell some of the items I have previously tried to sell on Craigslist, however would require shipping, whereas on Craigslist I could sell local only and arrange pick-up.

I recently created an Etsy store and posted some of my artwork at janetdodrill.etsy.com, and sold an item in my first week. I hope to add to and enhance my store and turn it into a source of extra income and self promotion.

Another of my web site clients sells unique healthy dog biscuits, and I noticed there is a large variety of gourmet dog biscuits and handmade treats on Etsy, and I have encouraged them to create a store there.

I enjoy browsing through Etsy and seeing the tasteful art goods for sale, and still have many sections to discover and explore. It is a great way to purchase a one-of-a-kind item, or to begin to sell in your own customizable online store, without the big investment in a custom ecommerce site of your own.

What Are You Doing on Craigslist?

By Janet Dodrill

Having used Craigslist (www.craigslist.org) for a couple years now, just what I do there varies to include searching for Job opportunities, posting household items in the For Sale area, and browsing the items being sold. I also enjoy checking-out the Wanted section under For Sale. In the Services section I found a cat that needed a home in the Pet category and successfully placed it. Since the web site is community-driven, there seems to be something for everyone, and it reaches audiences all over the world.

The brainchild of Craigslist is Craig Newmark from Morristown, NJ, who received his bachelors and masters degrees from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and initially developed it while in San Francisco working as a freelance software developer.

According to a blog article on Case.edu, “He created an e-mail list to tell his friends about art-and-technology parties he thought were cool. Those friends forwarded the e-mail to others, and soon the list became the de facto grapevine for the Bay Area’s ‘Geek Establishment’. New readers sent Newmark their own bits, and the list’s utility grew with its membership.

Newmark has said in several media interviews that he only had the one idea to create the list, but that the content comes from the community. Newmark is a fierce proponent of keeping the Internet as free as possible. All listings on the site are free, except for help wanted ads in select cities and paid broker apartment listings in New York City.”

Because of his success, Newmark was asked to deliver the commencement address as keynote at Case’s graduation ceremonies last year.

Some entertainers have featured Craigslist in their acts. Weird Al Yankovic has a popular YouTube music video named “Craigslist”, which pays homage to The Doors and runs nearly 5 minutes in length.

One of my favorite spots is The Tonight Show’s Conan O’Brien and Slash shopping for a guitar on Craigslist.

Even though the interface on Craigslist is simple and basic, it is easy to navigate and interesting to browse if you have the time. Best of all it is (for the most part) free.