-
<b><center>University Archives<br>Rare Manuscripts, Books & Sports Memorabilia<br>February 1, 2023</b><b>University Archives, Feb. 1:</b> Thomas Paine ALS Confirming Christmas Eve Attack Likely Based on Anti-Christianity, “The account you heard of a man firing into my house is true.” $24,000 to $35,000.<b>University Archives, Feb. 1:</b> George Washington Gives a Horse and Guns to His Loyal Guard 10 Days Before Resigning as Commander-in-Chief. $20,000 to $30,000.<b>University Archives, Feb. 1:</b> John Hancock ALS, “General Howe is bent on coming here” - Troops, Martha Washington, & 1777 Continental Congress, to Wife Dolly! $20,000 to $30,000.<b><center>University Archives<br>Rare Manuscripts, Books & Sports Memorabilia<br>February 1, 2023</b><b>University Archives, Feb. 1:</b> Abraham Lincoln Boldly and Fully Signs Appointment of Consul Who Would Facilitate Bond Sales in Europe Financing Civil War. $6,000 to $7,000.<b>University Archives, Feb. 1:</b> The Rarest of Dual Signed Kennedy Items! 1963 Christmas Card with "Blessed Christmas" Removed at the Last Minute for Kennedy's Jewish Friends. $15,000 to $20,000.<b>University Archives, Feb. 1:</b> George Gershwin Signed Contract for 1st Production of <i>Porgy and Bess,</i> Also Signed by Dubose Heyward & Ira Gershwin, Historic! $15,000 to $20,000.<b><center>University Archives<br>Rare Manuscripts, Books & Sports Memorabilia<br>February 1, 2023</b><b>University Archives, Feb. 1:</b> Einstein Signed, “Two years after the fall of the German Goyim” 1st Ed. of <i>Mein Weltbild.</i> $12,000 to $14,000.<b>University Archives, Feb. 1:</b> Walt Disney <i>Fantasia</i>-Era Boldly Signed TLS Re: "Special Effects Department," PSA Certified Authentic & With Phil Sears COA. $6,000 to $7,000.<b>University Archives, Feb. 1:</b> 1996-97 Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls Home Game-Worn Jersey Showcasing "Light" Evident Use, MEARS A5. $6,000 to $7,000.<b><center>University Archives<br>Rare Manuscripts, Books & Sports Memorabilia<br>February 1, 2023</b><b>University Archives, Feb. 1:</b> Wayne Gretzky’s 1994 All-Star Used Game Jersey, Inscribed to Former MLB Player! $4,500 to $5,500.<b>University Archives, Feb. 1:</b> <i>The Astronauts</i> Signed by All 7 Mercury Astronauts! $4,000 to $5,000.<b>University Archives, Feb. 1:</b> Fabulous Edison, Firestone, Burroughs Signed Journal With 44 Original Photos, Very Rare. $4,000 to $5,000.
-
<b>Il Ponte, Jan. 31:</b> BLAEU, Joannes and Martinus MARTINI - <i>Theatrum orbis terrarum, sive Novus Atlas. Pars sexta. Novus Altas Sinensis.</i> Amsterdam: Blaeu, 1655. €8.000 to €12.000.<b>Il Ponte, Jan. 31:</b> ORTELIUS, Abraham - <i>Theatrum orbis terrarum.. Nomenclator ptolemaicus.</i> Antwerp: Christopher Plantin, 1579. €10.000 to €15.000.<b>Il Ponte, Jan. 31:</b> PIRANESI, Giovanni Battista - <i>Carceri d'invenzione.</i> [Rome: G.B. Piranesi, second half of the 18th century]. €20.000 to €30.000.
-
<center><b>California International Antiquarian Book Fair<br>February 10-12, 2023<br>Pasadena Convention Center<br> abaa.org/cabookfair<center><b>California International Antiquarian Book Fair<br>February 10-12, 2023<br>Pasadena Convention Center<br> abaa.org/cabookfair<center><b>California International Antiquarian Book Fair<br>February 10-12, 2023<br>Pasadena Convention Center<br> abaa.org/cabookfair<center><b>California International Antiquarian Book Fair<br>February 10-12, 2023<br>Pasadena Convention Center<br> abaa.org/cabookfair<center><b>California International Antiquarian Book Fair<br>February 10-12, 2023<br>Pasadena Convention Center<br> abaa.org/cabookfair<center><b>California International Antiquarian Book Fair<br>February 10-12, 2023<br>Pasadena Convention Center<br> abaa.org/cabookfair<center><b>California International Antiquarian Book Fair<br>February 10-12, 2023<br>Pasadena Convention Center<br> abaa.org/cabookfair<center><b>California International Antiquarian Book Fair<br>February 10-12, 2023<br>Pasadena Convention Center<br> abaa.org/cabookfair<center><b>California International Antiquarian Book Fair<br>February 10-12, 2023<br>Pasadena Convention Center<br> abaa.org/cabookfair<center><b>California International Antiquarian Book Fair<br>February 10-12, 2023<br>Pasadena Convention Center<br> abaa.org/cabookfair<center><b>California International Antiquarian Book Fair<br>February 10-12, 2023<br>Pasadena Convention Center<br> abaa.org/cabookfair
-
<b><center>Swann Auction Galleries<br>View Our Record Breaking Results</b><b>Swann:</b> Gideon Welles, <i>Extensive archive of personal and family papers of Lincoln’s Secretary of the Navy,</i> 1791-1914. Sold September 29 — $281,000.<b>Swann:</b> Charles Addams, <i>Rock Climbers,</i> cartoon for <i>The New Yorker,</i> watercolor, ink and gouache, 1954. Sold December 15 — $37,500.<b>Swann:</b> Charlotte Brontë, <i>Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. Edited by Currer Bell,</i> three volumes, first edition, 1847. Sold June 16, 2022 — $23,750.<b>Swann:</b> Geoffrey Chaucer, <i>The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed,</i> London, 1542. Sold October 13 — $106,250.<b><center>Swann Auction Galleries<br>View Our Record Breaking Results</b><b>Swann:</b> Dorothea Lange, <i>Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California (Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age 32),</i> silver print, 1936. Sold October 20 — $305,000.<b>Swann:</b> George Washington, Autograph Document Signed, with two manuscript plat maps in holograph, 1751. Sold October 27 — $37,500.<b>Swann:</b> Winfred Rembert, <i>Winfred Rembert and Class of 1959,</i> dye on carved & tooled leather, 1999. Sold October 6 — $233,000.<b>Swann:</b> M.C. Escher, <i>Relativity,</i> lithograph, 1953. Sold November 3 — $81,250.
Rare Book Monthly
Articles - September - 2008 Issue
eBay Slashes Fixed Price Listing Fees...<i>But Why?</i>
By Michael Stillman
Ebay has announced that it is slashing its charges, effective September 16, on fixed price listings. These are no small adjustments. In an August 20 posting on the eBay site, eBay Global Operations President Lorrie Norrington announced that the changes would amount to a 70% reduction in listing fees on "Buy It Now" items. Insertion fees, which previously ranged from $.35 for an item with a starting price under $10, to $4 for one with a starting price over $500, will now be $.35 regardless of price. The reduction on books listed is even greater. The previous range of $.25 to $4 is replaced with a flat $.15 regardless of starting price.
Ebay will take back some of that lost listing revenue after the sale. For books, the previous 8.75% commission on the first $50 will rise to 15%. For amounts between $50 and $1,000, the commission rises from 3.5% to 5%, while amounts over $1,000 rise from 1.5% to 2%. Interestingly, some items in the electronics area, particularly computers, will see reductions in both listing fees and commissions. Ebay evidently has concluded that this is an area where it must do a better job of competing. The commissions of 15%-5%-2% for books are but 6%-3.75%-1% for computers. Meanwhile, items not sold will continue to be free of any closing fees.
There is no corresponding reduction in charges on items sold in eBay's traditional manner - via auction. As Ms. Norrington says, "We believe this format is already a good deal, especially when you list with a low start price." In other words, eBay is making a major move to encourage more sellers to list at fixed prices.
Another change, one that should help eBay's revenue stream, is that they will no longer allow payment by check or money order. Payment must now be made electronically, with one of those options being PayPal, an eBay company which provides income to its parent. Additionally, starting November 1, in an attempt to increase buyer confidence, eBay will require sellers to maintain at least a 4.3 seller rating (DSR - Detailed Seller Rating). Ms. Norrington stated that "only a small fraction of sellers fall below this threshold."
Why has eBay initiated these price reductions? If you guess simple generosity, or an attempt to soothe sellers who have been upset by price increases in the past, you are probably wrong. Those most upset have generally been auction sellers, who do not benefit from these changes. Nor does it appear that this is a strategy of increasing sales volume so much as to outweigh the loss in fees. The cuts are too great to be explained this way, particularly since it is out of character with eBay's history of how to increase corporate revenue. The real explanation here appears to be Amazon, and a fear by the number one online retailer that number two is threatening to displace them. Amazon's revenues have been growing rapidly over the past year, while growth has been slowing at eBay.
Many analysts have attributed Amazon's more rapid growth to two factors: (1) shoppers like the ease and certainty of fixed price buying, and (2) they have more confidence buying from Amazon than from eBay's independent sellers. There is a bit of irony here in this explanation. It was just a couple of years ago that eBay's overwhelming strength in the auction sector chased Amazon out of that business. Meanwhile, Amazon has been expanding its offerings from independent sellers, even as it continues to stock and sell most of the merchandise it sells.
Nevertheless, eBay now sees its reputation as an auction company as a weakness, and is determined to place greater emphasis on being a more traditional online retailer (there's another irony - "traditional online retailer!"). Lower fees for fixed price listings should bring in more of this traditional type of sales. Meanwhile, eBay will be giving greater prominence to larger sellers with higher ratings, designed both to bring in more high volume merchants and reassure consumers they are buying from people they can trust.