As for the future of auctions, Ms. Norrington offers a comment that could make auction sellers a bit squeamish: "Auctions will always have a place on eBay – they are a proven way for sellers to get the best value for their unique items, and they continue to receive significant exposure in search as they are sorted primarily based on time ending soonest." That "always have a place on eBay" sounds like auctions have been supplanted by fixed price sales as number one in their hearts. It reminds me of the guy who, dumping his girlfriend, assures her she will always have a place in his heart. Sure, but nowhere near as large a place as the new girlfriend. The "best value for unique items" implies that for other items, auctions are no longer the best value. The rare and collectible may still be suitable for auction, but for everything else, eBay seems to be saying fixed price is the way to go.
In related news, Amazon took a shot at one of eBay's core businesses, PayPal, by launching its own electronic checkout service, Checkout by Amazon. As with PayPal, this will also be available for use by merchants other than Amazon. This would put them into competition with Google as well, which not long ago initiated its Google Checkout. Then, of course, there was Amazon's recent purchase of AbeBooks. We do not know whether this transaction played a roll in eBay's decision to increase its emphasis on fixed price sales by independent sellers, but this is precisely what Abe does in the used book field.
While eBay has not solicited our advice, we would issue a note of caution to them. The grass may, at the moment, look greener in Seattle, but eBay is not a fixed price retailer. It is the one, and effectively only, online auction. It is a powerhouse that totally dominates its field. As a fixed price retailer, it is one of many, and it would have to throw out the winning formula that made it successful - listing other sellers' inventories while stocking none of its own - to be able to compete in the fixed price market on an even plain with Amazon and others. Ebay is the online bazaar, not the established online department store. If it gives up its soul to become Amazon II, it will instead become nothing. It will also open the door a crack for someone else to become eBay.
That is not to say it should abandon efforts to expand fixed price sales. There is opportunity for growth for eBay within this field. I have made fixed price purchases from eBay, but not because I went there looking for that type of pricing. It is the auctions, and the possibility of unique bargains, that sucked me in, where searches also found fixed price listings of interest. Auctions are eBay's unique draw. Without them, it would be just another retail seller, and one that does not provide the aura of security that comes with buying from the brand name retailer itself. Ebay should never forget who "brung them to the dance."
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
