I AM AUCTIONING FOR WVIZ-PBS

Get ready! You can see me in action on our local PBS station, WVIZ in Cleveland, on April 29-May 2. All proceeds from the auction benefit WVIZ. Bid on thousands of items--everything from antiques (I will be doing the auctioning!) to grocery-store gift certificates.

See me starting around 7 p.m. (EDT) Thursday and Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sunday. You can view and bid now on some of the lots on the station's website or watch the auction live online.

TERRY KOVEL AUCTIONING FOR WVIZ-PBS

Terry will hawk antiques and collectibles donated to the WVIZ-PBS Ideastream benefit auction in Cleveland. The auction airs April 29 to May 2, 2010. Check back next week for more details--there will be a link to streaming video of the auction on Kovels.com. For now, you can view and bid on some of the lots on the station's site.

ATTEND AN AUCTION FOR THE BEST BUYS

We were at an auction in Maine this week with many phone, Internet and absentee bidders. But the biggest bargains, the lots that had trouble getting an opening bid, went to buyers seated at the auction.

PROTECTING AMERICAN INDIAN ARTIFACTS

An undercover operation just led to the arrest of 25 diggers, sellers and buyers of Indian artifacts allegedly removed from federal lands and grave sites out West. Thefts from American Indian archaeological sites have been a problem for many years. This particular ring is charged with running a major business involving truckloads of stolen pieces and hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales. Auction houses and galleries that sell legal Indian pieces are concerned that they too will be investigated--and that the investigation may scare off customers. Don't be scared. Legally acquired Indian pieces like the moccasins shown here sell for high prices at many shops and auction houses. Cowan's Auctions of Cincinnati sold these moccasins for $540.

WATCH YOUR KIDS WHEN YOU'RE SHOPPING ONLINE

An AP release from New Zealand tells the story of a mother who was bidding on toys in an online auction when she took a nap. Her 3-year-old daughter clicked a few times and bought a full-size (not a toy) Kobelco earth-moving digger for $12,300. When Mom saw an email from the auction telling her she had won, another email from the seller, and the price she was to pay, she called both the auction and the seller to explain what had happened. The understanding people at the auction site reimbursed the seller's costs for the auction and relisted the digger.

YANKEE STADIUM MEMORABILIA FOR SALE

The New York Yankees are selling and auctioning ballpark seats, foul poles, urinals, ticket booths, scoreboards, bases, lockers, bullpens and even grass from the old Yankee Stadium. Visit SteinerSports.com to buy or bid.

TERRY TO BE VOLUNTEER AUCTIONEER FOR WVIZ-PBS

Get ready! You can see Terry Kovel in action when Kovels.com links to live web transmission of the April 23-26 public television auction that benefits our local PBS station, WVIZ in Cleveland. You can bid on thousands of items--everything from antiques (Terry Kovel herself is the auctioneer!) to grocery-store gift certificates.


For four days, the live "auction action" can be seen via a link at Kovels.com. Items up for bid include antiques, art, and collectibles as well as general merchandise. Antiques are sold at "Table X," so you can tune in when its "X time" or watch the whole auction (starting at 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday and at noon on Saturday and Sunday). Look for a Satsuma bowl, a large aquarium, and vintage Barbie dolls mint in the box, along with 1930s brass floor lamps, a 1950s French Provincial dining room set, a pair of '50s Baker Furniture end tables, a Renaissance Revival table, sets of dishes, silver, antique jewelry, and much more. Collectibles up for auction include a LeBron James autographed basketball.

You'll be able to bid online or by phone. Look for instructions on the screen as you're watching the auction. For more information, visit www.WVIZ.org/auction.
Please note that successful bidders who live outside the Cleveland area must pay shipping costs for anything larger than a gift certificate.

TERRY KOVEL TO BE VOLUNTEER AUCTIONEER FOR WVIZ-PBS

Terry will hawk antiques and collectibles donated to the WVIZ-PBS Ideastream benefit auction in Cleveland. The auction airs April 23-26, 2009. Her segments will start around 7 p.m. (EDT) each evening. Check back that week--there will be a link to streaming video of the auction on Kovels.com. For now, you can view and bid on some of the lots on the station's site.

STUBBS AND KENT PLATTER

Q: This platter belonged to my wife's ancestors. Her grandmother said that it was brought over from England in the late 1700s or early 1800s. The mark on the back is Longport Stubbs & Kent. Can you tell me anything about the company?

A: Stubbs & Kent was a pottery located in Longport, Burslem, England c.1828-1830. A platter like yours sold at auction for $805 in 2008.

GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE COLLECTOR ECONOMY

Luke Skywalker's light saber auctioned for $240,000 at a Profiles in History auction in Los Angeles on Dec. 12. It's the prop Mark Hamill used in the first two "Star Wars" movies. We can't all own the original, but toy versions can be found online and at toy stores for $30--or $360 for "authentic replicas."

RECORD PRICE PAID FOR A ROYAL DIAMOND

High price of the week: A 35.56-carat blue diamond that belonged to German royalty sold for $24.3 million in London. That is the most ever paid for a diamond at auction.

SAVING HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS

Savings Halloween Decorations

Save the Halloween decorations you get this year. This witch moves up and down in the pumpkin. The 36-inch-tall toy sold at a Showtime auction this month for $770. It was part of the collection of Sandy Rosnick, who was best known for his collection of tobacco tins.

VAMPIRES BEWARE

Vampires Beware

Watch out, Dracula--a collector paid $14,850 for a c.1800 vampire-killing kit at a Mississippi auction earlier this month. The kit is complete with stakes, mirrors, a gun with silver bullets, crosses, a Bible, holy water and, of course, garlic, all neatly arranged in an American walnut case. It sold at a Stevens Auction Company sale.

THE INS AND OUTS OF NEGOTIATING AT AN ANTIQUES AUCTION

The ins and outs of negotiating at an antiques auction

Collectors have to understand the ins and outs of negotiating and finance. So when this was sent to me last week, I did the puzzle.

You bought a lot of stuff at the antiques auction and want to pay the bill. As fast as you can, add this in your head (no pencils or calculators):

1. Take $1,000 and add $40 to it. Add another $1,000.
2. Add $30. Now add another $1,000. Then add $20.
3. Add another $1,000. Add $10. What is the total?
   

Did you get $5,000? You overpaid. (See below)


Fast number calculations can be confusing. Ever hear an auctioneer say: "This ring is set with 20 diamonds that total 5 carats, and you know how valuable a 5-carat diamond is." Why the comparison? Small diamonds are worth much less than one big one. Or: "This is over 100 years old. It belonged to my grandmother and she died at 102." Yes, but did she buy it at birth? Or on her 90th birthday? Always listen carefully when money is involved and don't pay $5,000 for something that should cost you $4,100. Oh, did I mention that I gave a version of this puzzle to my 6th-grade math classes long ago when I was a math teacher?

Any other auctioneer sayings with numbers that you have heard?

RECORD PRICE

Record Price

One of the first commercial multipage United States telephone directories, Vol. 1, No. 1 for New Haven, Conn., was printed in 1878, just two years after the phone was invented. It listed 391 subscribers. Estimated at $30,000 to $40,000, it sold last week at Christie's for $170,500. The phone book included instructions on how to use the phone: "Never take the telephone off the hook unless you wish to use it. Commence the conversation by saying 'Hulloa.' When you are done talking, say 'That is all!'"

Our phones have changed since then, but the old-fashioned, heavy 1950s phones with cords are back in style. Repros are being made that use new technology, but the old ones use much less electricity than new cordless phones. Save energy and recycle--find an old phone.