Thursday, May 25, 2006
Previous Posts
- Will eBay's new policy make shill bidding easier?
- Norman Rockwell painting found hidden inside wall
- I met William Vollman tonight
- Audio clip of radio interview on KXJZ
- On libraries
- Catch me on Capital Public Radio tomorrow (12/27) ...
- I'm reading/signing next month at Book Passage in ...
- Watch me tonight on Evening Magazine in Seattle
- "One of the most exciting art finds for a generati...
- Brainwash
6 Comments:
Either NBC 11 employs better makeup and lighting guys, or you just got more telegenic in your sleep since the Sacramento piece.
Heh. I think this is the difference between being in-studio (in a directors chair in front of a greeenscreen) and sitting in the harsh mid-day Sacramento sun (my enemy).
Kenneth, I got a question for you. Back around when you were still selling paintings on eBay, I too was a regular buyer and seller (not of paintings though. I sold books, movies on videocassette, movie memorabilia, and other odds and ends that have nothing to do with movies...or paintings.) The thing is that I found the eBay site quite profitable. I would find a rare out of print movie on video on eBay for around 10 (the seller just didnt know that he had a long sought after cult classic movie), buy it, turn around and sell it for 40 bucks.
But as the years went by, more and more people joined eBay, creating more competition and I found more and more people sellling the same items I was. More and more often my items went unsold because of this competition. (I still buy and sell, mostly buy, off of ebay from time to time, but not as often as I used to) Many is the time I'll find something around the house, or buy in some store thinking: "Hey, I just might be able to sell this on eBay for a nice profit". I get online to eBay only to see that there are at least a half dozen other people selling the same item. And nobody is getting any bids. Realizing that my item is virtually worthless.
After reading your book (and it is a great book, I read over this past weekened. I just couldnt put it down!) I was curious as to how the painting market on eBay is. I went to eBay and put in a search for the following two keywords: Painting and Original. And I found the same thing I find in the items I sold....so much competition...so few bidders. This despite the fact that each and every painting listed was an original and not a knockoff that everyone else in the whole world was selling.
I was thinking that part of the reason you were so successful back then in selling the paintings was because there was perhaps less competition (and perhaps a less wiser art buying public). Or did you have just as much competition back then as exists today?
Forget the eBay/paintings/shill bidding facts of your past for the moment. If, IF you were to go back to selling paintings on eBay today (and sell them honestly), do you think that you could make the same kind of money that you did back then or at least close to it? Or do you think that you would not be able to sell anything?
PS: Whatever happened to Fetterman? He still in jail? If not, hwere is he now? Does he still own that house he bought with the paintings? Did you ever hear from him after his conviction?
Anon,
I know what you're saying about eBay seeming like a tougher and tougher marketplace for sellers. I never really sold anything on the site other than art, but when I looked at other categories, I sometimes wondered how people make money.
But later, after I'd been kicked off eBay, I created a software program called DeepAnalysis that peformed eBay market research, and I realized there were a lot of people making a lot of money. Sometimes it came in the form of high volume, and for others, it came from selling expensive items. You are correct, though, that many eBay sellers seem to be making a lot of noise, but no money.
I did well in the eBay art market back in 1999 and 2000, and the majority of those sales involved no shill bidding or trickery. It was all a matter of picking good paintings and using good advertising strategies. I clearly remember, even back then, looking at other sellers and wondering how they ever made any money. Even at that time, a large majority of the auctions in the art categories never resulted in a sale. But I managed to sell everything (low opening prices and no reserves) and usually make a profit.
Could I do it again today? I really have no idea. It's been a long time since I've even considered it, and I'm not really familiar with the current viability of the eBay art market. My gut instict says it's a tough place to sell things, given all the competition (it's many times larger than it was when I was selling), but I think savvy sellers can still do well. Would I make as much as before? Probably not, unless I worked at it a lot harder.
But alas, the notion of selling stuff on eBay has lost its luster. I have no more taste for it.
As for Fetterman, I've had no contact with him since the last time we met in person, which is mentioned in the book. It's been years. He served some time in a couple of different federal facilities and was released in October, according to the Bureau of Prison's website. I have no idea where he is. The house he bought in Placerville was in his girlfriend's name, and when he left her and went on the run, I can only assume he pretty much gave up on the property. I'm not sure if she's there or not, but I was assume they've not had contact either.
Glad you enjoyed the book. How did you hear about it?
"Glad you enjoyed the book. How did you hear about it?"
I didn't hear about it actually. I was in my local library browsing the new books section to see what new books they got. I went through the true crime section (I like true crime books, non-fiction, biographies, etc), and there was your book. I glanced through a few pages and decided to borrow it.
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