We are absolutely taking advantage of eBay in the same way we have taken
advantage of antique dealers and rare book sellers.  The advantage of eBay
is its size.  Our "Wish Book" Christmas was greatly enhanced by eBay
purchases of appropriate mail order catalogs purchased withing the budget of
the exhibit itself.  These catalogs continue to be important reference tools
in our collection.  Our Barn Again! Christmas this Christmas will be
improved by the barn catalogs we have been able to find and purchase.  EBay,
as any other purchase venue, is "buyer beware."  I believe my staff has
shown true professional judgment with regard to the purchased made on behalf
of our museum.  Certainly we have items we could never find any place else,
faster, and usually at less cost.   We have actually had sellers DONATE the
item we were willing to purchase...

Particularly important to us has been sales of merchandise from our Gift
Shop on eBay.  You know the type of stuff we love to sell:  the few
remaining items that end up closeouts/clearance before inventory, the books
that never sell, the "why did we purchase this" items from our shop have
sold very well -- often for several times the original retail price.

Remember that it is the buyer's responsibility to know what you are
purchasing.

Visit our eBay sales at South_Dakota_Agricultural_Heritage_Museum.  BTW, "My
eBay" has turned out to be an excellent proimotional venue for the museum.

John Awald, Director
State Agricultural Heritage Museum
SDSU Box 2207C
Brookings, SD  57007

http://www.agmuseum.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Amanda Kraus
Sent: Thursday, June 22, 2000 3:38 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: online auctions and museums


Dear Colleagues:

I am interested to know whether museum staff are using eBay or similar
online auction sites to acquire objects for their collections. I'd like to
hear museum professionals'  thoughts about these sites. I have listed a few
specific questions below, but I welcome all comments relevant to the topic
of how the Internet is affecting object acquisition in museums.

Questions

1) Are museums/historical societies purchasing through eBay and other
auction sites? Why or why not?

2) If so, are museum staff finding material they might otherwise never see?

3) Are online auctions curbing donations from individuals to museums? Do
curators fear that objects will leave the public domain because private
collectors are buying them online?

I appreciate your input.

--Amanda Kraus
Publications Department,
American Association of Museums

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