All,
Just for clarification, the public auction house in Chicago, to which we
have sent a number of deaccessioned items over the past three years, chose
to put a few of them on Ebay. The Ulrich did not actually engage in it
ourselves. They chose to do so, with our permission, as a sort of test for
interest on samplings of items, of which there were many duplicates. It
worked quite well, but they prefer the live auction venues to online, where
the results are normally significantly better.
Mark Janzen
Registrar/Collections Manager
Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art
Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection
Wichita State University
(316)978-5850
Matt Mayberry
<mmayberry@SPRING
SGOV.COM> To
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<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM> Subject
Re: Using Ebay for "Public Auction"
of Deaccessions
04/25/2005 09:31
AM
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Museum discussion
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<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM>
Last summer I published an article titled "The Care and Handling of eBay
for Museums" in AASLH's History News. It covers several ways in which
online auction sites are uses by museum professionals. Deaccessioning is
covered in this article; however, I could find few institutions that had
used eBay for this purpose (or that would own up to it, anyway). I noted
that the Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University did
so. You may want to contact them.
If you haven't done so already, you should get a copy of AAM's policy on
deaccessioning using online services like eBay. This is available through
the members' only section of the their web site (www.aam-us.org). The
policy was completed and published last March. They don't take a firm
stand on the practice but offer sugestions for those organizations that
choose this route. Perhaps most importantly they remind us of our
obligation to follow established policies and best practices and to get
the most money possible for deaccessioned items. This second requirement
may not make eBay the best solution, depending on the type of item you
want to sell.
In the article, I provide the following summary and suggestions for those
organizations that choose this route. "EBay appears to be a valid, though
rarely used tool for the sale of deaccessioned items. The best advice is
to 1) carefully consider all the options available for the disposal of
artifacts, 2) develop a communication strategy that explains why it is
approprate for the museum to eliminate items using an online auction, 3)
select only the items best suited for sale online, and 4) understand fees
and shipping costs and how they might effect the auction results."
Good luck!
Matt Mayberry
Director
Colorado Springs Museum
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719-385-5636
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