We began purchasing small items via e-bay a couple of years ago for specific exhibit needs.  There have been no problems to date.  Just recently, an item I purchased turned out to be from a local person who donated it when he discovered that I was purchasing it for the museum.  In another instance, we were offered additional items (for a price) related to an early female aviator after we purchased a small lot of her memorabilia on e-bay.

After many years of evaluating donations to our collection (yes, the accounting department has always capitalized the collections), I'm generally comfortable determining how much to bid for a given item.  I'm also rather frugal by nature and practice.  On occasion, if it's a significant item, I'll consult with the director before upping my bid.

We've also sold a few deaccessioned items on ebay, but I've suspended doing that as it gets quite time consuming.  We are quite up front with who we are as buyer/seller.  My screen name is an acronym for the parent organization and all my emails include my full title and contact information.

It's no different than purchasing items from antique shops.  It just requires a little more trust that people are being honest in their description of items (photos can help if they're any good) and will follow through with shipping and pack things safely.
RT

Ron Twellman, Curator of Collections
EAA AirVenture Museum
P.O. Box 3065
Oshkosh, WI 54903-3065
920-426-5917


-----Original Message-----
From: Hugh H. Genoways [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 4:30 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Use of e-bay


Does anyone have experience with buying items on e-bay for your museum's
collections?  Has it been successful?  Did you encounter any problems?
What were they?  Any recommendations for other museums looking to fill
specific needs for the collection in this manner?  We are particularly
interested in any attempts to purchase Civil War related artifacts in this
manner.

Thanks for your insights.

Sincerely,
Hugh

Hugh H. Genoways
University of Nebraska State Museum
W436 Nebraska Hall
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68588-0514

Telephone: 402-472-2012
FAX: 402-472-8949

E-mail: <[log in to unmask]>

Professor
University of Nebraska State Museum
School of Natural Resource Sciences
Museum Studies Program

Chair
Museum Studies Program
Visit our website at <http://www.unl.edu/museumstudies>

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