I am curious about museums selling deaccessioned items online.  What ethical
or legal differences are there between consigning your deaccessioned
artifact to an auction house and consigning it to an online auction broker?

----- Original Message -----
From: Kara J. Hurst <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, June 23, 2000 10:30 AM
Subject: Re: online auctions and museums


> Amanda,
>
> Another avenue to consider is whether museums are disposing of items over
eBay or online auction sites.  Another museum was interested in a small
collection we are trying to deaccession that no longer fits our scope and
when this museum declined our artifacts, they suggested
> selling them on eBay, saying we could get a nice price for them.  So I'm
curious whether other museums are deaccessioning on eBay or not.
>
> (In case anyone is curious, we did not feel we could ethically sell them
on eBay and they are still in our collection.)
>
> Kara J. Hurst
> Registration Intern
> Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
>
>
>
> Amanda Kraus wrote:
>
> > 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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> --
>
> Kara J. Hurst
> Registration Intern
> Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
> 2401 Chautauqua
> Norman, OK   73072
>
> 405-325-5481 (telephone)
> 405-325-7699 (fax)
>
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