> 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?


Our Curator has been purchasing items on e-bay for about two years now. No
bad experiences and we have acquired some wonderful objects (Louis Armstrong
dolls, back issues of Downbeat, movie posters, out-of-print recordings,
etc.)  But one must use common sense.  There was recently on e-bay a
"trumpet previously belonging to Louis Armstrong" for which the provenance
was very shaky and the price tag was outrageous.  We passed.  (We have five
authentic Armstrong trumpets anyway.)

The Curator usually pays using a personal credit card and then we reimburse
her.  Most sellers don't want to wait for College purchase orders and
payments.  And most sellers are delighted to learn that their object will be
in our museum.

Happy shopping.

Michael

************************************************
Michael Cogswell
Director
Louis Armstrong House & Archives
Queens College
718-997-3670 (tel)
718-997-3677 (fax)
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Visit our web site:  www.satchmo.net
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