Philadelphia Inquirer July 23, 1934John Dillinger shot dead by FBI agents in Chicago
By Bruce McKinney
Recently we interviewed two AE members who have been selling on eBay
for the past five years: Steve Goldman of Stephen A. Goldman Historical Newspapers (SAGHN) and Frank Wood of DeWolfe and Wood. They both were willing to tell us something about their experiences and to give their perspective on this selling tool.
Dr. Stephen Goldman, a periodontist by training, began collecting historical newspapers more than thirty years ago. An allergy to latex led him in the mid-1990s to spend less time in his professional offices and more time with his then hobby which in 1996 he converted to a fledgling business, Stephen A. Goldman Historical Newspapers. After two years of selling by catalogue he began to sell historical newspapers on eBay.
Frank Wood has been selling used and rare books since the 1970s and in 1992 went into partnership with Scott DeWolfe, himself a dealer since the 1980s. Together they established DeWolfe & Wood. D&W has been selling on eBay since the late 1990s.
The need and desire for a larger market are common to both firms. DeWolfe & Wood is located in Alfred, Maine, a lovely place to visit but a long drive for 98% of the American population. Steve Goldman’s business is more centrally located – in the triangle between Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore but just as dependent on the national and international markets. Both have found, in eBay, a way to reach the larger market.
This isn’t to say that both or either, for that matter, entirely rely on eBay
for sales. Neither does. But what eBay provides is a way to sell certain types or material effectively. DeWolfe & Wood also sell via their own on-line site, in their store, through listing sites such as Abebooks, by catalogue and at shows. For them eBay
is one of the arrows in their quiver. When they are assessing material they decide what will be the better selling alternative to use for a particular piece or a particular kind of piece. Once decided they send the item or items to that particular market. They have the inventory to back up this strategy: 100,000 items they have sorted and another 100,000 items that await their chance in the future.
At SAGHN the principal source of material is the more than thirty years accumulation of newspapers, news magazines, and other early news formats that Dr. Goldman has acquired. He and his business partner, Mr. Eric C. Caren (The Caren Archive), maintain an online site – www.historicalnews.com. SAGHN is in the business of selling old, rare and valuable newspapers on eBay
in such volume that the firm enjoys “power seller” status, an honor that can only be earned, and, in this case, is based on more than $20,000 of sales monthly on eBay. Dr. Goldman and Mr. Caren also sell on their own web site and through individual requests for specific items. Dr. Goldman makes a distinction between popular and highly collectible material and tends to sell some of the more complicated items directly to sophisticated collectors and institutions or through catalog auction sales.. DeWolfe and Wood, incidentally, are also eBay
power-sellers.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: APRES DE MANNEVILLETTE Le Neptune Oriental
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: CASSAS Eaux fortes de la Sicile et quelques vues d’Espagne
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: CASSINI DE THURY Carte générale et particulière de la France.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: JOUY; GARNERAY Vues des côtes de France dans l'Océan et dans la Méditerranée
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LA PÉROUSE Voyage autour du monde
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LE GENTIL DE LA GALAISIERE Voyage dans les Mers de l’Inde
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LICENT Hoang Ho, Pai Ho, Loan Ho, Leao Ho. Itinéraires suivis dans le bassin du golfe du Pei Tcheuly
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: FRENCH SCHOOL FROM THE 19th CENTURY Panorama d’Athènes
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: PEETERS Description des principales villes, havres et isles du golfe de Venise
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: PÉRON; FREYCINET Voyage de découverte aux terres australes
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: STACKELBERG La Grèce : vues pittoresques et topographiques.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: VALENTINER Atlas des Sonnensystems.
Forum Auctions Online Sale: The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper Ending 7th November, 2024
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). The Thirteen Problems, first edition, The Crime Club, 1932. £15,000 to £20,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Dumb Witness, first edition, 1937. £3,000 to £4,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Cards on the Table, first edition, The Crime Club, 1936. £2,000 to £3,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: [Carr (John Dickson)], "Carter Dickson" and John Rhode. Drop to his Death, first edition, Heinemann, [1939]. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: Berkeley (Anthony). Jumping Jenny, first edition, Hodder and Stoughton, 1933. £800 to £1,200.
Forum Auctions Online Sale: The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper Ending 7th November, 2024
Forum, Nov. 7: Marsh (Ngaio). Overture to Death, first edition, The Crime Club, 1939. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: [Day-Lewis (Cecil)] "Nicholas Blake". The Beast Must Die, first edition, 1938. £750 to £1,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Brand (Christianna). Green for Danger, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, John Lane the Bodley Head, 1945. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Murder is Easy, first edition, signed by the author, 1939. £3,000 to £4,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Sayers (Dorothy L.) Lord Peter Views the Body, first edition, Gollancz, 1928. £6,000 to £8,000.
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RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 11,135 USD
Sotheby’s: Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven and Other Poems, 1845. 33,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Leo Tolstoy, Clara Bow. War and Peace, 1886. 22,500 USD
Sotheby’s: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1902. 7,500 USD
Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Others, 1920-1941. 24,180 USD
Freeman’s | Hindman Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana November 14
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: LEROUX, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. FIRST AM. ED, FIRST ISSUE IN THE VERY RARE DUST JACKET. 1911. $6,000 – 8,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD, John. A Monograph of the Trochilidae...Humming-Birds. L., [1849-] 1861. $60,000 – 80,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: A COMPLETE RUN of Limited Editions Club publications, v.p. [mostly New York], 1929-2010. $50,000 – 60,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: ORWELL, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Lon., 1949. FIRST EDITION IN A VERY FINE DUST JACKET. $6,000 – 8,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD. A Monograph of the Ramphastidae...Toucans. L., [1852-] 54. SECOND ED. $35,000 – 45,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14:The Federalist. NY, 1788. FIRST EDITION, THICK PAPER COPY. $60,000 – 80,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: SELBY. Plates to Selby’s Illustrations of British Ornithology. Edin., [1833-] 34. $20,000 – 30,000.