Saturday, November 29, 2008

My Week Online

Howdy Folks,
Well, I've just finished my week with online sales, and things didn't go as well as I had hoped they would. I just had my first Bonanza sale on Bonanzle.com. I had a couple of folks stop by, but no sales. Ebay did a little better, but not much. But I do have to say that I cannot complain. We can't all have everything we want when we want it. I still have high hopes that Bonanzle will take off and become an online selling venue to be reckoned with. And eBay? Well, I don't think its going away anytime soon. I still enjoyed myself today as much as I do when I have a good week, and I think that's the number one thing, because if you don't enjoy what you are doing, then why do it? I'm looking forward to putting up some new items on eBay and in my Bonanzle Booth, and I'm very much looking forward to my next Bonanzle Sale. Well, that's about it for tonight, so until next time,
Adios,
Whiskey Jack


Todays Word of Wisdom:
"Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time."

Friday, November 28, 2008

John Wayne Collectibles

Howdy Folks, I thought that today I would talk a little bit about two of my favorite things combined: John Wayne and Collectibles. I have been a huge fan of John Wayne for many years, and I have been collecting John Wayne related items for just about as long. Ever since the Duke's 100th birthday in 2007, the John Wayne collectible market has gone virtually hog wild. Now, of course, there have always been John Wayne collectibles, at least since his passing in 1979, but these days there are hundreds if not thousands of collectible items available.

The problem is though, that the vast majority of these items are massed produced, made in China, overpriced, and so readily available that they really do not have any "Collectible Value." This is not to say that they aren't nice to have (in case my children are reading this), but as investments, they simply don't have the value that many people think they do. However, there are still a lot of John Wayne items out there that are very collectible, and are great investments.

Occasionally, rare radio and television appearances by John Wayne show up, and some of these are highly sought after by collectors. For instance, a copy of the full 1943 radio show "Three Sheets to the Wind" would be priceless, as none are known to exist. Other rare John Wayne collectibles would be a copy of the 1935 Big Little Book "Westward Ho!" which features stills from the John Wayne film. I have seen these go for as much $135. Or a 1959 paperback edition of the book "Rio Bravo" which have sold for over $200. Another rare John Wayne collectible is the 1930 board game for the John Wayne film "The Big Trail." These can go for hundreds of dollars. They are very rare.

But there are
still some good buys out there, all you have to do is look. Well, I hope you found this little entry at least somewhat informative, and as you can see I am experimenting with adding photos to this blog, and still learning as I go. So, until next time,
Adios,
Whiskey Jack

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

Howdy Folks,
Just a quick post to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. Don't forget to take a moment today to reflect on those things in your life that you have that you can be thankful for. Take care and I'll see y'all tomorrow.
Adios,
Whiskey Jack

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Vintage & Collectible Glass References

Howdy Folks,
Well, here we are again and I still haven't figured out how to put active links in these posts, so I'm still going to have to rely on simply writing out the web addresses for you to cut and paste them into your browser. At any rate, today I'd like to talk a little bit about doing research on your vintage and collectible glass.

Even though I tend to sell a wide variety of items in my eBay store and listings and in my Bonanzle Booth, my passion is vintage and collectible glass and pottery. I just can't seem to get enough of it. Usually I sell what I buy and I tend to look at my collection as a "rotating collection." In other words, I get to enjoy it for a while, until I sell it, and then I get to buy some more! One of the problems I had, however, when I started buying and selling glass was, I didn't always know what I had. So started doing research to learn more about the things I liked. One of the first things I did was start looking on the Internet, and I was able to locate some very good sites with some very good information.

The first site I'd like to talk about is the Glass and Pottery Sellers Association, or GPSA.
[http://glassandpotterysellers.org/index.html]. This is an absolutely wonderful site and packed with great information. You can find examples of various types of glass and pottery, great information, packing and photography tips and much more. You can subscribe to their newsletter, and request to join the association. I did join, and the benefits are wonderful, so, if you're really into vintage glass and pottery, this is the number one site to check out.

The next site is Pattern Glass.com [http://www.patternglass.com/], which focuses on Early American Pattern Glass (EAPG) from the years 1850-1910. On this great site they have an EAPG museum which features some great photos and information, a link for tips and tricks to buying, selling, packing and shipping EAPG. You can buy and sell EAPG from this site, and perhaps the best things about the site is their Our award winning Pattern Glass School, which will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about Pattern Glass.

Next is the Indiana Glass Pattern Identification Guide web site [http://indianaglass.carnivalheaven.com/id281.htm]. This a fantastic site with an unbelievable amount of factual and invaluable information, as well as some great glass photos. A big plus with this site is, you can actually download, for free, some early catalogs of Indiana Glass. Donna, the author of this site, also offers for sale a CD of 15 vintage glass catalogs for what I consider to be a very reasonable price. I purchased one from her and I use it all the time. I have found it to be invaluable. Also, when you visit Donna's site, be sure to check out the great links she has there.

There are literally thousands of websites dealing with vintage and collectible glass on the web, far too many to cover them all here. But, I've given you the top three that I use, and I hope you'll check them out and use them, and I hope you'll find, as I have, that they are truly an invaluable resource for collectors, buyers, and sellers of vintage and collectible glass.

I hope you've enjoyed this post, and will be back often to check out my blog. Hopefully soon, I'll figure out how to add clickable links and photos, and I hope to be able to add a sidebar with some great and very useful links. Until next Compadre,
Adios,
Whiskey Jack

p.s.: here are some more glassware related websites that you may also find interesting:

http://www.glassencyclopedia.com/

http://www.neaca.com/CollectableGlassPage.htm

http://www.vaselineglass.org/

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Den/3255/

http://steuben.com//acb/s.cfm?section=37&m1&loc=GAWOS6

http://www.carnivalglass.com/

http://www.ndga.net/index.php

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

A Few Quick Notes

Howdy Folks,
I only have a few minutes tonight, but I did want to post something, even if it is brief. I still don't know how to put links into my blog, but I do want to pass along a couple of web site addresses for you to check out. The first is the Auction Wally Show. If you haven't heard the show before, I would definitely encourage you to do so. Walt Kolenda and his co-host Mitzi Swisher have a wonderful show, full of humor and great information relating to antiques, collectibles, vintage items and selling online. Here is the web address where you can go to access the archives of all of the shows:

http://auctionwally.libsyn.com/

Now, then, they have just started a brand new podcast, called "Brainstorming Bonanzle" which is focused on, of course, buying and selling on Bonanzle.com, which is a fairly new addition to the online buying and selling universe. The web address for this show is:

http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=31369&cmd=tc

You can also access the archives for this show at this address. Until I can figure out how to make links in the blog, you'll have to cut and paste the addresses into your browser to get to the sites. I apologize for this, and I hope you'll bear with me as I learn how to do this.
Well, until next time,
Adios

Monday, November 24, 2008

THE BLOG - Day Two

Well Howdy Folks,
Here it is, day two of "The Blog." Still not too much to report, as I am still working on trying to figure this thing out. I would however, like to send out a big thanks to Auction Wally of Auctionwally.com and Mitzi Swisher of Vintagegoodness.com, who have really inspired me to try harder with my online sales efforts. Aside from selling on eBay (who I sometimes think is the devil!), I have also recently set up a booth at Bonanzle.com. Both are under the handle Whiskey Jack's Trading Post, so they aren't too hard to find. As soon as I can figure out how to put links into these posts, I will. I would really appreciate it if everyone took a moment to check out Auction Wally's blog and his website, and also Mitzi Swisher's blog and website. These two are really something. They also have two weekly podcasts, "The Auction Wally Show" and "Brainstorming Bonanzle" I don't klnow how to put the links to these shows in this blog yet, but as soon as I figure it out, I will. Well, until next time, this is Whiskey Jack saying adios till next time. Keep checking back and before you know it, I'll figure this thing out and start putting in some links and photos. I'll also be talking about my week on eBay and Bonanzle, and some things about new treasures I have found and news that concerns the antiques and collectibles that are out there. Take care and have a wonderful day.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Well Howdy and Welcome

I'm just starting out using this new fangled gizmo called blogging, and I'm a bit of a tenderfoot here. I hope to up and blogging soon though, so keep checking back from time to time and hopefully I'll have some things that y'all will be interested in readin'. Till then,
Adios,
Whiskey Jack