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Everyone wants to get something for nothing, and now that's possible, thanks to Collect.com’s free classified ads.

“The classified ads are completely free — no gimmicks, no strings attached and no limit to the number of classified ads that can be placed,” said Dianne Wheeler, the community leader for collect.com. “This is a great way for collectors to sell the items that they don’t love anymore — and shop for new ones that they will — without pricey consignment fees or drawn-out bidding wars.”

Placing an ad is easy. Just visit www.collect.com, click on the collectibles area that applies to your item (Comics, Music, Sports, Militaria or Antiques and Collectibles), and add in the details. The Ad Wizard walks you through every step of the process, including writing the description and adding a photo of the piece that’s for sale.
The free classified ads are the first of numerous improvements that are scheduled to come to collect.com this year, Wheeler said.

Produced by F+W Media, the world’s largest hobby and collectible publisher, Collect.com is an online community where collectors can discuss and display their finds, keep tabs on the value of their collections, connect with buyers and sellers, read about the latest hobby news and more.

CLICK HERE to sell your collectibles (or post a wanted ad) with Collect.com free classified ads.

Are these the droids you’re looking for?

Manion’s International Auction House announces special Sci-Fi collectibles auction – Star Wars, Star Trek, Godzilla, Ultraman, X-Men, and more . .

Two non-militaria related special auctions for Manion’s International Auction House, Inc. in a month? Manion’s brand new special Sci-Fi auction is online now, coming hot on the heels of their collectible toy auction — their first non-military related auction in many years.

“Everyone knows Manion’s International Auction House is synonymous with military collectibles,” said company VP John Conway. “We’ve come across some other interesting collections lately, and thought we’d feature them on our online auction website.”

The results were encouraging.

“Our collectible toy auction went very well,” said Conway, “and a Sci-Fi collector contacted us about consigning.”

Manion’s accepted the consignment, and contacted a couple collectors of similar items.

“Just like that, we had a new special auction,” Conway said. “Few companies enjoy our versatility, and the ability to put a special auction together so quickly.”

While several special auctions are featured on a regular basis, online auctions close 365 days a year on their website: www.manions.com.

“The Sci-Fi special auction features hundreds and hundreds of Star Wars action figures and vehicles,” said Conway. “Other Sci-Fi areas of interest include Godzilla, Ultraman, Star Trek, X-Men, and many more.”

Manion’s special Sci-Fi auction closes April 26, 2009 at 8:30 p.m. CST on the online auctions website www.manions.com.

Continue to count on Manion’s for militaria, but begin to look towards the longstanding company for other areas of collecting. On the horizon, Manion’s is planning several special auctions in diverse areas of collecting: Public Enemy Number One – Maffia Memorabilia, Military Medical, and Sporting Collectibles.

Have something to consign – military or otherwise? Visit www.manions.com and call 866.626.4661 to learn more.
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On Sunday, April 5, 2009, the April Fools Toy Show will take place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Nur Shrine Temple, Route. 13 / 198 South DuPont Highway, New Castle, DE.

Admission is $4, children under the age of 12 are free, $10 Early Buyers 9 a.m. admission.

April is their biggest show and will feature over 175 tables of collectible and antique toys from the 1900s to the present.

The show will also have door prizes, refreshments, and free parking. It is a rain or shine event.

Then, on July, 26, 2009: The 1st Delaware Antique & Collectible Extravaganza at Spence's Bazaar in Dover, Del. "It will be Del/Mar/Va's Largest Free Outdoor Antique Show."

For information visit www.toyshows.org or call 302-222-3030 or 856-228-7681.

Noted tin toy authority Alan Jaffe will speak at 2 p.m. Jan. 11, 2009 at Ellarslie, the Trenton City Museum, in conjunction with the ongoing exhibition A Toy Story: Seven Decades of J. Chein and Company, New Jersey Toymaker. Jaffe, a former newspaper reporter, editor and contributor to Inside Collector, an antiques and collectibles magazine, has collected antique toys and advertising characters since the early 1980s. Copies of his book J. Chein & Co., A Collector’s Guide to an American Toymaker (Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1997) will be available at Molly’s, the Shop at Ellarslie, after the talk and while the exhibit is on display.

Beginning in 1903 and lasting into the 1970s, the J. Chein and Co. began churning out millions of tin lithographed mechanical toys, many featuring the visages of the 20th centuries' most beloved cartoon characters. These toys have become iconic collectibles sought after at auction the world over. This winter, a never-before exhibited collection of J. Chein tin toys and memorabilia will be on display at the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie Mansion in Trenton, New Jersey’s beautiful Cadwalader Park. Chein family members are exhibiting their personal collections, which include their most memorable toys, accompanied by pieces from the extensive collection of Georgia Marsh, the world’s leading collector of Chein Toys.

Jaffe's work outside the antiques community is well-known in southern New Jersey and suburban Philadelphia. A working  journalist for thirty years, Jaffe spent nine years with the Courier-Post as an editor and columnist on antiques and collectibles, and another eight years as a news editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer. Currently he is public relations manager for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which produces the Philadelphia Flower Show and also writes a column on historic building preservation for PlanPhilly, a website based at the University of Pennsylvania. Jaffe and his wife, BJ, live in Center City Philadelphia, in a 19th-century home filled with antiques, including vintage toys.

For additional information visit the museum website at www.ellarslie.org or call 609-989-3632. Visitors to the Museum should enter Cadwalader Park at the intersection of Parkside Ave. and Bellevue Ave., (between E. State and Stuyvesant Streets) and follow the drive through the Park to the Museum.

The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie Mansion is owned by the City of Trenton, Douglas H. Palmer, Mayor, maintained and operated by the Department of Recreation, Natural Resources & Culture, Division of Culture. This program is made possible in part by the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission through funding from the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, A Partner Agency of the National Endowment of the Arts. All programs and additional support provided by The Trenton Museum Society.

Submitted from John W. Vayo, owner of J.W. Antiques, Hebron, Ill., and author of “Midgetoy: An All American Toy Story.”

Perhaps the last surviving founder of any American toy company, Earl W. Herdklotz, passed on Nov. 13, 2008, in Rockford, Ill. Earl was secretary-treasurer of the Midgetoy division of A&E Tool and Gage.

Earl was the toy man who gave direction to Midgetoy and the more than 200 toys produced between 1946 and 1980. His brother Al (passed December 2002) was president and more the tool and gage entrepreneur of the brothers. A third brother, Richard (in ill health) worked with them, but never partnered.

In our many visits and discussions, cleaning the factory, or just talking, I was fortunate to be able to pick Earl’s knowledge and expertise regarding each toy, its development from drawing to wooden model prototype and finishing casting. He was forthcoming, honest and thorough in his presentations with me or anyone at toy shows or meetings.

Certainly the toy world, lovers of “Made in USA,” and collectors will now sorely miss Earl and his straightforward, dry humor approach to his beloved Midgetoys. I hope some of you met or had a chance to listen to his storied information as I did. Earl was 88.

I perused the ProxiBid listing for this Official Auctions, Inc., auction. (Click here to take a peek here if you like.)

Lots of cars, coins & a wonderful variety of art.

Official Auctions, Inc., Huge Fine Art Auction- Saturday December 13th 2008 from 10:07 a.m. to 6 p.m. 3130 Wheeling Ave., Kansas City, MO 64129.

Large private collections featuring hundreds of original framed oils, prints, serigraphs.  Signed prints: Matisse, Dali, Rockwell Merkin, Max, Escher, more. Sculptures by Preiss, hand carved Hopi Indian art. Original oils by famous artists: Jansem, & Simari. Early American, European, and Western art. Pre-Columbian pottery. Other auction items: Antique one owner vehicles, 1950 Packard, 1972 Lincoln Mark-4, 1948 Harley. Rare collector coins, antique furniture, railroad collectors pieces. Simulcast online bidding. Online catalog www.oaiauctions.com  816-861-3700

For nostalgia lovers young and old, the D.C. Big Flea promises two days of treasure hunting Sept. 20 & 21, 2008.

The D.C. Big Flea is held at the Dulles Expo Center.

Whether your area of interest is general store collectibles, vintage advertising, folk art, vintage toys or anything old, if you're in the area, it's worth checking out.

Hours for the show are: Saturday Sept. 20th 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday September 21st  11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. Admission is $8, good for both days. The address: Dulles Exposition and Convention Center, 4368 Chantilly Shopping Center Chantilly, VA 20151.

Only 10 minutes from the Dulles Airport.

Only it would be a bit of a hassle to dissassemble, move and re-assemble into our backyard in Central Wisconsin.

The famed solar powered ferris wheel on the Santa Monica pier is up for sale. Bids start at $50,000.

We'd have the kids lined up around the block, though...

My wife is from Santa Monica, her birthday is coming up, and I'd sure love to give her something that reminded her of home.

Howdy folks. We made it through Day One of the March 2008 Atlantique City Antiques Show and, if I may speak for the staff and crew of Atlantique City - and I reckon that I can - Day one was pretty fantastic.

By the 9 a.m. early opening we had at least 2000 people lined up outside the door, many of them grabbing copies of Antique Trader and our various publications at the show, and the trafic flow was steady all day. While official numbers aren't available yet, I'd say we had at least 5,000 people come through the convention center and they seemed interesting. Quality is high, and uniform, and we heard some good comments from dealers.

The appraisal event went very well, too, highlighted by a superb Judy Garland dress, straight off the MGM lot, that ended up in - of all places - Milwaukee, WI. We have to wait and see if the pics cvame out, but I'll post them if I will.

At the end of the day we also hosted a gathering to fete Ellen Schroy and thank her for all her hard work - 28 years worth - on the Warman's Price Guide. Nice stuff, and Ellen is a great lady. She'll be missed on Warman's, but it's a good opportunity for Trader to get her byline in the paper, as we did with the 4/9 issue.

Sunday is usually a bit slower at shows, but there can be some serious buying going on, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for our dealers and ourselves, for a good day today, a smooth load-out tonight, and a nice easy flight home tomorrow morning. Last October we got delayed in Philly for 12 hours. Yuck.

Looking forward to getting home, getting back to work and regular blogging, and seeing my family. I love the East Coast, and have a lot of good memories from these shows and my childhood summers spent here, but I want to get back to Stevens Point, WI - wide open spaces, nice people and great beer - and get back in the swing of day-to-day life and work.

See you there.

Howdy!

After a long week of vacation last week - agonizing, as you can imagine, spending so much time with my lovely wife and daughter in Phoenix and Las Vegas - I got into Atlantic City last Wednesday night. Travel was 13 hours from Vegas, with a few nighmarish waits in TSA lines at all airports.

It's time for good antiques and the Atlantique City Antiques Show.

We have spent two exhausting days getting the show ready, but as I write this morning, the show floor at the Atlantic City Convention Center looks beautfiul, there is a crowd of 2000 people waiting outside the door and we are hoping for a good show. We know it looks good, and quality is ubiquitous. Now we are waiting for the buyers.

The weather here is a bit chilly and overcast, which means good weather for antique buying, and the attitude seems to be optimistic, which is half the battle when there are such problems with the economy. I don't, however, have to tell any Trader readers that.

What I can tell you is that I'm excited for the opening of this show, proud of the hard work we've done and ready to see this thing come off a success.

If any of you out there are coming today or tomorrow, or go this weekend and read this later, give me a holler and let me know what you think.

I'll post more later today, hopeufully with some pics, but no promises...

Tom Schroder, one of the editor's of the Washington Post, posted this editor's note yesterday and I found my self moved by it's insight, and impressed with its ability to convey such depth with such brevity.

I'm not quite at the point where my life has become an antique, but the things I loved as a child sure as heck have become collectible, especially the beloved stand-up first gen arcade games I wasted so many hours as a pre-pubescent boy playing on Satruday afternoons at Prestonwood Mall in Dallas.

Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong, Jr., Tron, Red Baron, Pole Position, Jack the Giant Killer, Red Baron, Jungle Hunt, these were just a few of the games I ruled... Now they're being collected at big bucks. Much like Mr. Schroder, when I see these things now at shops or shows, priced too high, or undervalued, I simply have to walk away...

Here's a first look at our March 19 issue, a special for the Atlantique City Antiques Show, which is owned by Trader's parent company, F+W Publications.

It'll be a glossy front with an extra 5,000 copies distributed at AC on March 29-30, 2008 at the Altantic City Convention Center.

I'll be there. If you are around and want to say hi, please do...

Here's your weekly sneak peak at the upcoming Trader, that literally just went to press.