Antique Trader Blog - http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/ News and views from America's Antiques & Collectibles Marketplace en-us F+W Media, Inc. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:05:52 GMT newtelligence dasBlog 2.3.9074.18820 eric.bradley@fwmedia.com eric.bradley@fwmedia.com http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=2a404bca-3eec-407d-8cc5-46f77eba3c4b http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/pingback.aspx http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/PermaLink,guid,2a404bca-3eec-407d-8cc5-46f77eba3c4b.aspx Noah http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/CommentView,guid,2a404bca-3eec-407d-8cc5-46f77eba3c4b.aspx http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=2a404bca-3eec-407d-8cc5-46f77eba3c4b 1
Everyone in the antiques business - collector and dealer alike - have an opinion about eBay. However you feel about it now, it's played a major role in antiques commerce over the last decade. The role, however, has been changing rapidly in recent weeks.

Ebay has suffered a well publicized decline in market share in the last year - something like 14% - in its auction business and has not seen it's Marketplace feature do as well as investors would have like to have seen in the face of Amazon and Google's growing share.

This all culminated last week when it was announced that Meg Whitman, the CEO who guided eBay to glory in the late 1990s, was resigning to "spend more time with her family." That last bit was mine... I just put it in for dramatic effect...

Whitman's resignation, and her successors pledge to amp up the Marketplace and "Buy It Now" features while de-emphasizing the auction business, along with a reduction in listing fees and a tweak to the feedback system - which many sellers fear will lead to shady buyers not being weeded out - have given eBay more press than its had in a few years. Whether it's positive remains to be seen.

Here's what Trader wants to know this week: With a leadership change, lower listing fees and a shift in selling focus, can eBay remain a relevant force in the marketplace?

Post your answer to the new Antique Trader Blog at www.antiquetraderblog.com/atblog, or send your response to noah.fleisher@fwpubs.com.

Antique Trader Question of the week - Can eBay remain relevant? http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/PermaLink,guid,2a404bca-3eec-407d-8cc5-46f77eba3c4b.aspx http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/2008/01/31/Antique+Trader+Question+Of+The+Week+Can+EBay+Remain+Relevant.aspx Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:05:52 GMT <div> <div>Everyone in the antiques business - collector and dealer alike - have an opinion about eBay. However you feel about it now, it's played a major role in antiques commerce over the last decade. The role, however, has been changing rapidly in recent weeks. <br /> <br /> Ebay has suffered a well publicized decline in market share in the last year - something like 14% - in its auction business and has not seen it's Marketplace feature do as well as investors would have like to have seen in the face of Amazon and Google's growing share.<br /> <br /> This all culminated last week when it was announced that Meg Whitman, the CEO who guided eBay to glory in the late 1990s, was resigning to "spend more time with her family." That last bit was mine... I just put it in for dramatic effect...<br /> <br /> Whitman's resignation, and her successors pledge to amp up the Marketplace and "Buy It Now" features while de-emphasizing the auction business, along with a reduction in listing fees and a tweak to the feedback system - which many sellers fear will lead to shady buyers not being weeded out - have given eBay more press than its had in a few years. Whether it's positive remains to be seen.<br /> <br /> Here's what Trader wants to know this week: With a leadership change, lower listing fees and a shift in selling focus, can eBay remain a relevant force in the marketplace?<br /> <br /> Post your answer to the new Antique Trader Blog at www.antiquetraderblog.com/atblog, or send your response to noah.fleisher@fwpubs.com.<p> </p> </div> </div> <img width="0" height="0" src="http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=2a404bca-3eec-407d-8cc5-46f77eba3c4b" /> http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/CommentView,guid,2a404bca-3eec-407d-8cc5-46f77eba3c4b.aspx Antiques Antiques, blog, question of the week eBay http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=ab4fb957-3c9b-4e84-8077-83ebe27dfb84 http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/pingback.aspx http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/PermaLink,guid,ab4fb957-3c9b-4e84-8077-83ebe27dfb84.aspx Noah http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/CommentView,guid,ab4fb957-3c9b-4e84-8077-83ebe27dfb84.aspx http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=ab4fb957-3c9b-4e84-8077-83ebe27dfb84
It's being widely reported across international media today that the English family who passed of sophisticated forgeries as real - and fooled some of the best in the world in the process - is getting off relatively lightly. The link above is to the Yahoo News coverage. Here's the begining of the AP story:

LONDON – An elderly art scammer who fooled museums, auction houses and galleries on both sides of the Atlantic avoided jail Monday after a judge in the north England city of Bolton handed him a two-year suspended sentence.

Police say George Greenhalgh, 84, his 83-year-old wife, Olive, and his 46-year-old son Shaun spent the better part of two decades cranking out statues, paintings and other objects and passing the sophisticated fakes off as priceless pieces of art.

All three pleaded guilty in 2002 to charges of laundering money from the sale of forged artworks. Shaun, who created the fakes, was sentenced to more than four years in jail in November. His mother received a 12-month sentence.

The family manufactured a wide range of objects, including sculptures attributed to Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, paintings purportedly by American artist Thomas Moran, and gold and silver items dated to Roman and Anglo-Saxon times.

The family's assets are being split up between those they duped. Part of me is intrigued at their skill - they were boviously quite good. The other part of me is a little taken aback at how easy they got off. Seems to me that plenty of people have done much more, and much harder, time for much less.

English Art Scammer gets suspended sentence http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/PermaLink,guid,ab4fb957-3c9b-4e84-8077-83ebe27dfb84.aspx http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/2008/01/30/English+Art+Scammer+Gets+Suspended+Sentence.aspx Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:59:12 GMT <div> <div> <div> <div>It's being widely reported across international media today that the <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080128/ap_on_re_eu/britain_art_forgery">English family who passed of sophisticated forgeries as real - and fooled some of the best in the world in the process - is getting off relatively lightly</a>. The link above is to the Yahoo News coverage. Here's the begining of the AP story:<br /> <br /> <i>LONDON – An elderly art scammer who fooled museums, auction houses and galleries on both sides of the Atlantic avoided jail Monday after a judge in the north England city of Bolton handed him a two-year suspended sentence.<br /> <br /> Police say George Greenhalgh, 84, his 83-year-old wife, Olive, and his 46-year-old son Shaun spent the better part of two decades cranking out statues, paintings and other objects and passing the sophisticated fakes off as priceless pieces of art.<br /> <br /> All three pleaded guilty in 2002 to charges of laundering money from the sale of forged artworks. Shaun, who created the fakes, was sentenced to more than four years in jail in November. His mother received a 12-month sentence.<br /> <br /> The family manufactured a wide range of objects, including sculptures attributed to Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, paintings purportedly by American artist Thomas Moran, and gold and silver items dated to Roman and Anglo-Saxon times. </i> <br /> <br /> The family's assets are being split up between those they duped. Part of me is intrigued at their skill - they were boviously quite good. The other part of me is a little taken aback at how easy they got off. Seems to me that plenty of people have done much more, and much harder, time for much less.<br /> <br /> <p> </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <img width="0" height="0" src="http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=ab4fb957-3c9b-4e84-8077-83ebe27dfb84" /> http://blog.antiquetrader.com/blog/CommentView,guid,ab4fb957-3c9b-4e84-8077-83ebe27dfb84.aspx Antiques Antique scams