Tag: contests

EBay Says “Win Big With Collectibles”

Among the steps eBay is taking to try to bring back their antiques and collectibles presence, is a new series of Collector Events:

Discover another world of shopping — with items from around the world. Exclusive selection and value on art, antiques, memorabilia, coins, stamps, and more.

Those who subscribe to receive event digests, sale and promotion alerts, etc. will be entered in contest to win a $2,500 (PayPal transfer) and other prizes. Interestingly, the information sent along in the email I received March 30 (2014) about the sweepstakes listed events that would end that day already. To me, that says the Collector Event series isn’t going as well as they’d like.

ebay collector events sweepstakes

Add to that, the fact that the eBay affiliate program is also pushing collectibles, and I think this rat senses a ship in trouble. I’m not saying that eBay’s a sinking ship; but they may have waited far too long to address an issue that collectors and dealers, buyers and sellers, have been screaming about for years now. EBay says, “Win big with collectibles” — but did eBay already lose collectors?

FYI, below are the categories that eBay has designated at “collectibles” at least in terms of their affiliate program. (The number in parenthesis is the eBay category number; see how the collectibles category is number one — it’s what eBay was built on.) And note how vintage clothing is not considered part of the collectibles categories.

EBay sweepstakes fine print:

No purchase necessary. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited. Sweepstakes begins at 12:00:00 AM PT on March 30, 2014, and ends 11:59:59 AM PT on April 13, 2014. Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 years of age or older, and who are physically located and reside in the United States of District of Columbia, who are registered members of www.ebay.com at the time of entry. For Official Rules, click here.

Cross-Collectibles With Jack Carson — Contest Giveaway!

Vintage Jack Carson Photo

I often am asked, “What’s a cross collectible?” For me, the answer is, “Everything!” But technically speaking, a cross collectible is any antique or collectible which appeals to more than one kind of collector and therefore “crosses areas of collecting.” For example, this vintage promotional photo of classic film character actor Jack Carson.

It obviously appeals to fans of Jack Carson or classic film fans, but it also might appeal to collectors of vintage photographs (based on the period, fashions, etc.). If the signature was genuine, and not a printed facsimile, then it would also appeal to autograph collectors. And then there are collectors of smaller niche areas, like those who collect bow ties and all the ephemera and photos about them and maybe those who collect “all things Jack” because it’s their son’s name.

Generally speaking though, the more categories of collecting an item is in (crosses along category lines), and the larger the number of collectors collecting in each of those categories, the more popular (and pricey) an item will be.

And now that Mr. Carson has served his purpose, I’m ready to set him free — to whatever collector wants to have him. So, if you want this vintage photo of Jack Carson (likely from his days at Warner Bros., circa 1940s), enter to win it!

Ways To Enter:

* Post A Comment: Just tell me why you want it — you love classic film, you collect things with big ears (sorry, Jack!), you just love free stuff, whatever!

* Follow Inherited Values on Twitter: @InheritedValues. (Please leave your Twitter username in your comment so I can check.)

and/or

* Tweet the following:

I love classic film, antiques & vintage collectibles so entered the giveaway @InheritedValues You can enter here http://bit.ly/tVFY64 !

(Remember to come back here and leave a comment with your tweet for me to verify.)

You may tweet your entry once a day.

and/or

* “Like” us on Face Book: Inherited Values on Facebook

and/or

* Post about this contest at your blog or website — if you do this you must include in your post to this contest post or Inherited Values in general. (Please include the link to your blog post in the comments section so that I can find your post.)

You can do any or all of these, but remember, the only one you can do daily is Tweet. Thanks!

Here’s the giveaway fine print:

* Giveaway is open to US residents only
* Contest ends November 16, 2011; entries must be made on or before midnight, central time, November 15, 2011. Winner will be announced/contacted on November 17, 2011. Winner has 48 hours to respond; otherwise, I’ll draw another name.

End Of The Season? (And A Giveaway!)

Around here, in the frozen tundra of Fargo, North Dakota, the Labor Day holiday weekend signals the end of summer, cook-outs on the grill — and the flea market season. Sure, there are a few stragglers… The odd garage sale sign posted every now and then, the rare nice afternoon to still barbecue on the grill… But the major collectibles hunting (and food preparation) is now limited to indoor places.

As a Wisconsin native, I miss the nicer weather which extends the antiques and collectibles hunting season. And I know, those of you much further south have no real seasonal limits — how I envy that!  I’m looking forward to the day I can travel to extend my hunting, so won’t you help me out?

Post in the comments where you live and when the antiquing season ends (or, if it doesn’t end, when it slows or what seasonal or weather changes bring) and I’ll enter you in a chance to win this vintage grilling cookbook: the Big Boy Barbecue Book, by the Home Economics Staff of Tested Recipe Institute, Inc, with the cooperation of the barbecue experts of Big Boy Manufacturing Co. and the Kinsgford Chemical Co., copyright 1956.

Additional Ways To Enter:

* Follow Inherited Values on Twitter: @InheritedValues. (Please leave your Twitter username in your comment so I can check.)

and/or

* Tweet the following:

I’m talking about the flea market season, antiques & vintage collectibles @InheritedValues — There’s a giveaway too!

(Remember to come back here and leave a comment with your tweet for me to verify.)

You may tweet your entry once a day.

and/or

* “Like” us on Face Book: Inherited Values on Facebook

and/or

* Post about this contest at your blog or website — if you do this you must include in your post to this contest post or Inherited Values in general. (Please include the link to your blog post in the comments section so that I can find your post.)

You can do any or all of these, but remember, the only one you can do daily is Tweet. Thanks!

Here’s the giveaway fine print:

* Giveaway is open to US residents only
* Contest ends September 16, 2011; entries must be made on or before midnight, central time, September 15, 2011. Winner will be announced/contacted on September 17, 2011. Winner has 48 hours to respond; otherwise, I’ll draw another name.

Using Antique Images & Vintage Graphics To Make Things Without Ruining Your Collectibles

If you’re like me and enjoy collecting and have a creative streak, you’ve probably faced the issue of balancing your delight in making things with your collector’s desire to keep the integrity of your antiques and vintage items. While this clash of interests often presents a quandary for all artsy folk who collect, my primary problem persists in the area of vintage graphics.

Kindness Of Strangers Altered Art Piece By Deanna Dahlsad

I love to make collages, make special scrapbook pages, and in general practice the paper altered arts —  but I’m extremely uncomfortable destroying antique books, vintage magazines and other old piece of ephemera. If a book or magazine is so damaged that it’s of no real value; fine, I can render the rest of it useful and beautiful once again with a paper project. But if the work is sound, no matter how filled with lovely images it is, I just can’t do harm. …Yet another part of my soul aches to use what’s right there, in reach. However, this digital age now puts an end to the majority of our concerns via the gift of the scanner.

In most cases, even the most delicate antique books and papers can be safely scanned. Not only does this offer collectors a virtual copy of the works, but, when scanned at a proper size (300 dpi or larger), this gives you a printable file. In just a few minutes you’ve preserved a copy of the image and created one you can now print (as many copies as you’d like) for use in collages, altered art paper projects, scrapbooking, and other projects.

What other projects, you ask? Well, now, thanks to all sorts of printers, gadgets, programs, and papers, you can transform your digital image files into patterns for cross stitch, needlepoint, and other needlework patterns; iron-on transfer papers to images to use on t-shirts, quilt squares, pillows and other fabric projects; LCD projector or DLP projector, opaque projector, and even slide projectors (though the lights often burn out before your project is done, resulting in problems lining up the image again) allow the image to be projected onto walls, canvas, etc. for painting murals and other larger decorating or art pieces — really, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination!

Once you get started, it’s hard to stop! And that’s why you can even buy files with vintage and antique images to download online; Etsy is a great place to look (I’ve just started selling some of my own there). And right now, you can enter Marty’s contest to win 150 pages of antique images from a 1914 New York Department Store catalog too. (Contest ends July 15, 2011.)

If you’re unsure where to start, there’s an online course you can take. While it focuses on paper art collage principals, it will help you get used to a lot of the basics. And there are places like Zazzle which do all the work, placing your images onto everything from posters, apparel and mugs, to greeting cards, iPod cases, and skateboards. You can make stuff just for you and your friends and family (at discounted prices) as well as sell stuff with your images to others. (I do it! This is my Zazzle shops with friends.)

The only note of caution I have is that if you decide to sell anything, you should know your intellectual property or copyright laws; items created for personal use fine.

So start flipping through your antique books, your vintage magazines, your postcards and other paper collectibles, with a creative eye… Who knows what images you can now safely use? It’s like having your cake and eating it too!

Image Credits: My own altered art piece made from antique and vintage images, used in my art collaborative project, Kindness Of Strangers, at Etsy & Zazzle.

Life Magazine Photo Hunt Contest

Life announces a contest:

Guess what? We are featuring another installment of FotoHunt this Thursday at 3 p.m. EST

Not familiar with the game?

FotoHunt is a photographic scavenger hunt through our galleries on LIFE.com. We will post a description of an image we are looking for; then, your mission is to find that photograph on our site and send it our way. What’s in it for you? A prize, of course… We don’t want to say too much just yet. You’ll have to play Thursday afternoon to find out. Can’t wait for the games to begin!

Have a question about FotoHunt? Send us an email at life.fotohunt@gmail.com.

Not sure what the prize will be, but lovers of vintage photography, fashion, celebs, and/or magazines might just enjoy playing without a prize anyway. *wink*

American Pickers’ DVD Giveaway!

In celebration of Season Two, and all things American Pickers, we’ve been given two copies of American Pickers: The Complete Season 1 to giveaway!

American Pickers is the antiques and collectibles show on the History Channel, featuring childhood buddies turned business partners Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz who travel the country “picking,” hoping to find treasures among the trash.

And they don’t mind having a little fun — even at their own expense — as they do it.

Frank & Mike As Laurel & Hardy

But you fans already know this and just want to hear how you can win the DVD. Even those who haven’t yet seen the show want me to get on to the contest details. *wink*

How can you be one of the lucky winners?

It’s easy! Leave a comment here, telling us your favorite American Pickers moment, find or favorite thing about the show in general. Or, if you’ve not yet been able to see the show, tell us one of your favorite things about Inherited Values.

You can also get extra credit by entering in these additional ways — use them all, or take your “pick.”

* Blog about this giveaway, giving your answer (favorite thing about American Pickers &/or Inherited Values) and linking to this giveaway post. Then come back and leave the URL of your post as a comment.

* Follow Inherited Values on Twitter, @InheritedValues, and let us know by leaving a comment here, including your @twitter handle.

* Tweet about the contest simply by tweeting this:

Win @americanpicker DVDs from @InheritedValues Enter #giveaway here: http://tinyurl.com/663z933

You can Tweet twice a day.

* Follow or “like” Inherited Values at FaceBook.

* Follow or “like” American Pickers at FaceBook. (Be sure to leave a comment with your FaceBook ID so we can confirm your entry!)

Fine Print Rules:

This contest giveaway is open to those who reside in the US &/or Canada.

Since there are two DVDs, there will be two winners; one copy per winner.

Entries must be received/posted on or before February 2, 2011 (that would be midnight, central time, on February 1, 2011). Only entries as described above, will be included in the random draw.

Scene From Season Two Of American Pickers

Collectible Event News: Collectors Virtual Convention

February 20th and 21st there’s an online event which is rather like a Valentine’s Day celebration for collectors: The first annual Bookmark Collectors Virtual Convention.

This two-day event you can attend in your jammies sitting at your computer is obviously focused on the collecting of bookmarks, but the rest of us can learn something too.

As an ephemera collector struggling to organize my collection, I’m extremely eager to from Don Baldwin on Organizing a Bookmark Collection.

And, because old paper bits are one of my things, I’m looking forward to Lauren Roberts (founder of BiblioBuffet — which has a regular column on bookmarks) speaking about How To Store And Display Your Bookmark Collection.

And then there’s my presentation, Are You An Embarrassed Collector? Don’t Be!, which is for collectors everywhere, of anything — collectors of everything:

Maybe you’ve never articulated why you collect, what your collection “does” — or maybe you have & you just don’t think it’s important in The Big Picture sort of a way. Maybe others have made you feel like a capitalistic consumer pig in your collecting pursuits. Whatever the reason, do you down-play your “junk,” your hobby, and your passion?

It is my hope that in this session you will become a more confident collector, to learn to see your items beyond their materialistic cash value and appraise them for their cultural and intrinsic values, to see the very act of collecting itself and your contribution as a collector as significant. Because all collections, great and small — all collectors, great and small — are of incredible value.

It’s my belief that all collections and all collectors have value, even if the stuff isn’t “old enough” or “good enough” to seem of any value. I’d tell you more about this, but, frankly, you should come to the conference.

Registration is just$10 for all the sessions, forums, and trade show & gallery goodies.

I don’t make a dime off this event (again, my passion for collecting is worn on my sleeve), but I ‘d like a nice big group in my session. *wink*

So, to entice you — be you a collector of bookmarks or not — with the help of the founder of Doodle Week, Inherited Values very own Laura Brown, I’m offering five Bookmark Collectors Virtual Conference Commemorative Collector Bookmarks for the first five folks (from the US or Canada) who mention “Inherited Values” in their registration for the event.

Only 12 of these commemorative bookmarks will be made (five to be given away here, five at the art site that’s home of Doodle Week, one for the artist, and, ever the collector, one for myself), so it’s truly a limited edition.

And pretty cute to-boot *wink*

I hope you’ll register for this event because you’re a collecting nut who is interested; but it never hurts to add a little incentive, right?

I hope to “see” you there!

Image Credits:

Photos (2) of bookmarks and bookmark storage both courtesy of bookmark collector Alan Irwin, the founder and host of the Bookmark Collectors Virtual Convention.

I’m Going To Need More Books doodle commemorating the bookmark convention by Laura Brown.