Page 10 - 2020 March JOA

WHAT’S SELLING ON eBay
WHAT’S SELLING ON eBay

by Deborah Abernethy and Mike McLeod

These examples show that eBay has quite a following in the collector market- $2,750 (17 bids, 7 bidders): Antique Little Bonanza Typewriter 1883,
place. It sometimes is an auction environment, and sometimes, it is more of a Toy in Box, Vintage Victoria Typewriter. Patented Aug. 21, 1883
retail market. These examples are unusual for their collecting area. typewriter for boys and girls/price 50 cents/trade supplied by E.T. Palmer,
Stonington, Connecticut. Just when you thought you had seen all the toy
$3,168 (32 bids, 10 bidders): Awesome Old Antique 1915-1920 typewriters, this crazy little toy gadget comes along. Love the graphics! The
Standard Princeton Style Leather Football Helmet. Wow! Up on the box is very nice with a couple of corner seams separated and minor age
auction block is a fantastic circa 1915-1920 Standard Supplies Princeton- darkening. There is some staining inside the box and on a couple of pieces.
style leather football helmet. This is the first and only Standard Supplies There may be some letters/numbers missing. (Photos courtesy of eBay
football helmet we have ever seen. It is a very rare bird! The Princeton-style seller hat-trick.)
helmets were named after Princeton University where they were made
popular. As the photos show, this helmet is in excellent condition. Only
very light signs of use and no major damage. It is soft and supple and still
very strong. The patina is 100% worn original. No dyes, colored polishes,
or coloring of any kind used. Check out all the ventilation holes on this
beast. How cool is that? Makes it look like a gladiator helmet.
It has the original cloth chin strap firmly attached. It is a big plus to
have the original chin strap when collecting football helmets. The interior
of the helmet is also in great shape.
The Standard Supplies Collegiate maker’s mark is on the back right of
the helmet. The size is not marked on the helmet. We would guess it to be
around a size 7¼ to 7½. When are you going to see another one of these?
(Photos courtesy of eBay seller hammersportsrelics.)
DBA: A common theory about toys is that the retired segment of the
population drives the market and people buy the toys they remember from
their childhood. And those collectors pay prime dollar for those toys, and
the prices just do not tend to increase. I don’t think that this example
meets that definition.

$6,666 (56 bids, 14 bids): Massive Antique Japanese Satsuma Pottery
Vase with Figures and Gosu Blue – 19th century. This listing is for a
massive and superbly painted Japanese Satsuma pottery vase dating to the
19th century, Meiji period. The vase with a detailed design of various
figures around the body with many holding various objects. It is heavily
accented with raised gilt and colorful enamels including gosu blue. The
vase stands 18.5 inches tall and is in very good condition with no damages.
DBA: The seller got a deal. While this is an extremely nice helmet, I could (Photos courtesy of eBay seller juice1499.)
find many similar-sized examples for $100. I think that the word out
is that eBay is the place to sell prime examples in almost any category DBA: Satsuma has really increased in price in recent years. This is more
of collectibles. like a retail price than an auction price. Larger vases are much harder to
successfully fire, and the prices reflect this.

$3,200 (33 bids, 7 bidders): Vintage Antique 1930s Airplane Fan,
Fan-O-Plane Commercial, Industrial. In great working order, was
repainted at some time; some tail fins are broken, have video of it running.
(Photos courtesy of eBay seller rocket66ny.)

DBA: The seller is the one who got the deal
here. While I did not find an exact model selling,
I did find similar ones selling at auction for
much less.

Deborah Abernethy is a certified appraiser with the International
Association of Appraisers. She can be contacted at 404-262-2131 or
Deborah@expert-appraisers.com. Her website is www.expert-appraisers.com.

8 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles