Who would have ever thought 15 years ago, that we'd be able to do what we could do now on computers? If I or anyone else had said there's going to be a way to instantly communicate with people across the world from your home, you may have muttered 'beam him up Scotty'.  If I'd predicted that among the largest groups of users to bond with this technology would be be antiques pickers, auctioneers, dealers & collectors, you most likely would have asked if I'd been too long next to the Zip Strip without ventilation. As we now know, both of these statements are true. (I'm not referring to the Zip Strip remark).

Once I found the Internet, I realized it was the new best way to get the word out about my auction & appraisal services. Like all business people, I wanted to reach the best market for my products and services and it was clear the the Web would become a fantastic resource for with this.
 I'd love to be able to say that by jumping on the Net early has made me a supergeek webmaster of several, million dollar web sites, not yet. However, I have gotten proficient enough make Auctionwally.com a site that's visited by over 10,000 people a month.
 My online efforts have saved  me a ton of advertising money, helped me build an increasing base of loyal customers and expand my brand reach beyond my wildest dreams. Do I have to mention how much of a gas saving bonus it is to have shifted an enormous amount of my on-the-road time, to desk time?  I didn't think so. I've just launched an eBook, several e-Price Guides for Baseball Cards and have big plans for information products and services for those in the auction & antiques business. This is all on top of managing a physical inventory of antiques and collectibles, much of which I'll market in my new online storefront.

I've several mentors in the antiques business, and I'll reference them often in upcoming articles, but today, I want to pass along some some of the best resources I've found in the online business world. Whether you sell antiques or drop-ship computer parts, you'll want to look up my Web mentors listed below. Just like my mentors in the antiques business, their help has been priceless to me and I wish to thank them for that. Unlike my antiques biz gurus, ...they're a lot younger!

Please visit:

10Goldenrules.com
Jay Berkowitz is the CEO of 10Goldenrules.com. It's a fantastic business education & marketing site with a companion Podcast (an online radio show). If you want to touch base with what's going on in the marketing world online, check out Jay's site. The question you'll have after visiting, "why is this free?"

 Internetbusinessmastery.com It's run by Sterling and Jay who teach and practice value added first marketing.

Marketing Over Coffee with John Wall and Christopher Penn. John and Chris talk about the latest online marketing techniques and news over coffee at the Dunkin' Donuts in Framingham MA. The show is a hoot and there's always tons of fresh content.

 

 

• You don't have to learn a lot of code to get an effective web site up and running, nor any code for that matter.
• You don't have to have your own web site to take advantage of the new technology as it pertains to the antiques/auction world.If you've decided to get a 'Web Presence', start with a blog. I recommend Google's blogger because it's easy to get started.
• Self branding has never been so easy, useful or important.
• You can make valuable business contacts just by commenting and asking questions on other web sites. Geeks are very willing to help you if you show an effort to learn a little about what you need help with, but have no patience for laziness.
• For just about every basic web service, there is a pretty decent free version as well as a upgraded paid version.
• The information on the Internet can be overwhelming at the pace it comes out, but it's available in a way where it can be 'picked' to provide only what you need. When you find something on the net that is useful, support it via linking to it, or commenting it helps that community grow and thus become more useful.

To sum up: I've been in the auction business for 25 years, and to me, the Internet is like a giant auction hall where you can get anything you want, if you just tap the right source.
If your in need of particular information or a source, please leave a question or comment here. You can also email me at wkolenda@gmail.com