How to use the new 2009 Kovels' antiques price guide
Terry Kovel will appear live on The AuctionWally Show Tuesday, February 3rd, 8PM EST.
Some
people get excited when the new models of cars come out each year,
others when Spring fashion clothing lines debut. For myself and many in
the antiques business, that moment is when the new Kovels' Antiques
& Collectibles Price Guide comes out.
2009 marks the 41st
year of this publication which is widely considered the Bible of the
antiques insdustry. Terry Kovel and her husband Ralph who passed in
August of last year, have published the most reliable books in the
antiques & collectibles genre.
Since "Kovels' Dictionary of Marks: Pottery and Porcelain", which was first published
in 1953, there has been a steady stream of information printed by the
Kovels on everything from the general antiques & collectibles price
guide mentioned above, to niche topics like the “Dictionary of Marks,
Pottery and Porcelain”.
If
my count is correct, added to the 41 volumes of the A & C price
guide are 28 other books other niche topic books on antiques &
collectibles! Now
Terry along with the help of
her daughter Kim and her son Lee is continuing the Kovel brand with the
same investigative techniques we've come to rely on in the Kovels
books, but in addition have been mapping out new territory online. I'll
be talking with Terry about this on tomorrows' episode of the AuctionWally Show which airs at 8PM EST.
Never
one to rest on laurels, Terry is excited about the new Kovels.com
website design that's coming soon and has taken to Internet technology
in ways that no one in the antiques books publishing world has. Already
Kovels has the complete content of their guides online at
www.Kovels.com
There
is a monthly newsletter published which you can sign up to receive for
free, tip eBooklets, forums to comment on and places online where you
can ask questions.
One
doesn't normally think of those in the antiques world as being “cutting
edge” when it comes to technology. But I promise you, a visit to
Kovels.com will show you that the family is already at the front of
antiques information ePublishing with the same trustworthy attention to
the antiques & collectibles marketplace that their books are famous
for.
The
2009 guide is the second year of a new format that is easy to quickly
find what you're looking for. The outer page edges are color coded for
indexing. This will come in handy as the book is nearly 800 pages which
includes are 44,000 real prices in 700 categories. There are 2,500 pictures and you'll find 500 marks and logos.
2,500 color photos, color coded index eliminates guesswork
Now,
you may not think of a price guide as something you would read for
entertainment, but not so with the Kovels A&CPG. The expert tips
and trend tracking included in each yearly edition will show you why
it's the last thing a trader would part with and the first thing they
look for in the new year.
Here are some of the ways I've used Kovels' A&C Price Guides over the years and tips to make the most of your copy.
- As
a professional antiques appraiser, I make sure to always have one in my
briefcase, not only to use, but for credibility as well.
- If
your selling your antiques, and a dealer is coming to your home to make
offers, make sure your new copy is in plain site. You've just added
some security to the transaction!
- The tips on caring for you're antiques, spotting fakes, and marketplace strategies are invaluable even to someone with so many years in the business such as myself.
- Keeping
it fresh: if you're going to be on top of you're game in any business,
you have to be aware of current cycles and community buzz. Kovels
publishes and people in the industry trade their favorite nuggets of
information from the books throughout the year at auction houses,
antiques shows, estate sales and flea market. It is THE water cooler
conversation for us.
- As a gift catalog. If you've ever
listened to the AuctionWally Show, you know I'm a big advocate of
giving quality collectibles as gifts. To someone not familiar with a
particular genre, this can be a daunting task, but not if you use the
Kovels' guide.
- Keyword value: Sure, you may know how to
market you're antique online, but there's a lot of extra value in
keyword juice. I often use the guide to refer to, then add several
different keywords to help me sell my items. Using great keywords is at
the top of every Webmaster's priority list, but you don't have to be a
geek to put them to profitable use.
Well,
there are a million more ways to use the guide I'm sure, and some of
them will be covered on the next episode of The AuctionWally Show, as I
and my co-host Mitzi Swisher will have the honor of interviewing Terry
Kovel, live Tuesday evening, February 3rd at 8pm EST.
Click here to find The AuctionWally Show
If you miss the show, no worry, you can catch it, or any other back episode in the archive.
Thanks for reading.
AW
Topics:
collectibles ,
anitques ,
price guides ,
kovels
