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If the title of this blog post caught your attention, it’s probably a safe bet that you have spent quite a bit of time and money on your collectibles and valuables or at least own an irreplaceable item such as a family heirloom. Now take a moment to imaging losing that collection or priceless heirloom to a fire. Or a hurricane. Or by theft. Or even to your precious child or grandchild that thinks your great, great grandmother’s Wedgwood teacups would be perfect for their treehouse teaparty. As Murphy’s famous saying goes,"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." Now although lady luck may have come to our rescue one or twice in the past, everyone knows that she isn’t the always most consistent when it comes to bailing us out when we need her. This is where insurance comes in handy. I know that money may not replace the invaluable collection you spent years collecting piece-by-piece or the antique vase that has been passed down in your family for a hundred years, but it sure can cushion your fall knowing that all is not lost. You can’t put a price on peace-of-mind! Here are a few important things to consider when insuring your valuables: 1. It is recommended that you set up a policy with a Specialized Insurance Company. Setting up a policy with a specialized insurance company like Collect Insure,which is specialized in insurance for collectibles, is the best option when it comes to protecting your possessions. Since insuring collectibles and valuables is all they do, their agents will have a much more focused, specialized knowledge and therefore, be more helpful in helping you set up and manage your policy. Also, specialized insurance companies will likely replace your items based on their true value, rather than the actual cash value. 2. If you choose to insure with a Homeowners’ Insurance Company, set up a separate insurance policy for your collectibles and valuables. If you put your items on a separate policy (a rider), you willmost likely get a lower deductable and they won’t limit your collection to a percentage of the total value of your home. You can also use iTaggit’s ValueRangeiT tool (coming soon!) to value your item with just one click. 3. Keep good records of the items you wish to insure. It is always good to keep records of your valuables such as photos, receipts, appraisals, and other documentation. This way, if something does happen to your things (heaven forbid!), you and your insurance company will know have a record of exactly what was destroyed and the value of each item. Adding your items on iTaggit with accompanying documentation makes it a one-click process to print out a report for your insurance company. Digitally storing and organizing all documentation of your items is the safest way to keep a record of your valuables. I don’t know about you but if I have to evacuate my home because of a hurricane, fire, or other potential disaster, rummaging through my filing cabinets for records would be the last thing on my mind! Take photos of your valuables and scan all relevant documentation (receipts, appraisals, warranty, proof ofpurchase, etc…) to digitize your collection. iTaggit makes it easy to protect and digitize your possessions. You can add photos of your items and associated documentation to your own personal page with one click, making it easy to manage and organize your collections and other valuables. Even better, iTaggit makes it easy to print out your information as reports for insurance companies, or for tax deduction purposes should you choose to donate any of you items. Check out how easy it is to use iTaggit by signing up and adding your first item! Also, try our ValueRangeiT tool (coming soon!) to value your items with one click!
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In case you missed it, Auction Wally invited me on his online radio show to discuss how iTaggit works, how users looking to value and sell their items can benefit from the features on iTaggit, and some up and coming features we are about to roll out.
I was honored to represent iTaggit for the 70th episode of The Auction Wally Show!This was really fun for us, with some great questions being asked by the community.
In case you missed it, be sure to listen to the full recorded podcast here (1:19 min): http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-25106/TS-238149.mp3
Also read his column on Examiner.com, and his coverage of iTaggit: http://www.examiner.com/x-312-Auctions-and-Antiques-Examiner~y2009m6d30-iTaggitcom--a-super-tool-for-those-who-have-collectibles As always, I invite you, our readers, visitors and users, to contact me. I'd love to hear your iTaggit story. Warmest Regards, Amanda
Amanda McGuckin Hager, CeM
Director of Marketing
iTaggit.com
e: ahager@itaggit.com
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So you have finally decided to dust off that box labeled “Stuff” in your closet and turn that clutter into cash! Good for you! Now what? Whether you are making your grand debut into the online marketplace for the first time or are on the top of the VIV (very important vendor) list on eBay, brushing up on your selling skills can be helpful for everyone. Here are a few ways to boost your profits and get ahead of the competition: 1. Be Trustworthy With the huge influx of spammers and scammers out there on the WWW these days, building trust with your customers is the most important thing you can do as an online vendor. Always list your contact information and be prompt about returning phone calls and emails. Although some people are not comfortable giving out their phone number to a customer, the customer often feels more comfortable knowing that there is a real person available to call on the other end of the deal. Using paypal or another verified, secure method of payment is another way to win the customer’s trust. Never have them pay by money order or require them to send cash or a check via the mail. That raises an immediate red flag! 2. Be Reliable Always hold up your end of the deal. If you promise a customer 2-day shipping, make sure the package arrives on their door step intwo days. Period. Also, it is important to email the customer their tracking number. Nothing is more frustrating than ordering something and wondering where the heck your package is! “Did it get lost in the mail? Did I get scammed? Did someone steal it off my doorstep?” Nothing will earn you a bad review faster than a frustrated customer waiting on their package, which brings me to my next tip… 3. Get Customer Testimonials and Reviews Good customer reviews are essential to your success as an online vendor. A bad customer review can kill your credibility and drive customers away in a flash – which is exactly what you are trying to avoid. After the item has been sent and your customer receives it (you will know when it arrives because you kept a copy ofthe tracking information!), check in with him/her by email or phone and politely ask for a review or testimonial as to how satisfied/dissatisfied they were with the transaction. If they happen to be dissatisfied, then you can learn from your mistakes and avoid them next time. 4. Be detailed When you post an item, it isimportant to be very detailed when it comes to pictures and the description of your item. The more detailed and honest you are, the better the chance that your customer will be satisfied withtheir order. Take as many pictures- in good light and from different angles - as the marketplace you are selling through will allow. Be very honest and detailed in the description of your item as well. If you have carried that purse you are selling since ’95, “lightly used” just isn’t going to cut it! And finally, 5. Post your items on iTaggit and use our Sell It feature to export your items to eBay.com, Craigslist.com, and Oddle.com in one click!
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iTaggit is pleased to announce that we have been invited on the online radio show "The Auction Wally Show." The interview will air on Tuesday, June 30 at 5:00p PST/ 7:00p CST/ 8:00p EST. Listen to the live show here: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/tscmd/tc/25106
Join us as we discuss new functionality coming to iTaggit, how iTaggit aims to help you sell smarter, and how to use iTaggit to maximize your advertising and promotions.
Walt Kolenda, a.k.a Auction Wally has been an auctioneer and appraiser for 25 years. He runs an antiques appraisal blog where he writes about the value of antiques and how to sell them. Additionally, Walt writes an online selling, appraisal and auction column for the Examiner.com, and hosts two online radio shows: "The Auction Wally Show" and "Seller's Circus" You can find him at www.auctionwally.com.
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Hello to all current and potential iTaggit enthusiasts! I would like to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Stephanie and I am a Marketing Coordinator and the Official Blogger for iTaggit.com. I am a Capricorn who loves sushi, yoga, and outdoor activities. Now that we have that out of the way, I can tell you a little bit about iTaggit.com what you will be seeing on the Official iTaggit Blog! iTaggit.com is a useful and resourceful website that allows you to Value, Sell, Protect, and Share your items (collectibles, valuables, stuff, etc…) with the world. For example, we give you the opportunity to quickly and easily:
Learn the Value of Your Items:
• Use our ValueRange iT tool (Coming this Friday, June 27th !) to learn today’s fair market value of your Items with one click
• Purchase a Certified Appraisal of your Items
If and When You Want To, Sell Your Items:
• Export your Items to Craigslist.com, Ebay.com, and Oodle.com with one click
Protect Your Items:
• Organize and manage your Items for insurance records • Itemize your things with supporting documentation such as receipts and photos
Give Your Items a Social Media Profile of Their Own:
• Share and display your items with one click to over 50 online social networks
• Customizable privacy settings for each item
Even better, iTaggit’s expert bloggers and I will be providing you with helpful hints and tips on organizing, managing, selling, and protecting your treasures each week! Subscribe to our RSS Feed and check out our Blog Page (http://www.itaggit.com/Community/Blogs/) regularly to get the most out of your iTaggit subscription or just to learn some new and interesting ways to manage your stuff!
Please feel free to email me at sbrown@itaggit.com with questions, concerns, or topics that you would be interested in learning more about. Also, we are always open to adding to our list of expert bloggers. If you are interested, please email me with a sample blog post for us to review and you could be our next expert!
Nice to meet you! Talk to you again very soon,
Stephanie
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The site whatsoniphone.com has a listing and description of the iTaggit iPhone application which was launched in April. Read here about the app and see the screen shots of how it looks. It's a very easy way to use the iPhone to add items to your iTaggit account.
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You asked for it and now you have it! iTaggit has
just released the newest addition to the website, Classifieds. Do you
have an attic full of items that need a new home? Is your comic book
collection overflowing into your living room? Sell your items on iTaggit.
Our updated Classifieds section gives collectors a
place to find and purchase new additions as well as turn a profit. Adding
an item to the Classifieds section is as easy as clicking a button. Just
view your item and select "Sell This Item on iTaggit"! You can
also sell items that are not already a part of the iTaggit database by using
our Classifieds Wizard on the homepage.
Here at iTaggit, we understand that every member has different needs and
we invite everyone from large antique dealers to independent sellers to join
us. All free users can post one classified ad at a time, while Plus
members can post 10, and Premium members can post an unlimited number of
classified ads.
In addition to an updated Classifieds section, we have been
busy updating buttons and text around the site to make iTaggit even easier to
use. There are more site wide updates to come very soon!
Happy Holidays from the iTaggit Team and don't forget to
update your iTaggit account with all of your new holidays gifts (and sell the
ones you don't want)!
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In a continued effort to incorporate iTaggit users' ideas and feedback into the site, the iTaggit Team has unveiled the first update to the collection view page. Included in this update is an improved collection rating system and new heading area that neatly organizes all collection information in one area such as the collection owner, views, and sharing tools. Other collection view updates and improvements will be rolled out very soon (and are very exciting!). As always, please send all feedback you may have about the collection page to support@itaggit.com. We will continue to make changes and work to
improve your experience on iTaggit.com. 
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Vangie Beal featured iTaggit in her new article, "eBay and Alternative News and Tools You Can Use". Among other web services, iTaggit was listed as a new alternative to selling on eBay. iTaggit was described as an all encompassing tool to manage your items. As Vangie pointed out, "The iTaggit site can be used to inventory your items, find out their value and to sell the items when you're ready." The subscription services are only beginning of the selling services iTaggit aims to offer. Our team is continually working to develop services that help make managing, valuing, and selling your items easier and faster. As always, please send any feedback on our new features to support@itaggit.com. Click Here to read the full article.
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The iTaggit team has been busy trying to fit everything you want to see into an easy and useful format on the homepage. We have increased the number of blogs from both experts and iTaggit users that appear on the homepage to 7 blogs at a time so you are sure not to miss any new postings. We've increased the size of item pictures by 25% so it is easier to get a good look at new items before clicking on it. The best part of our new homepage is the 'Item Quilt', pictured below. The most recently added and modified items show up in this quilt. When you rollover the items, detailed information is displayed about each item to make finding information easier. Please send any and all feedback you may have about the new homepage to cgannon@itaggit.com. We will continue to make changes and work to improve your experience on iTaggit.com. 
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The team at iTaggit has been working hard to fill the requests of our users. iTaggit users can now upload multiple items with multiple pictures at once. The number of items a user can upload at one time depends on the subscription level of their account. A Standard account can upload 10 items at one time, a Plus account can upload 25 items at one time, and a Premium account can upload 50 items at one time. All items can hold up to 10 pictures. We hope this makes uploading items on iTaggit quicker and easier. If you have any feedback on iTaggit's new item uploader please send an email to support@itaggit.com. Thank you for all of your suggestions as we continue to improve your experience on iTaggit.com! 
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iTaggit Introduces Premium
Service to Assist Artists and Merchants with Online Sales
iTaggit announced today the release of their Premium Service to help Artists and
Merchants sell their items more easily online. This new Premium Service
includes all of the features of a free account plus;
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Ad free browsing on all pages on iTaggit.
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When others view premium user pages they see no
advertisements so they can focus on the item.
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The ability to upload up to 50 items at once.
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The ability to embed HTML code, such as a PayPal
checkout widget on your item and profile pages.
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The ability to store an unlimited number of
items and collections.
·
Increased SEO and publicity for each of their
items
Premium
users can embed checkout widgits such as PayPal on any item or their profile
pages. This allows users to sell items on iTaggit without transaction fees from
iTaggit. Users also have the ability to link back to their own website to allow
them to use their own method of checkout. iTaggit will provide premium users
that already have a website increased online publicity in a community of users
that are passionate about art, antiques, and collectibles. In addition, iTaggit
pages are indexed highly in each of the major search engines, allowing public
items listed on iTaggit to achieve a high page rank.
“Artists
and collectible dealers need a new environment to sell their things. They need
a community that is supported by users who are passionate about the specific
types of items they are selling,” said Casey Gannon, Marketing Manager of iTaggit Inc.
“Artists and dealers also need a new way to get their items to show up higher
when people are searching for similar items in search engines.”
The
Premium Service is offered at $9.99 a month or $89.99 a year.
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iTaggit users have been very excited about the ability to chat live with an
iTaggit customer support member. Live Assist operators give iTaggit users
step-by -step technical support as users navigate the site. Live Assist is
available Mon - Fri from 9am - 5pm central time. If a live assist operator is
not available, users are able to leave a message and an operator will respond
within 24 hours. Live Assist can be find in the top right corner of any page on
iTaggit. Click on the Live Assist box below to try it out.
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They scoured shows and quizzed dealers to come up with their 14th annual collectibles hot list. Here's what they found:
1. Hens on a Nest - Colorfully painted hens on nests topped many tables in 19th-century England. People were drawn to their decorative outsides (and the hard-cooked eggs often kept inside). Some of these pieces of Staffordshire pottery (made in Staffordshire, England) were painted to represent actual breeds of hens. Value: $300- $3000
2. Signature Quilts - As early as the 1830s, signature quilts were made as gifts for newlyweds or for church or society fund-raisers. The names of those who made them were written or embroidered on the quilt. Value: $1,000
3. Boxed Games - Old board and boxed games, such as the Merry Game of Old Maid and Pick-Up Sticks, are popular for their colorful, graphic appeal. The earliest games were produced in the 1820s, but even games from the 1970s are collectible. Value :$5 - $900
4. Bakelite Kitchen Utensils - A hard plastic developed in 1907, Bakelite appeared on the handles of flatware and kitchen utensils in the late 1920s, bringing color and personality to the kitchen. Value:$10 - $200
5. Brass Candlesticks - In the 18th and 19th centuries, candlesticks were common in the household. Since brass was less expensive than silver or gold, it was often used. Brass candlesticks weren’t dated, but some were signed. Early ones were braised together; later ones were cast from molds. Value: $200 - $1500+
6. Political Buttons - The first political buttons were made for the 1896 presidential race between William McKinley, who became the 25th president, and William Jennings Bryan. Some of the rarest buttons are from the 1920s, says California dealer Tom French. Anyone could have buttons made, so new items are continuously being discovered. Value: $1.00 - $25,000
7. Vintage Home Magazines - In the 19th century, women started turning to magazines for information about their homes and gardens. Today, collectors are drawn to the colorful illustrations in the early issues, as well as the graphic covers. By the 1920s, photographs appeared. Value:$5 - $50
8. Notions - Notions include all kinds of vintage sewing supplies, including buttons, beads, trim, lace, and ribbon. Vintage lace and trims were usually made from natural fibers. If it’s synthetic, it’s newer. Value: Varies, but $2 - $20
9. Antique Footstools - Footstools, those hardworking pieces of furniture that still give a lift to homeowners today, date back to the 1600s. Constructed by local furniture makers or home woodworkers, footstools can be small or large, painted or natural, so find a stool that suits your personal style. Value: $150
10. Copper Jewelry - Copper jewelry debuted in the 1930s and had its heyday in the 1950s, though the mostly American-made pieces are better suited to the casual jeans and T-shirt style popular today. Value: $5 - $300
For pictures and more information, read the rest of the article here.
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Kovels, one of iTaggit's affiliates, has release a a new report with tips and tricks to protect your collectibles during a disaster. See their ad listed below:
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Tornadoes
and floods have hit the central United States hard. Are you ready for a
disaster? The facts may surprise you. |
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 Save $5 now. Enter code "PREVENT"
at checkout.
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FACT:
Tornadoes strike quickly with little or no warning. |
KOVELS
Tip: Prepare yourself—plan an
evacuation route now, create an emergency kit, and keep a household inventory in
a safe-deposit box. |
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FACT: Most
basic homeowners or renters insurance policies give minimal or no protection for
loss of antiques and collectibles. |
KOVELS
Tip: You need special coverage for
objects worth more than $5,000—and you need documentation to prove their
value. |
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FACT: Theft
is a widespread problem for disaster-striken
neighborhoods. |
KOVELS
Tip: As soon as it's safe, secure
your property. If there's a hole in the roof, move the collectibles in the attic
to a different floor. If your doors are gone, move everything to rented storage.
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Save
$5
now. Enter
code "PREVENT" at
checkout.
NO HOME SHOULD BE WITHOUT THIS
INFORMATION |
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"We wrote this report because so
many of you have asked about these problems. Many times it’s too late; the
mistakes have been made."
Terry Kovel
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Kovels Dealing with
Disaster: How To Protect Your Collection From Theft, Fire
and Natural Disasters and How to Handle a Disaster If It
Strikes
- Common-sense advice and tips
written in the Kovels' trademark no-nonsense style
- More than 15 checklists crafted to
save you time and money
- Expertise compiled from all major
disaster and insurance agencies
- Keeps your phone numbers and
contacts all in one place
Kovels Dealing with Disaster—THE
guide to disasters like tornadoes, hurricanes, fire, floods and theft
AND to putting
everything back in its place. Order it today. |
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*Prices are valid until June 27, 2008. Enter code
"PREVENT" during checkout to get discounted
prices.
Discount only
applicable to report mentioned above. Discount doesn't apply to digital
versions.
To make sure communications from Kovels Antiques, Inc. get
delivered to your mailbox, please read our instructions on how to add us to your address book
depending on the email provider you use.
You
received this email as sfox@itaggit.com. If you would like to stop receiving
important communications from Kovels' Antiques, Inc. please
unsubscribe.
Questions? Please
contact customer service at 800-571-1555 (toll-free in the USA).
Kovels.com
P.O.
Box 22900
Beachwood, OH 44122-0900
800-571-1555
©2008 Ralph and
Terry Kovel. All rights reserved.
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