Very hard at work but I'm finally able to announce:

The new store is open for business!

It's called old-magazines-for-sale.com, though does feature two main lanes, Vintage Magazines as well as Movie Cards & Collectibles.

For now I've been stocking the store with expired eBay store stock, which as it ends is no longer available on eBay. Now I'm not expecting any miracles at the new shop, I frankly don't expect it to make much of a dent until Christmas...2007, so for the near future my eBay auctions and eBay Store will still be the place to check first for new items of the highest quality. But there will be hundreds of items listed directly to the old-magazines-for-sale.com store that never see any face time over on eBay, simply because I think there's a lack of strong demand--this doesn't mean they'll be "bad" items, just magazines that are more niche, or have an appeal only to the most selective collectors, like you!

The old-magazines-for-sale store is taking orders from anywhere in the United States and Canada, plus several other countries across Europe as well as Australia and Japan plus a couple of others--basically anywhere I've had experience shipping items over the past six and a half years has been included.

Payments are accepted by PayPal and also now by credit card (Visa, Mastercard, or American Express). I'm also allowing U.S. customers only to pay by check or money order as I open up shop, though that is something which may change if I receive a lot of orders that aren't completed.

Another facet of the store which I've debated is a minimum order. Originally I planned to place a $10.00 minimum order at the store, but decided against it at the last minute. On one hand, I don't want to drive anyone away, on the other a slew of $4.00 orders can honestly be a pain to pack and ship if you're pressed for time. Anyway, I decided against the minimum order requirement for now, no need to drive anyone away--if they only want to spend $4.00 now, they may want to spend more later.

So, I'd love for you to check it out, make a purchase, or if not just let me know what you think. I've been working on this for months, thinking about it for years, but truth be told I put it all together myself, so maybe there's something I like that annoys you. If so, let me know!

To celebrate the opening, here is a coupon for subscribers only--this will not be included in the version of this newsletter that's archived on the site:

Note: The Coupon Code can only be entered on the "View Cart" page, not in the "Checkout" process itself.

Coupon Code: xxxx -- 10% off on any sized order, any item on the site.

This can only be used once between now and January 10, 2007, but what I'm going to do is issue you a second 10% off coupon if you do use the first. The second coupon will expire a month from your date of purchase with the first.

I hope you enjoy the store, once again, old-magazines-for-sale.com.

And if you ever forget where to find us, the new "Online Store" link found on every page of collecting-old-magazines.com will get you there. I've also created a graphic for easier navigation that I'm going to be placing at the bottom of most pages on the site:

To be quite honest, the Collecting Old Magazine site (and my other site) have taken a back seat in recent months to the new store. I'll probably be spending the bulk of my spare time continuing to add stock to the store in the coming month or two, but I expect to be able to concentrate on the other sites again soon and promise you some new articles once the new store is all settled.

I apologize, but I've dropped the popular Random Issue feature from this issue of the newsletter. I was going to work on an issue over the weekend, but to be quite honest a slice of coffee cake led to an unexpected allergic reaction (since when did Entenmann's start putting nuts in their Coffee Cake?) which put me down for a good portion of the weekend and has started me on a label-reading kick, but that's another story. I decided instead to write about some more conversational topics that didn't involve any deep research, but promise a new Random Issue in the next issue.

...AND THE PASSWORD IS: xxxx
That's good until next issue for the following pages:

PRICES REALIZED: Since I'm shorting you on the usual meat inside this issue I thought it'd be a good time to debut a new feature. Following is a list of the Top 10 Prices Realized from September through yesterday on some eBay Auction and Sales items (Buy it Now items marked with *, all other sales via Auction format). I thought this might help in giving you an idea of current selling trends as well as a general idea of what some specific issues are selling for.

The following includes the magazine title, issue date, condition of the specific issue sold, date of sale, the price the item sold for, as well as any added information about the issue.

Saturday Evening Post -- Sep. 16 1916 -- G-VG or 3.5/10 -- Sold Sep. 15 2006 -- $255.00 -- Norman Rockwell's 4th Post Cover

STORY Magazine -- Mar-Apr 1940 -- G-VG or 3.5/10 -- Sold Nov 1 2006 -- $224.50 -- J.D. Salinger's first published story "The Young Folks

The Ladies' Home Journal -- July 1901 -- G or 3/10 -- Sold Sep 19 2006 -- $152.50 -- "A Small House With Lots of Room in It" by Frank Lloyd Wright

The Sporting News -- Apr 23 1947 -- VG-EX or 4.5/10 -- Sold Oct 18 2006 -- $105.85 -- Jackie Robinson debuts/Babe Ruth on the Cover

The American Magazine -- Sep 1922 -- G-VG or 3.5/10 -- Sold Oct 3 2006 -- $82.00 -- "What I Think and Feel at 25" by F. Scott Fitzgerald with Fitzgerald portrait

The New Yorker -- Jun 6 1959 -- EX or 5/10 -- Sold Dec 4 2006 -- $72.00 -- "Seymour An Introduction" by J.D. Salinger

Cosmopolitan -- Jul 1948 -- EX or 5/10 -- Sold Nov 29 2006 -- $68.88 -- "The Double Corner" by Wallace Stegner

STORY Magazine -- Aug 1936 -- G or 3/10 -- Sold Nov 23 2006 -- $68.00 * -- "Home to Utah" by Wallace Stegner

The Sporting News -- May 7 1947 -- EX+ or 6/10 -- Sold Nov 12 2006 -- $48.00 -- Babe Ruth Day/Jackie Robinson article

Saturday Evening Post -- Jul 17 1943 -- EX+ or 6/10 -- Sold Dec 2 2006 -- $45.00 * -- "The Varioni Brothers" by J.D. Salinger

This is something I'm going to note down to do every quarter or so. Beyond giving you an idea of value something that jumps right out at me from looking at this list is that buyers are willing to pay a premium for rare and consequential issues even if they are in less than perfect condition. It should also reinforce two basic lessons for selling on eBay, an unusual item need only two interested parties to realize a satisfying price, while any extra knowledge over an item you hold as seller can be exploited by placing an item for sale at a Fixed Price, a format which only requires one interested party.

Of course this latter method can be exploited by sellers who either don't know any better or are hoping that their potential customers don't know better. Surely you've come across that ridiculous online listing selling an item for $70 that you picked up for $5. While it's possible that you did indeed get a deal, chances are if you look deeper into that seller's inventory you'll find several $5 items available for much more exorbitant prices. Probably the only thing more annoying is the eBay seller who offers you the $5 item for $5 and then wants to charge you $30 to ship a magazine. Thankfully those ranks are thinning thanks to eBay finally taking efforts to spurn them.

COLLECTIBLES TRENDS: Printing that Prices Realized list opened up some other thoughts worth discussing in this space. Rare is rare, but demand is key when selling collectibles. The maturing of the online marketplace for collectibles is causing us all to rethink value.

As mentioned whenever I talk about my past in collectibles, I started out doing baseball card shows. While I was all over Long Island, this was a local market where I'd see the same customers every weekend for the most part. These same faces would look over what was largely the same inventory each week and either scoop up any new items or reluctantly give in and buy an old piece that had made them curious at one time or another. This was not an auction market, so your prices had to be set and given the flea-market type atmosphere built into most shows you wanted to set it a little high to give room for bargaining.

What I've come to realize was a big advantage of this time in trading was that if you were lucky enough to incorporate unusual stock, preferably items unique to the main core of sellers, you could make a remarkable profit.

This works in theory online, however you really have to know the nuts and bolts of your collectible niche because you main core of sellers has grown exponentially with new sea of buyers you've found. If you want to put even the most rudimentary research into the rare item you hope to offer online you'll more than likely discover that there are three or four of the same item available elsewhere right now. The disappointment comes if these three or four are priced lower than the value you placed on the item (or even worse, lower than what you paid!).

I found items such as baseball cards were tough to move online -- the best part of online shopping for the collector is the ability to zero in on specific items that you may have hunted for years and suddenly be presented with a choice of three in varying condition. -- I put together baseball card sets quick and soon realized that they sold far below book value online. So as a seller, I abandoned ship and moved on to the next thing. I found that my more unusual sports collectibles, including magazines, moved better than expected and sometimes for several times the price I had expected, so even while I specialized in movie collectibles for some time I always would buy and sell magazines when a good deal came along.

MAGAZINE TRENDS: Following this point into what is developing as a nice Year-End Issue theme, these principles can be applied to non-catalogued items such as magazines. As I've said, I've always sold back issues to some degree, but 2006 has been my first year of selling mostly magazine back issues. I can look forward and say I'll be able to continue doing so through 2007 with the following thoughts in mind:

Old standards TIME (post-WWII) and LIFE have been done to death -- everyone who wants them, has them. Of course, not everyone, but other than issues with special covers or the most interesting contents that you've mined from inside, you're not going to see action in the auction format. I'd place Playboy and Sports Illustrated from the 1960's to present in this category too. If Mickey Mantle, The Beatles or Ernest Hemingway is on the cover then it may be worth running the issue out there at auction. Otherwise, learn the market, buy cheap, and price to sell at a retail value. If you want to give deals with non-spectacular issues of these titles then expect them to sell for as little as possible.

Good opportunities in the second tier of titles. I'm referring to the major publications like Newsweek, US News, that weren't hoarded by everybody's grandmother and were more often tossed in the trash at the end of the week. Another major title here is The Sporting News. If you look you can find these titles dirt cheap in quantity and they're often pretty affordable by the issue as well. I think interest is going to grow here.

Saturday Evening Post -- The demand is still there even for issues as late as the 1950's. I've recently upped what I'll pay across the board for pre-1960 issues of the Post. 1920's issues seem rarer with each passing year. I'd also like to handle more 1920's and 30's issues of Vanity Fair, but who wouldn't?

Stick to specialty titles that you know. I prefer literary titles such as STORY, Harriet Monroe's Poetry, the Partisan Review. I'll overpay for these titles in bulk because I know they sell well on their own and several issues turn out to be gems that other people aren't aware of. On the other hand, I don't go around buying up every literary title I run across because more often than not they're not collectible. Paris Review is a nice title to run across, Missouri Review which I used to subscribe to myself, really doesn't have much of a market.

I don't really do women's magazines, however will buy nice vintage issues of Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, Woman's Home Companion because I know these often have some great fiction in them. I won't touch others like Woman's Day and Family Circle (unless it has "Gone With the Wind" on the cover!) because there's nothing of value to me inside the covers. I'm constantly amazed by the volume of sewing and knitting magazines being offered which by the sheer quantity and blowout prices I can only assume have absolutely zero market.

Buy high-grade 19th Century titles -- Again, I try to stay away from the titles I'm not familiar with because they may not include anything of interest, but even more common titles like the Atlantic and Harper's Monthly in good shape at reasonable prices are a buy.

Bound Volumes. I don't like them personally, but you really can get some good stuff cheap. I'm not a fan of disbound single copies with their rough edges and congratulate every seller who notes this when listing. Anyway, the low prices are due to low demand, which I understand, but I still see bargains in this area and am considering becoming more involved.

Those are just some of my thoughts as someone who is (hopefully) selling issues to you as we near the new year. You know, if you're in the process of collecting a complete run of LIFE and are offended by what I said, please don't be -- every collector can appreciate the nuances of his collection from their own perspective. I'm not knocking LIFE, actually I love the old issues, I'm just saying that as a dealer I need to look at them from a different perspective. If you only collect and don't sell at all then the list above will give you an idea of where I'm going with my stock in the future months.

WRAP-UP: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. This is really my favorite time of the year, love the weather, love the family, love the smell of the tree, so I'm sure I'll be in high spirits. I'll be back with a more conventional issue around the New Year. See you then!