Another National has come and gone, and by most accounts it was slow show for many. Things went very well for Bushing and Kinunen For Sale with the weeks total of items sold at just under $70,000. A large number of items were actually purchased by auction houses so this is an indicator and validation of prices. The other thing that became apparent is collectors are using the archived sales section of the Bushing and Kinunen For Sale site as a pricing index. Another reason sales were so good, was that collectors could come to the booth and view all of the items on line at the For Sale Site. The vast majority of the visits to the MEARS site come from people looking at the Bushing and Kinunen For Sale Section.
I use this as an introduction to discuss MEARS in 2009. This time last year MEARS was notifying the auction house segment of the industry about our plans with respect to offering our evaluation services for the upcoming year. Services that would be tied to the conditions we set forth with a deadline of 11 November 2007. Things are a bit easier this year in that MEARS is not mailing out ANY contracts or conditions, and despite being asked, we are NOT taking on any new outside auction house work for 2009. Enough about what we will not be doing in the coming year, more to point, what will be doing.
MEARS will look to launch the pinback grading division with the holders unveiled earlier in the year.
MEARS will begin to host and run seminars at the Corporate Reference and Conference Center.
MEARS will continue to publish articles and original research on line at an unrivaled rate.
MEARS will continue to purchase reference information and grow our data base and exemplar library.
MEARS is looking to expand the Bushing and Kinunen For Sale Section to include auctions. The site already permits items on consignment. Dave and Troy have already been very successful with the sale of their own items, so offering products in auction is simply an extension of what collectors have found to be a positive purchasing experience.
I am sure it is this last item that will garner the most interest for any number of reasons and from any number of people. This is part of the solution that Troy eluded to when he discussed Policy issues recently and Dave Bushing’s need to continue to have outlets for his inventory. This will also enable to Dave to continue to focus on what enjoys. I suspect the greatest angst will be from the auction house segment of the industry. The same segment that enjoyed having Dave bring them his product and consignments as well as offering opinions on items for years. When any or all of this gets closer to moving from concept to reality, we will provide updates.
I remain very excited about what MEARS has done and what looms on the horizon for all of us on an individual and collective basis. I suspect 2009 will be a watershed year for the hobby/industry and for MEARS as well.
MEARS Auth, LLC
For questions or comments on this article, please feel free to drop me a line at DaveGrob1@aol.com