March 27, 2000
Greetings Accumulators!
What better thing to do in the wee quiet dawn hours of Monday morning than
to write to you...
Everything you've heard about "Atlantique City" is true. It is enormous
beyond imagining, and it's pretty much quality all the way. Held at the
cavernous Convention Center in Atlantic City, NJ, the only thing missing at
this show was a booth that rents electric golf carts. Spend the day
pounding the concrete floor in an effort see everything (you can't!), and
your feet and spine will turn into those annoying complainers we all never
want to be near.
Large crowds of folks with items to be appraised showed up at the
Collectingchannel.com booth, and many stayed to watch the webcasts we did
throughout the show. Artie must have had a great time at the casinos while
I was working, and apparently he also had the opportunity to shop the show
afterward. He surprised me with a lovely porcelain brush doll.
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PEOPLE WITH SURPRISINGLY LARGE EGOS
If you should find yourself absolutely unable to go through another day
without some autographed personal possession of Hugh Hefner, get yourself
to Playboy's auction site. . Today is the last
day you can bid on a pair of velvet slippers with leather soles, personally
autographed by Hef (who is older than Yoda and almost as cute) and in
which, along with the dubious fashion statement of pajamas and pipe, he has
shuffled around his Playboy Mansion. When last I checked, the high bid was
$320 (there is no accounting for taste, now is there, Dear Accumulators?)
for the slippers, which come in a display case. No word about whether Odor
Eaters are included.
GAS-GUZZLING RETRO STATUS SYMBOL DEPARTMENT
Chrysler says its new PT Cruiser, a retro thirties-style hybrid sports
utility vehicle/micro van is a hit. More than 30,000 have been ordered in
the week since the Cruiser began arriving in showrooms, and Chrysler has
added a second production line to keep up with the demand. The car, a
four-cylinder five passenger vehicle, will retail for between $16,000 and
$20,000 and the manufacturer is forecasting that it will become the next VW
Beetle or Mazda Miata. With the price of gasoline hovering at around $2.00
a gallon in the U.S., let's hope it has better fuel economy than most SUVs.
Personally, I like my collectibles to fit in the curio cabinet in the
living room.
SIGN OF INTERNET GROWING PAINS
Since we're all feeling our way along here, as the Internet is a relatively
new venue, issues with which we've never before had to deal are cropping up
all the time. Actor Jerry Orbach, star of "Law and Order", is suing eBay.
His suit claims that eBay is responsible for theft of his identity and
problems with credit card fraud. When two acting contracts he signed in
1958 were recently auctioned, he alleges, the photos featured in the
listing clearly displayed his Social Security number, which someone used to
steal his identity and commit credit card fraud. The suit says that
Orbach's credit rating has been damaged, along with his reputation and his
personal and professional life. Watch for more law suits of this nature, as
public figures find their privacy evaporating in front of a worldwide
audience.
Off to work now, as we tape six more episodes of Treasures In Your Home
in the next two days. Have a great week, Accumulators. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 2000 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #113
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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