13 Apr
2005
13 Apr
'05
9:08 p.m.
'Collectibles' is one of those icky words,
though. People with an
antiquarian bent really are a totally seperate thing from
'collectables.' 'Collectable' carries with it the important issue of
scarcity. Many people 'collect' things specifically because they are
scarce, and because they are scarce, without much a real focus of any
sort on the history behind said items.
The real definition is the 100 year mark. Over 100 years, it is an
antique. Less, a collectable. The lines get blurred, however.
Yes, real antique dealers generally don't mix with collectables. One
reason is the image (they don't want to tarnish their image with sub-$1000
"junk"). The other reason is money - there is a lot more in the antiques
market. Selling collectables is a waste of their time.
On the other hand, collectable traders often have no problems dealing in
antiques.
And there are the many thriving 'created to be
collectible' markets,
like collector's plates, trading cards, etc. Which very much are 'fat'
that needs to be 'cut away' from the statistics when determining how
'big' eBay is in the market. Who involved with real antiques or
historical classic computer hardware, for that matter, cares primarily
about the scarcity of the item in question. That's a
speculators/hoarders market and driven by fads.
Computers will not be antiques for quite a few more years (about 50, I
suppose).
EVERYTHING becomes a collectable, then everything becomes an antique. It
has nothing to do with scarcity - there is a demand for just about
every mundane thing I can think of (even old bottlecaps, just like
Bert). And yes, speculators and hoarders exist in every market - from Pez
to Picasso.
Even things that are made to be collectable become collectables on their
own, and then antiques. Look at "junk" from the past Worlds Fairs, or for
that matter the "junk" ceramics and silverplate from 19th century Britain,
or the "junk" they used to sell at the Colluseum.
As far as Ebay "fat" is concerned - if the fat is changing the market, it
better be counted. The fat has always been around - pre-Ebay - and has an
effect.
William Donzelli
aw288 at osfn.org