The Virtual Corkscrew Museum's Weekly Newspaper

New Corkscrew Auction Site

It is now open for Business! - The International Correspondence of Corkscrew Addicts (ICCA) has announced the startup of a new on-line site ICCAuctions. Collectors and dealers from around the world are invited to participate.

With traditional antique markets becoming less productive and fakes showing up all too often on Ebay and elsewhere, the ICCA decided to undertake an extensive review of current conditions.

Ebay: While the occasional gem turns up, it is more the exception than the rule. There are a lot of junk corkscrews on Ebay and the listings can often be crude, if not deceptive. Everyone knows how tedious it is searching through the endless keywords for “corkscrew”, and its many variations, misspellings and languages. And the buyer/sellers (depending on which side of the transaction you are on) can often be unreliable. It is hard to settle disputes between anonymous parties literally a world apart.

Christie’s: Sadly, the era of the once flourishing forum for buyers and sellers of great corkscrews, with those beautiful single-theme color catalogues, is over. Christies has discontinued corkscrew auctions altogether.

Antique markets: Antique shows and flea markets are getting smaller, occur less often, and are often “contaminated” with marginal product. Antique stores and malls are routinely going out of business. Conclusion: There is no dependable marketplace for buying or selling mid- to high-value corkscrews.

Conclusion: There is no dependable marketplace for buying or selling mid- to high-value corkscrews.

The Solution:

Months in the planning, ICCAuctions is an on-line marketplace created exclusively for corkscrews, offering registered users the opportunity to come together on a semi-annual basis – the former Christie’s model. Sellers can reach motivated buyers. Buyers get access to scores of sellers with quality corkscrews for sale.

Everyone wins!

Beginners get to buy great pieces, forming the foundation of a collection

Long-term collectors can upgrade by filling voids or selling selectively to reconfigure a collection

End-game collectors get a market to liquidate all or parts of a collection

Corkscrew dealers and general antique dealers with an occasional corkscrew can reach interested buyers directly, avoiding the hit-or-miss exposure of eBay, antique shows, flea markets, antique malls, etc.

The entire corkscrew world benefits from gaining a highly visible and reliable reference for gauging the value of collections for insurance and estate purposes.

Many corkscrews have already been listed and bids for the first auction are now accepted.

For more information and corkscrew buying / selling opportunities click here.

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