Contemporary dolls - those plastic and vinyl made since around 1950 - are growing in popularity among collectors.

The simple answer is the most obvious. I love with everything I collect. It is impossible to play favorites.

Occasionally when I am being interviewed, the reporter or host asks, “If there was a fire and you could only save one things, what would it be?” If my wife is present, her eyes have a “take me” look. Forget her. She is capable of escaping on her own. I would grab a family heirloom, not because it is the most value or most loved, but family. Emotional and sentimental value always trumps monetary value.

The Monthly Finds is a fantastic way to get "free" advertising for your shop. Each month you can choose any item that is currently active in your shop and add it to the Monthly Finds, unless it sells it will stay in that months list of items. If it does happen to sell during the month, hopefully it does because that is the idea behind adding an item from your shop, you can simply add another item to replace it before the end of the current month.

It started out so innocently, you bought a few old postcards because they were so pretty, then you wanted MORE postcards, so you had to sell some of your collection online. The next thing you knew, you had stacks of postcards all over the house, boxes overflowing, postcards were everywhere, and you had a little extra money in your pocket to boot. Did you start your own business, or do you just have a hobby?

Growing up in Wisconsin my family stayed pretty close to home, traveling only as far as to Illinois to see extended family. My parents enjoyed going to little shops of "goodies" sometimes known as junk stores, flea markets and antique stores. Each of them had something they loved and searched for. Mom and Dad spent their time picking through hundreds of items to find just the right treasure to buy on that trip. As the years passed the prices of their treasures went up. I loved those trips and also enjoyed looking.

10. Listing items that are not jewelry pieces or which are specifically excluded from the Artisan Jewelry Lane, such as key rings or table top jewelry boxes.

9. Listing items which do not exhibit a significant contribution by the shop owner. The requirements for the Artisan Jewelry Lane state that the artist’s contribution must be at least 50% of the final product. Attaching a pre-made charm to a pre-made bracelet or a pre-made pendant on an existing chain does not meet this criterion.

10. Listing items that are not jewelry pieces or which are specifically excluded from the Antique and Vintage Jewelry Lane, such as key rings or table top jewelry boxes.

9. Listing jewelry items as Jewelry: Antique that are not definitively dated as being at least 100 years old.

8. Listing jewelry items in Jewelry: Collectible that are not 20 years old and not yet listed in any price guide that can be mentioned.

I use printed price guides sparingly these days. Some may consider this an odd statement coming from a person who authored or edited over forty price guides in his professional career.

People seem to have an inborn fortitude to get through tough times. And it’s been the tough times that increase our creativity and determination to keep on going and persevere. Recently things around us appear to be crumbling. But I see a lot of potential for renewal and innovation. It’s how we react that determines how we get through. I would urge people to take a fresh look at their web based businesses and think about ways to make improve.

I sat at the auction every Monday morning. I showed up early, scouring through the endless box lots and show cases for the pieces that would quickly find their way to eBay. I always had my eye on the prize—the silver covered powder dish that someone had hidden away in a box of bath towels, the sparkling Eisenberg brooch in the bottom drawer of a jewelry box, the Art Deco dress clip that matched the one I already had at home, and the list goes on. I hardly ever took a potty break and lunch was always a quick trip to the snack bar.