| For online celebrity auctions, try QLu
You've heard the news before of the multi-million dollar auction deals for the ruby slippers Judy Garland wore in The Wizard of Oz or Michael Jackson's sequined glove. Do you want to collect memorabilia from your favorite celebrity but find such auctions out of your price range? .
Lighthouse illuminates dream
Across the miles, the dream of a lighthouse in Rhode Island brought them closer together. Recently, their dream came true when Juli and Jon Chytka took possession of the Hog Island Shoal Light, off Portsmouth in Narragansett Bay. The Chytkas bought the century-old lighthouse for $165,000 in an online auction, making Hog Island the first lighthouse in New England to be auctioned by the federal government. Even more remarkable is how they did it. At the time of the auction last summer, Jon Chytka, 40, was in Baghdad, a lieutenant colonel and second-in-command of an Army Corps of Engineers battalion responsible for civil military operations, reconstruction and defusing explosive devices. His wife, Juli, 36, was in Giessen, Germany, where he is stationed when not in the Middle East.
Techniques for Selling Antiques and Collectibles
Is your house getting smaller? Of course not. But your living space may be shrinking, thanks to the ever-increasing numbers of objects you're dragging into it. If that's the case, you aren't alone. More and more Americans are insulating their homes with antiques and collectibles. In some cases, people are living under "a virtual avalanche of clutter," as the Associated Press put it in a 2005 report. Maybe it's time to start selling off some of the unwanted or unnecessary possessions that are crowding you. Heck, even if your living space is organized enough to make Felix Unger proud, you may be itching for a little more elbow room. Internet auctions, of course, have made the task of selling our "stuff" far simpler than in the prehistoric days of the 1980s and earlier.
Bidding War Brews for Tribune
Tribune Co. (TRB) shares rose on Mar. 30 amid reports that the Los Angeles-based billionaires Eli Broad and Ron Burkle are battling the Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell's offer for the Chicago media giant. Two days before the board expects to decide on a deal, Broad and Burkle offered $34 per share for Tribune, according to news reports. This potentially values the media company at more than $8 billion. Zell had offered $33 per share, according to earlier media reports. Investors bid up the stock 1.7% to $32.05 in early afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange Mar. 30. The headlines hit as Tribune grapples with the question of how to best revamp its ailing business. After the struggling media company said it would take on $2 billion of debt to buy back up to a quarter of its stock, its major shareholder the Chandler family objected, saying in June that Tribune should separate its newspaper and TV businesses and explore other options [see BusinessWeek.com, 6/20/06, "The Trouble at Tribune"].
Fundamental E-Commerce Patent with Early Priority Date to Be Sold ...
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ocean Tomo Auctions today announced it has been engaged to sell a fundamental business method patent related to internet shopping and electronic commerce. The patent will be offered for sale at Ocean Tomo's first private auction to be held on Thursday, May 10, 2007, at Ocean Tomo's global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. U.S. Patent Number 5,895,454 ("the '454 Patent"), entitled "Integrated Interface for Vendor/Product Oriented Websites," discloses a method of allowing users to interact with vendors and their product or service offerings by querying a database to view, order and pay for products or services using the Internet. The patent has been forward-cited more than 80 times by 38 companies' patents, including such leading companies as Amazon.com, Accenture, CNET Networks, Microsoft and Yahoo!.
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