The TIAS Antiques and Collectibles Online Classified Ads Additional Information and
Guidelines
The TIAS Antiques and Collectibles Online Classifieds advertising spots can
contain from 60 to 90 words and four photos. (Website URL, email address, phone number and
address do not count against your total word limit.) The email address and web URLs will be
clickable links on your ad so that users can contact you directly and visit your website if
they choose to do so. An email address to a valid email account listed on your ad is
manditory. Newsletter ads will appear in the Collectors
Newsletter, which is currently distributed to over 250,000 subscribers (as of May 23). The
Newsletter ad costs $25.00. Our standard classified ad and the wanted ad are each $10.00.
All ads run for 30 days in the TIAS Exchange. If you
wish to run a spot annually, or semi annually please contact us at tiasexchange@tias.com
The title of your ad will be in BOLD and the first 25 characters of the title will be
listed in the showcase section along with one
image. If you haven't included at least one image with your ad, your item will not be featured
in the TIAS.com showcase, but still will appear in the TIAS.com search engine provided that it
has a price. Both ads, with and without images will be listed in the TIAS.com search engines
the day following placement in The TIAS Exchange classifieds. When submitting your ad you will
need to specify the most appropriate category for your item. Your ad must have a price
listed unless it is a "Wanted To Buy Ad. If the price is negotiable, then state a
price and in the description add that it is negotiable. If you are unsure of a value of the
item(s) please see the section "How much is it worth?" for
additional resources and information.
Your ad will also be listed in many other areas of the Internet through the various other
directories that crawl the TIAS.com site. If your ad is for a show or event listing, please
state the price of admission on the form when submitting your ad.
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The TIAS Antiques and Collectibles Online Classified Ads Policies And Restrictions
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How To Submit A TIAS Antiques and Collectibles Classified Ad
After reading the above information, to post an ad just click here!
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What About The Photos For My Ad?
Keep in mind that great photos help sell your items. All pictures must be
in electronic format. We have helpful info on taking pictures here so that you can then upload
them with your ad. If you are placing a "Wanted to Buy" ad, you may list a picture
of the item that you are looking for.
If you do not have access to a digital camera or scanner you can take "hard copy"
photos of your items and many photo labs can put the images on a computer disk as well for a
very small fee. (photo shops run approx.$10-$20 to develop a roll of 24 exposures and also put
the images on a floppy disk or a CD that can then be used in your ad) Another option that you
have is to take your photographs to a copy shop to have them scanned and stored on disk for
about $10 per scan.
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Tips On How To Place An Ad That Gets Great Results!
Taking a few extra minutes to write a good description for your ad can
really pay off in the end. Take the time to measure your item (if dimensions would be relevant
to the buyer), note any imperfections, and list a weight if that will be a factor for shipping
costs. Including this information will help to eliminate unnecessary questions about the items
during the time that your ad is running. We have compiled for you some wonderful documentation
on how to write good descriptions, and have also set up a page for information on taking great
photos of your items. Good descriptions and great photos sell items! See the documentation for
Writing good Descriptions and
also on how to take good images,
you won't regret that you did!
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Sponsoring The TIAS.com Antiques & Collectibles Newsletter
Sponsorship in the newsletter gets your message out to over 250,000 folks at the low cost of
about $1 per 1000 subscribers. You must purchase the entire subscriber list. More information
on advertising options is available here.
Once you supply the text and desired publication dates via email, we will create a secure link for you to fill in
billing and credit card information and email it back to you. Once the order is completed, we
will then process your text for the requested publication date.
The newsletter goes out two times each week, generally Tuesday and Friday.
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Setting Up An Online Shop At TIAS.com
Our MakeAShop system is an automated web store. You can upload as much
merchandise to your web store as you wish, including pictures and text. You can add and delete
merchandise as often as you like. If you are selling only through auction, there is no minimum
required stocking level. To establish and maintain a fixed-price store, we will require you to
keep a minimum of 25 items with pictures in your online shop. The items must have a total
retail value of at least $1,200 US.
Our easy-to-use online store building system has no setup fee. There is no long-term contract
for our service. We offer a 2-month trial during which there is no minimum payment. Your first
two monthly invoices will reflect only commissions due on sales. If, after the first two
billing cycles, your total sales for one month on TIAS result in a monthly commission fee paid
to TIAS that is less than $29.95, you will be required to pay TIAS a minimum monthly fee of
$29.95. If your total sales for one month on TIAS result in a monthly commission fee paid to
TIAS that is greater than $29.95, you pay just the commission that is due. No other additional
fees will apply. We only charge a 10% commission on those items that you do sell through
MakeAShop OR 2% on those items sold at Auction. Learn More Here!
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"How Much Is It Worth?"
Although TIAS.com doesn't do research for information or prices of items,
some of the information below may be of help to you.
Your best bet would probably be to contact a dealer/appraiser in your area. There are also
many good general reference guides at your local library and/or bookshop that may be of some
help.
Kovels now has their price guides online. Please see: The Kovels Website and sign up for a
free account today!
In looking for the value of a particular item, many people use the TIAS.com search engine as a
price guide. Over 340,000 items, most of them with pictures are listed. Take a look!
Also, another good source to check into is the TIAS.com Resource Page which has mailing lists and resources.
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What About Payment and Shipping?
1. Process the payment before shipping the item. Make sure that check
clears before shipping the item. If you are accepting credit card payments from overseas, make
sure that it is a valid credit card number first, by checking with the bank. If there is any
question about the validity of the credit card request a money order or a bank check in U.S.
Dollars. Make sure that the payment clears before shipping the item. If you don't have a
business and a merchant account to accept credit cards there are many online payment services
such as www.paypal.com that you can set
up an account through as well as only accepting checks and money orders.
2. Shipping cost is usually paid by the buyer. Make sure that the buyer and the seller agree
on the shipping cost before the item is purchased. This cost should include postal insurance
(see below).
3. A good source of used boxes for shipping, is your local bookstore. Make sure that addresses
on used shipping boxes are crossed out or covered over.
4. Double box fragile items. In the example of a glass vase, wrap it in bubble wrap, place it
in a box stuffed with paper or packing "popcorn", so that it can't rattle, then
place that box into a larger box that also has 3-4 inches of packing material (foam popcorn or
newspaper etc.) padding material between the two boxes. Place an extra shipping label inside
the second box and close it up.
At one time the postal service had instructions on packing fragile items. The shipper might
want to check with their local post office for more information on these brochures.
5. The ship To address needs to appear on the outside of the box in clear lettering. A smaller
"from" address should appear on the box as well.
6. Prior to shipping insure the item for the retail value of the piece. This can be done at
the post office. Customer should pay this additional cost. If the item breaks, the cost is
then recovered from the postal service. This small cost, keeps many argument and fights from
happening.
7. For large heavy items there are many shipping services that deal specifically with large
and heavy items. If you are trying to sell an item such as this make sure to include
dimensions of the item as well as your zip code in your ad so that the buyer will have easy
access in knowing the information if he wants to contact a shipping service such as www.cratersandfreighters.com for
the costs.
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Click here
if you are ready to post your ad!
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