Auctions

I always think of fall as the time to visit antique shops. Maybe it's the romance of the falling leaves and wood fire smells that I associate with looking around at old objects -- a harkening back to simpler, pre-digital times. (Although in truth I'd be lost without my smartphone).

In anticipation of the season of antiquing, I spoke with antique dealer Douglas Stocks, co-host of History TV's reality show Pawnathon Canada. If you're looking to try your luck at an antique shop, a market or even a garage sale, here are some tips on negotiating a deal:

By Eamon Murphy
Daily Finance


An original Apple I -- the first model of computer developed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak -- will go on the block at Christie's of London, where it's expected to fetch up to £80,000 (approximately $127,000).

That's about 190 times the original price -- $666.66 -- making the Apple I an amazing investment, as well as the first computer on the market with a pre-assembled motherboard. (Previously, the hobbyists who bought such machines had to put their computing components together themselves.)

A video game collector from France sold a complete set of video games for $1.2 million on eBay in July 2012.

The collection includes factory-sealed copies of every game for many of Nintendo's consoles, every game for all the Sega consoles and every game for the lesser-known NEC consoles, which featured the first 16-bit video game system, known as The PC Engine in Japan and The TurboGrafx-16 in the U.S. They also released the first CD-based console in the world – TurboGrafx-CD. In total, that's 22 sets with about 7,000 video games.

By Bruce Watson
DailyFinance.com

Art collecting often seems like a rich man's game, open only to the rarefied few who can plunk down millions of dollars without breaking a sweat. But the recent death of Herbert Vogel, one of America's most famous art collectors, points to another art world, one in which a pair of middle-class workers, following their passion and their pocketbook, can build a world-class collection.

Neither Herb Vogel nor his wife, Dorothy, was rich. A high school dropout, Herb worked as a postal clerk, while Dorothy worked in the Brooklyn Public Library. Given their limited funds -- her salary paid for household expenses, while his paid for art -- they focused on the cutting edge of the art world, where prices were lower and investments had more room to appreciate. Their rules were simple: They had to love what they bought, be able to easily afford it, and it had to fit into their tiny, one-bedroom apartment. Their cutting-edge strategy and careful choices eventually bore fruit. The Vogels amassed one of the most significant modern art collections in the U.S., a treasure trove of almost 5,000 sculptures, paintings, and prints that they later donated to 51 museums across the country, including the National Gallery of Art.

The Vogels were not traditional investors, and many experts argue that their ability to predict which artworks would become culturally significant was unique, and can't be replicated. That may be true, but while the Vogels' "artistic eye" may have been lightning in a bottle, their choices reflect sound, classic investing principles that are relevant whether you're buying sculptures or shares of stock.

Below, we've compiled a few of the lessons that their extensive collecting history offers to art lovers and value investors!

SLIDESHOW: INVESTING SMARTS FROM THE VOGELS

Rich in Art and Love

To all who knew him, there was no one else quite like Billy Jamieson.

"I've been producing television shows for a long time and I can tell you that I've never met anybody like Billy Jamieson. I've met wild, crazy, capable and very experienced people out there in the world, whether they are mountain climbers, explorers, adventurers, wheeler-dealers, actors or interesting people from history. You name it. But I'll tell you, when Billy's mom had Billy she broke the mould. He truly was a unique and one of a kind character who did some fascinating things in the latter part of his life," says John LaRose, the writer and director of Treasure Trader, a show that many are calling Billy Jamieson's final legacy (airing tonight, Friday July 20 at 7 pm ET, on History channel).

This is because almost exactly a year ago, on July 3, 2011, his 57th birthday, he passed away of a heart attack -- three-quarters of the way through production on what was then called, Head Hunters.

When art thieves pull off a daring heist, we're once again reminded of all the valuable treasures locked away in dusty university and museum vaults. This time around it appears that burglars were after ancient Chinese jade, and they must have been very motivated indeed, striking twice in two weeks at two separate universities in the UK.

Our colleagues at Luxist.com takes a peek inside the world of the uncommon and elusive. From wine, coins and jewels to jeans, pets and food -- they reveal the world's rarest items in each of 18 categories. Click through the gallery to see which prized possessions made the list -- and what makes them so special.

CLICK ON PHOTO TO LAUNCH WORLD'S RAREST ITEMS GALLERY

%Gallery-153261%

Internet bidding sites have been spreading like forest mushrooms after a warm rain in late May recently. E-Bay has almost become an afterthought.

It all began when people decided, for example, that to sell a car as a trade-in when buying a spanking new vehicle is shortsighted. The dealer offers you a price. That price will, in the best of cases, cut into the new car's price but, eventually, you'll find out that car dealers aren't in the business for your beautiful (insert colour here) eyes.

This realization (and not only about cars) has led to all kinds of lists and sites that let you sell your older product (or buy one) for prices considerably more to your liking. You're not supporting a dealer's overhead, after all (this brings us back to cars, but only because they're such an easy example).

But the lengths some of the bidding sites go to these days must raise an eyebrow or two.

Swipebids.com promised almost unheard of discounts on iPods, TVs, kitchen appliances, computers and gift cards, but all it ended up doing was swiping bidders' money.

They were an Alberta-based penny auction site investigated and subsequently shutdown by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission amid evidence of fraud. Like other penny auction destinations, Swipe Bids invited customers to buy bids in multiples of ten or more for between $0.50 and a $1.00 each. Those bids are typically used to try and win the auction item and each one brings the item's price up by a penny. On legitimate penny auction sites, like Quibids.com, any unused bids are banked on your account until you use them for the next auction.

Related Links:

• Banned: Stuff You Can't Sell on Ebay
• Senate Suggests Nixing the Penny
• Could This Be the End of Our Penny?

Liked this article? Don't miss another one. Follow us on Twitter or Facebook.