01May
This Aladdin oil lamp brought $257.00 at auction since it was made of Pink Depression Glass!
We see antique oil lamps often at Auction Bay, but we’re always fond of the ones which are marked from Aladdin. Lamps from that company enjoy a good following and can be highly sought, but we were quite pleased with this particular lamp.
This lamp brought in the bids because it was a rare Pink Depression Glass model, and even had its original Glass Flute marked with the Aladdin name. It brought an impressive $257.00 at auction, even without its primary shade.
Most old oil lamps don’t see this high of a sale, but any lamp with a name marked upon it has a good chance to be a collectible one. Unusual shapes or colors help sweeten the potential for a good sale, and we’ll put in the research to identify the model if possible. After identification, it’s the pictures that do the rest of the work, and we showcase each item with 6-12 professional-grade photos.
Bring in your vintage lamp to Auction Bay, and we’ll find out how much they can bring for you!
Tags: Aladdin, depression, glass, lamp, oil lamp, pink, vintage
29Apr
This vintage Altair 8800 computer sold for $1,712.76 on eBay!
We’ve just had the pleasure of selling a few pieces of computer history, and the sales they brought were nothing short of huge!
Here we have the Altair 8800 computer, custom built from a kit, in great condition. We powered this machine on and it lit up, ready to work for us! It had no expansion cards in it – only the basic shell, but it still brought an amazing $1,712.76 at auction! Imagine what one might sell for if it had a bay full of boards!
We were amazed by this machine, which pre-dated each of our computer experiences. We muse at our cell phones and how far computer technology has come in the past thirty years.
These items were among the very first home computers, so early that they had to be purchased as kits and assembled by the user! To lend to the significance of these models, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were just students when these computers were available for sale! So it’s easy to see why they could bring in such high bids. The classic computer collectors out there will drop big bucks on items like this, so if you have an aging computer at home, don’t hesitate to bring it into Auction Bay for an evaluation! We’ll show you how much it can sell for, and we can do all the work for you.
Tags: 1975, 8080, 8800, altair, Computer, vintage computer
20Apr
We’ve sold all manner of Cameras at Auction Bay, and we enjoy seeing more cameras come into the store. Each of us has some skill as an item photographer, so we’ve grown familiar with camera parts and photo techniques, and we use this to our advantage when selling everything from old folding cameras to medium-format models to modern SLR types. But this piece is a big one…
We recently sold some professional-grade video cameras and their equipment. This is just one example of that lot: a Canon XL1S Camera, complete with a set of accessories and case. This impressive camera, used by both amateur filmmakers and professional videographers, brought $1,125.00 at auction.
Items like this tend to hold their value for many years, and can still bring in big bids after extensive use. This one was in excellent condition, having been well kept during its use. We also sold the lighting and camera stand tripod for this unit, and all brought impressive sales. Of course, anything with the name Bogen Manfrotto on it is sure to sell.
Do you have any old or new camera equipment taking up space? Are you looking to upgrade to a newer model? We can help you sell your camera and turn it into cash for your next investment!
Tags: cam, camera, canon, video, videography, xl1, xl1s
20Apr
Musical Instruments and eBay are a big hit on eBay, no matter their condition. We’ve sold old brass instruments in need of restoration, and we’ve also had the pleasure of selling fine new pieces like this one!
This is a Traditional 4-String Dulcimer made by Warren May, featuring a lovely hourglass shape and hummingbird shapes for cut-outs in the resonance chamber. This piece isn’t the most commonly encountered instrument, and its pristine condition made it quite competitive. The case and a bonus instructional book helped sweeten the deal. It sold for $380.75.
Whatever your instrument is, you can rest easy in selling it on eBay. There are always people browsing in search for a new instrument to play, and even if it needs repair, it will be bid upon and sell (usually to someone who can restore it to playable condition).
Tags: dulcimer, instrument, music, Musical Instruments
19Mar
This old INTEL chip kit from the 1970s brought BIG bucks!
We’ve had the pleasure of handling an estate of a computer collector, and we’ve sold everything from old software to old computers and even computer magazines, the majority of which date to the early 1980s. This was one particular gem of that collection, and it was definitely a big surprise!
This was a Microcomputer Kit containing a series of 20 chips and its original documentation, dating to 1976. This set was made by none other than intel, maker of today’s most advanced computer CPUs. Originally dispatched to Universities as project kits, this item now makes a great collectible! It received numerous bids, including several last-second hits from numerous countries, including France, Germany, Norway, Taiwan, and more! This hot old chip kit finally sold for $449.00, much to our excitement.
We don’t know what the next huge sale will be from this collection, as many of the items in it have little available history on eBay due to their rarity or obscurity, but we’ll be selling everything from old Macintosh logic boards to the original issues of MACworld magazine!
Whether you’re a computer collector yourself, or if you happen to have an aging computer locked up in storage somewhere, Auction Bay is the place to buy and sell!
Tags: chip kit, Computer, intel, vintage computer
02Feb
This mantel clock brought a handsome sale!
At Auction Bay, we are pleased to see antique mantel clocks come across our counter with some frequency. Here’s a great example: an E.N. Welch Mantel Clock with a white face and wooden housing, in great condition! This handsome timepiece brought an impressive $152.50 at auction on eBay!
We’ve seen all manner of mantel clocks, from simple wood block clocks to marble and slate creations to elaborate brass and glass enclosures, from names like Seth Thomas, Gilbert, Bucherer, New Haven, and many more. Our skilled photographers pour over every inch of these clocks to capture any and all maker’s marks, and we can often find markings on the clockwork itself (which can be difficult when this clockwork is hidden behind the face with no back panel!
If you have an old mantel clock, even one that isn’t fully functional, it can bring a pretty penny on eBay. Contact Auction Bay, and we’ll help get it sold for you!
Tags: antique, bucherer, clock, gilbert, mantel, mantel clock, new haven, seth thomas, welch
09Dec
Classic Apple items, especially for the LISA can bring big bucks!
At Auction Bay, we’ve had great successes selling computers and components of all kinds, but we’ve found particularly good sales when dealing with Apple products, both modern and classic. Mac enthusiasts just love their products, and with such great performance, it’s easy to see why.
We’ve had the fortune of selling a collection of vintage software for a consignor, and the best-selling pieces are consistently operating systems, vintage games, and anything to do with the Apple Lisa computer. Just take a look at this piece! Through the Looking Glass is a chess game dating to 1984, based in the world of Alice in Wonderland. What sets this particular software out from the crowd is the label on it which states that it works on the Macintosh (the original Mac computer) and on the LISA, which is a highly-sought after computer, which only had a short production run. This game sold for a whopping $103.73 – twice the price of today’s best-selling games!
If you’re in the market for old school software, or a new or refurbished computer, especially a MacBook, iMac, or even a Windows PC, make sure to check out our items at Auction Bay!
09Nov
This Silver Flatware set by TOWLE brought $1,800 at auction!
At Auction Bay, we love to see Sterling Silver items. Silver brings bids from collectors, jewlers, scrappers, as well as those who desire an item for its intrinsic value. Often, Sterling Flatware in both old and new styles can bring some impressive sales. But when you combine the precious metal value with a sought-after pattern from a reputable maker, you get a huge final price!
That was the case recently when we were pleasantly surprised to see a 98-Piece Sterling Silver Flatware set sell better than we expected! The set was made by Towle, a respected manufacturer (with its own category on eBay, incidentally), in the much-desired Old Master pattern. This set, in excellent condition and in its presentation box sold for an amazing $1,800.50!
When we accept a Sterling service set, we treat it with the same attention as a piece of jewelry, taking detailed photographs inside our light box. 
This showcases the pattern and the condition of the silverware, and gives the potential bidders a great mental picture of how the set would look in their hands and on their dining room table. We also include photos that show the weight of the set (atop a digital scale). This gives additional confidence in the value of the lot, and by pitting the bidders who desire silver for scrap value or collection versus the bidders who want the flatware set for a gift or to match their own set, we can manage top dollar for auctions like this!
Tags: flatware, fork, knife, master, old, service, serving, silver, silverware, spoon, sterling, towle
05Nov
This hobby horse brought in big bucks, selling at $153.00!
Here we bring you news of a strong sale for one of the finest pieces in a new consignor’s collection. This Hobby Horse came from the Desilu corporation, made just like the one in Little Rickie’s nursery on the I Love Lucy television show! Talk about product placement! What better way to advertise a great toy than to showcase it on your own TV show?
Our consignor not only had the rocker horse in excellent shape, but also brought the original magazine advertisement to sweeten the pot. Little extras like these can make a huge difference in a sale, and we were pleased to see this horse sell for $153.00 at auction.
Tags: Arnaz, Ball, Desi, Desilu, hobby, Horse, I Love Lucy, Lucille, Lucy, Rocker, Rocking, Rocking Horse, Toy, TV, vintage
26Aug
These antique leg irons, once used to shackle slave prisoners, sold for $910.00 on eBay!
At Auction Bay, we’ve found good successes with sales of historical memorabilia, specifically period pieces with some provenance behind them. Recently, we sold a set of antique Leg Irons, or Shackles dating to the early 1800s. These shackles were from the estate of a professional who caught runaway slaves, and were used as he plied his trade.
There are many collectors of all manner of historical items, and this item drew attention from several. It brought an impressive sale at $910.00, and incidentally went back to the state of its origin: Alabama.
This auction shows that there are highly collectible historical items that still fetch a handsome price in this economy, and collectors are looking for their next treasures on eBay! Even items that date to a tumultuous and dark time in history can bring in the interest and the bids. Sometimes these items go to collectors, while often they are purchased by museums, who display them for all to see, that we may not forget the errors of the past. Either way, an eBay sale will get an item to a place of appreciation, so don’t be shy to bring in your items!
Tags: alabama, antique, historic, historical, iron, irons, leg, shackles, slave, slavery
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