A Printing Hooray for eBay

BY ERIK CAGLE

Way back in the early days of the Internet, around the dark ages (late 1998), someone asked me, "Exactly what can you find on eBay?"

Well, anyone who has visited the Internet auction Website behemoth will return volley by posing the following question: "What can't you find on eBay?"

It seems that anything which can be stuffed in a box and have postage slapped on it would fit the description. Ah, but that's not entirely true. Automobiles, viking ships, even internal parts of the human anatomy (one such lot was quickly quashed by the site) can be found there.

Founded in September 1995 by Pierre Omidyar—a man intelligent enough to write a software program for his high school library at the tender age of 14—eBay quickly went from a great place to buy sports memorabilia, beanie babies, toys and doilies, to being all things to all people. Who needs a dusty old antiques store when you can hang out your e-shingle for a percentage far below the cost of brick-and-mortar overhead? Weekend warriors and diehard 'net merchants alike hawk their wares over what is easily the most popular site on the Internet. It is the place where supply and demand go to play, the ultimate tribute to capitalism.

Not only has the word become a symbol for Internet commerce, the symbol, it has also taken on the verb form. It's not surprising to hear someone say, "This is worth over $500, so I'm going to eBay it."

Omidyar and his cast of intellectuals appear to have constructed the perfect beast. eBay is to the economy what cockroaches are to a nuclear explosion—the only ones left standing in a worst-case scenario. In fact, eBay appears to thrive in the worst of times; as tech stocks remain volatile (mostly on the downswing), eBay continues to show sound profits, depending on how you define success.

Here are some numbers to ponder: 22.5 million users in more than 200 countries, with 8,000 item categories. A mind-blowing 500 items are listed on the site. . . per hour? No, per minute. If my math is correct, that is 720,000 new items listed every day.

Naturally, with so many items available for auction—eBay also has features such as "Buy it Now" and a complementary site, half.com, for the sale of items at fixed prices—my curiosity told me there would have to be some offerings of interest to you, the graphic arts professional. Lo and behold, I found the following category:

Business, Office & Industrial: Printing Equipment

OK, I know what you're thinking. It's just a bunch of desktop printers, toner cartridges or antique lead printing blocks. Well, yes, there is a bunch of desktop printers, toner cartridges and antique lead printing blocks. But you know what? There is a bunch of neat stuff, too. EBay is famous for neat stuff, as you probably know. In all, there were more than 1,000 items available for bid, from consumables to printing presses.

The following is a sample of the more non-traditional items I found. Naturally, they have all since been hammered down by the time you read this, but unless it's a one-of-a-kind item, there's little doubt that you can find it again on eBay.

Heidelberg SORKZ. This little baby was born in 1976 and is a two-color, 19x25˝ press. It attracted 23 bidders who juiced the action to $14,100. Alas, it failed to sell as it did not reach the reserve price. I'm sure it will be back on the 'Bay.

A.B.Dick 385. The purchase price was $3,000, according to the item description, but the winning bidder got a great deal at only $999. Naturally, shipping is going to be slightly higher than the $3.50 Priority Mail spent to send Eunice the Unicorn to Sally Jensen in Tumwater, Washington. Interesting footnote: the hit counter read 471, so quite a few people were at least intrigued by the offering.

Assorted Van Son oil- and rubber-based inks. The owner no longer had use for the inks, of which there were 12 different packages. Minimum bid was $9.95.

Oscillating rollers. Four large oscillating rollers, for use with Multi 1250 offset press. Current bid was $24.95.

Wrapping. Roll of protective wrapping, for use with printing rollers. Blocks light and moisture. Current bid: $9.95.

Seal 6000 Ultra. Laminator and mounter, with a minimum bid (MB) of $7,500. Leasing option was available on the 5-year-old unit. Weight was 1,100 pounds. That's going to create quite a shipping price tag as well (well, relative to basic eBay lots, at least).

How about a Heidelberg 10x 15˝ Windmill cylinder jacket, a $263.64 retail value? Another offered a Pierce SN 4000 tabletop numbering machine. There was an Eltron P-420 plastic card printer (current bid: $2,000), metal halide screen exposure system ($4,000), Roland CammJet 50˝ image printer ($11,600) and an Agfa Accuset 800 imagesetter with Viper RIP ($9,000).

You don't need me to tell you that no respectable printing plant can go without an antique Chandler & Price press from the late 1800s in its reception area. One particular model came complete with five trays of typeset in their original trays, along with an ink roller. Show clients that you're loyal to the printing heritage and appreciate how far your profession has advanced. Visa, PayPal and personal checks accepted.

Take a look today. You might be pleasantly surprised. And if you're lucky, they might even throw in the shipping for free.