Well, those pesky day jobs have been getting in the way a bit - actually, a lot. Chris has just accepted a job in radio management that has him packing up and leaving our Southern California home base. The demands of organizing a major relocation have meant that, once again, we've not been able to be as attentive to ATR as we'd like. However, having one of our guys back in the ranks of working radio executives has got to be a good thing for the future of this enterprise. It just means we've not been able to post with the frequency and thoroughness we've asked you to expect. Wait... There's one more reason that are podcast is not up?

Just when we thought we couldn't come up with another bogus excuse to show a Hot babe or a Victoria's Secret supermodel on our pages, we come up with a real Baby this time..... Hey look it's "Marin." So here's the deal.

Our web master Lisa Lopuck, Sister Gina and her husband Yon. just had a baby girl down in the O.C. Her name is Marin & She was born April 15 @ 0030hrs. Congratulations On Your Baby Girl!


As for the podcast? We recorded a new one, which was to have been posted by now. Alas, some compression conversion thing has caused the 'cast not to upload to this site. We're going to re-crunch the raw .wav file and have it posted by Wednesday.
Please come back and check that out, since we think you'll enjoy our charity/non-profit theme.

Look for some updated analytics (which has emerged as a favorite post of our each week) and news from the road as Chris gets settled in.

Jewellery belonging to late heiress could fetch $4.5 million

Jewellery belonging to Christina Onassis, daughter of legendary Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, is going up for auction. Christie's will sell more than 40 pieces of jewellery from the collection of the women who found herself connected to the Kennedy clan when her father married Jacqueline Kennedy in 1968. Christina Onassis struggled to find happiness in her life despite her family's great wealth. In a period of just 24 months between 1973 and 1975, Christina Onassis lost her entire family. she dies at the age of 37 in 1988.

According to Reuters, the highlight of the June 11th event is a pear-shaped, 38-carat D colour potentially flawless diamond which Onassis wore on a diamond pendant necklace. Other important pieces in the collection are a rare bowenite Buddha by Carl Faberge and a sapphire and diamond necklace by Harry Winston.

Numerous defense-related items "for sale to the highest bidder"

Military hardware, weapons and componants are being brokered on Craigslist and eBay, according to report posted on the Wired.com today.

"Night-vision goggles, armor vests, F-14 fighter components that could only be used by Iran" are some of the sensitive military items from the U.S. arsenal that have turned up for sale online, according to the story, posted on Wire's Danger Room section.

The story cites an audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which is detailed in a report called "Internet Sales: Undercover Purchases on eBay and Craigslist Reveal a Market for Sensitive and Stolen U.S. Military Items."

Here is an excerpt:

~~ We found numerous defense-related items for sale to the highest bidder on eBay and Craigslist from January 2007 through March 2008. A review of eBay and Craigslist policies and procedures determined that, although these Web sites have taken steps to regulate their user communities and define items that are prohibited from sale, there are few safeguards to prevent sensitive and stolen defense-related items from being sold to either domestic or foreign users of these sites. During the period of our investigation, undercover investigators purchased a dozen sensitive items to demonstrate how easy it was to obtain them. The items were shipped to us "no questions asked."...Many of the sensitive items we purchased could have been used directly against our troops and allies, or reverse-engineered to develop countermeasures or equivalent technology. ~~

We visited eBay to see if the company had posted anything in response to this report. The only thing we could find on eBay's Government Relations section is a story called "What's New: eBay Sellers Make an Impact in Washington."

We probably don't need to tell you that the eBay seller's "impact" discussed in the post and the "impact" cited in the GAO report are two very different things. To be fair, the company may have responded elsehwere on the site and it got by us, just like some F-14 fighter parts got by them.

(F-14 on carrier flight deck photo from Milavia.net)

Document was reply to plea for slavery's end

For $3.4 million, anonymous phone bidder won ownership of a letter President Lincoln wrote in reply to an impassioned plea for the end of slavery.

The letter, an emotional response to a "Children's Petition to the president asking him to free all the little slave children in this country," dates from 1864 and was the highlight of a sale of historical American manuscripts, according to AFP.

Part of an auction called Presidential and Other American Manuscripts from the Dr. Robert Small Trust, the Lincoln letter was just one of many historically-significant items put on the block by Sotheby's New York.

"Please tell these little people I am very glad their young hearts are so full of just and generous sympathy," Lincoln wrote in the letter.

"While I have not the power to grant all they ask, I trust they will remember that God has, and that, as it seems, He wills to do it."

More from AFP:

- The other highlight in the Sotheby's sale was Lincoln's signature from an autograph album on the same day in 1863 he gave his Gettysburg address -- considered perhaps the greatest speech in US history.

The autograph, signed at the dedication of a cemetery for those killed at the battle of Gettysburg in July that year, sold for 937,000 dollars to a first-time bidder who described the letter as "an amazing piece of history." -

A letter written by Thomas Jefferson, in which the third president reveals his concern over the health of then president George Washington, was among the items that failed to sell.

Lincoln letter as it was displayed in the National Archives. (AFP/GETTY IMAGES/File)

Buyers took home Hollywood icons & favorite characters

A Batman costume worn by Michael Keaton sold for $103,500 during a two-day auction of movie memorabilia hosted this past weekend by Profiles in History.

In total more than $4.1 million worth of cinematic treasures were sold during the event. The top-selling item at the auction was a rare "King Kong" six-sheet movie poster, which went for $345,000, according to a wire story we found via the UPI.

A Pteranodon display with a full set of Pteranodon babies from "Jurassic Park III" sold for $97,750.

John Wayne's costume from "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" lassoed $60,000 while another bidder forked over $51,750 for Julie Andrews' signature coat from "Mary Poppins."

A companion piece to the Batman garb, which was worn in 1992's "Batman Returns," might have been the battle suit worn by Halle Berry in "X-Men," which sold for $43,125. For anyone into the whole fetishistic leather-latex look that was taken to its zenith in the "Matrix" movies, the two costumes were made for each other. As companion pieces go, however, (and in all deference to Michelle Pheiffer) the ideal match for a Batman costume (though not a part of this auction) would have to be the suit worn by Ms. Berry in "Catwoman."

Yeah, we know, the picture used for this post has nothing materially to do with the actual story. We COULD have shown Halle in her "X-Men" gear, but owing to those darned day jobs of ours, we've not posted as much the past week as we'd have liked and our hits have taken a hit. As a remedy for that, we're sure this is Puurrrfect, no?

USA Today story highlights daunting tasks
for new eBay chief

Slowing market growth, disappointed investors and disgruntled sellers are among the challenges Tom Donohoe faces today as he takes over as CEO of eBay. The company is at a "digital crossroads" declared USA Today this weekend.

"As eBay readies for the post-Meg-Whitman era, and new CEO John Donahoe takes over Monday, it faces fierce challenges in a Web 2.0 era defined by armies of agile competitors," the story declared

Prominant is the piece is the disaffection of long-time eBayers, many of whom will join in a boycott of the company that starts May 1st.

One such eBayer is Lynette Setzkorn, who told the paper she reluctantly hopes to be "eBay-free" by June:

The 50-year-old Tulsa resident sold $30,000 worth of antique furniture in January, but the latest increase was the "final straw," she says. Setzkorn is shifting sales to antiques dealer Ruby Lane and Amazon.

Donohoe discussed his plans for a growing emphasis on fixed-price listings and his vision for some sort of combined fixed-price listing and auction mechanism.

"My commitment is to build from (eBay's) strengths and make the changes necessary in this competitive environment," Donahoe, a former Bain & Co. consultant, said in a conference call in January.

The paper got the feedback of Wall Street-types and everyday eBayers, one of whom told the paper that "fees are killing me."

More USA Today:

- And Donahoe has assiduously picked the brain of customers to see what they want. Scot Wingo, CEO of ChannelAdvisor,a maker of automation software for eBay sellers, recounts how Donahoe sought him out at a Starbucks in Boston last year and peppered him with questions on how eBay could improve the user experience. Wingo suggested lower listing fees, better search and a crackdown on fraud. "So far, they've done a good job," he says. -

(Tom Donahoe pictured in photo by EBay via AP)

Once mundane events have become "fertile hunting ground for bargains"

New York giants tickets, David Yurman aquamarine earrings and a Weber grill are some of the treasures a pair of New Jersey sisters have scored at church, school and civic auctions in their neck of the Garden State.

They are part of a growing fraternity of the auction-addicted who view these once-obligatory fund-raisers not as a dreaded social obligation but as a fertile hunting ground for bargains, reported the New York Times yesterday.

As we have noted here in recent weeks, many schools, police departments and government agencies have found auctions (live and online) to be ideal mechanisms for liquidating unclaimed property, lost items and left-behind storage. Now the Times piece illuminates the other side of this equation: the buyers.

The story tells the tale of sisters Patti Fuhner and Robin Kirchner, who've "crisscrossed northern New Jersey patronizing auctions for schools, churches, animal shelters and civic clubs with the single-mindedness others have for golfing, bowling or shopping."

The sisters hit three or four such auctions a month in the spring, which they says is the peak season. As any good estate saler know in peak season in the spring, and have scored goodies like Giants tickets, and gift certificates for restaurants and stores, all at a small fraction of their retail cost.

"It's an addiction," Fuhner said. "It's the excitement of trying to win that prize you want." Sounds like they enjoy "shopping voctoriously."

The NYT piece discussed how such events are auctions only nominally, "operating more like glorified raffles." It also offers the insights of some who simply don't understand the allure of such sales. For anyone who's ever had to explain bargain-hunting urge, the entire piece is worth the read.

We heard about this from are friends at the Car Connection

Frank Washington is a journalist at The Car Connection so will understand that we were outraged when we heard that he was attacked on the streets of his hometown, Detroit, and left severely injured.

Like many journalists, Washington is a freelancer. And since he is unable to work while he recovers from his injuries — his attackers broke nearly every bone in his face, requiring extensive surgery. Spy photographer Brenda Priddy and other autojournalists have gotten together to auction some cool auto-related stuff to benefit Washingtons recovery.

The eBay auctions include items like 5 Dodge Challenger prototype pistol grip shifters; 2 original framed mid-engine Corvette sketches from the Corvette design studio, circa 1973; a rare BMW sculpture donated by spy photographer Jim Dunne; a $1200 Michelin gift certificate, and a five-hour Bob Bondurant driving class.

All proceeds from this auction will go directly to the Frank Washington Fund at Charter One Bank. Bid often at EBay Auction

Frank best wishes to you and get well soon!

Your friends at AuctionTalkRadio

eBay's Canadian unit ranked five thousand hot spots & top products

Canadians spent $45,000 a day on eBay buying outerwear such as coats and jackets last year. Considering that some here in the States call our neighbor "The Great White North," that little tidbit of data makes sense. But how about $28,000 on navel rings? That doesn't sound as particularly Canadian as $7 million dollars worth of NHL rookie cards, but it is yet another fascinating factoid about the buying habits of Canadians as revealed by the first-ever eBay "census" of the country.

According to a press release, the Community Counts survey by eBay Canada ranked Canadian online trading activity for an entire year. One conclusion may well be that a city's consumer "footprint" is not necessarily a function "shoe size."

"It's clear that smaller communities count big time when it comes to eBay economics," the release stated.

The "census" revealed that Belle River, Ontario, with 1,294 registered eBayers, is the "eBaying-est" community in Canada's $2 billion eBay-conomy.

Just what are the citizens of Belle River buying and selling? The top buying category for Belle River was identified as "car and truck parts," with the aforementioned NHL hockey cards named the community's top selling category.

"We typically think of big cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver as being the e-commerce hubs of Canada," says Andrew Sloss, country manager, eBay Canada. "In fact, small towns and communities like Belle River are doing big business on eBay, proving that you don't have to live in a major urban centre to be a significant part of Canada's e-commerce engine."

Reading the results of this survey can seem a bit deceiving. Unless read carefully, you can get your apples confused with your oranges. The winter outwear figure was last year's average daily spending nationwide on the category, while the $600,000 Canadians spent on Barbie Dolls represents a total annual sum. And the $28K on navel rings? That's an annual total for Quebec. Though some of this is stated or implied, you need to read the report and the press release with an eye on what's what. Just the same, it is an interesting glimpse into what Canadians purchase when they shop victoriously.