The timing of Robbie's question concerning eBay announcements in
MMDigest (MMD 990827) coincided the conclusion of a number of auctions
that I had posted on eBay.  None of the items that I have sold through
eBay, either this time or previous times, has pertained to mechanical
music.  I've sold a variety of items, many of which would be of
interest to only a limited number of buyers (even more limited than the
mechanical music crowd!) I'm always amazed when an item with such a
narrow appeal brings a much-greater-than-anticipated price -- or that
the item even sells at all.  Obviously, there are people out there who
are looking for these "narrow appeal" items.

For this reason, announcing eBay auctions in MMDigest is redundant.
Most prospective buyers are already checking out current auctions to
see what is available and/or the prices.

Other concerns include:

1) eBay auctions run for a short time.  We assume that everyone reads
the MMD on a daily basis but it just isn't so.  Many people travel or
have other commitments.  By the time they get around to reading an eBay
announcement in MMD, the auction has already ended.

2) eBay is, for the most part, an American marketplace (Americans
selling to other Americans.)  Many sellers refuse to sell to inter-
national buyers and say so in their item descriptions.  Since the
Mechanical Music Digest has a sizable number of international
subscribers, they are often excluded from participating in these
auctions.  (FYI, I just had my first international sale.  The item was
very lightweight and the additional shipping cost, which the buyer was
happy to pay, was negligible.)

Mechanical music items for sale are of interest to MMD subscribers.
But, because eBay is already tremendously popular -- 1.5 billion views
per month according to their home page -- additional announcements in
MMD really don't help the sale of an item.

Joyce Brite
Player Piano and Mechanical Music Exchange
http://mmd.foxtail.com/Exchange/