I was online earlier today doing some work on our investments and stumbled upon the latest news from E-bay. The stock was down, they announced layoffs (and some purchases), and they warned about upcoming profits. I’m keenly aware of the down market and economic problems we face, as well as the differences from previous slow-downs.

With that said, usually bargain stores flourish in these times.

But what’s with E-bay?

Isn’t E-bay an online flea market with affordable goods?

Well, many may think so, but because of a series of decisions they’ve made over the past few years, the little guy (or gal) continues to be squeezed out.

It reminded me of an e-mail I received from Terry Gibbs, an online business acquaintance of mine, and one of his recent newsletters – “The Death of E-bay.”

It seems along with many of the other changes E-bay has made, they want to ban payment by check or money order.

Talk about shutting out “mom” and “pop.”

Well, E-bay is finally paying the price for wanting to be more mainstream or legit. They are becoming like any other major online or offline store. Less bargains to be found and destined to suffer with the rest instead of thriving in these poor economic times.

Good luck E-bay, you’re going to need it.

Wow, it’s been a few weeks since I’ve made a post, time has been flying by and things have just been crazy. Now the kids are back in school, Labor Day weekend is over, and it’s time to get back to posting and giving you the latest from the comic book collecting side of the hobby. There’s a lot to report!

Here’s the Update:

– The newsletter will be released next Tuesday (finally) with over 30 minutes of audio plus a quick reference package with several buying strategies including collector only/readers, investors, collector/investors, and speculators.

– A new resource is coming to the members only site with prices realized at auction.

– If you purchased the Comic-Movies-Cash package there will be another free audio and guide for some upcoming movies that are off the radar. Remember, you get free updates for the life of the product. Hey, The Dark Knight has made over $500 million, how much have you made?

– Several more articles will be put on the main website and blog. Look for some picks!

That’s all for now, hope you all had a great Labor Day Weekend!

In a previous post I mentioned the great work Matt Nelson does over at Classics Incorporated. I just received this release from him:

CLASSICS INCORPORATED ANNOUNCES NEW SERVICES AND WEBSITE

Classics Incorporated is proud to announce the launch of our new interactive website this week! The system allows you to create your own work orders when submitting books, with e-mailed updates sent to you throughout the process. We’re introducing new services as well, like the exPress, which offers a two-week turn time on pressings, and the option to waive our Proscreen. All of your past invoices and work orders are archived on-line for reference any time you need them.

For our pressing service, one beneficial change is the rollback of the Modern tier cutoff from 1980 to 1975. This means five extra years of books that cost you only $12-15 per book to press. We’ve also rolled back our old Bronze Age tier by five years, from 1970 to 1965. This tier, now simply called “65-74,” saves you $10 per book on those late ’60s issues.

Another change of note is the Proscreen service, which is now optional. A fee of $3 will be applied to all books Proscreened from now on, unless you waive that option. Waiving the proscreen is for our more experienced clients who are now comfortable with their own screening ability. Not only does it save them money, but it cuts down on the turn time because their books begin pressing immediately.

For submitters of Modern tier books, this option provides the best deal. By waiving the Proscreen, your cost falls to only $12 per book (as opposed to the usual $15), which is the lowest we’ve ever offered for a pressing. Finally, we’re also offering free Proscreens for all comic books valued over $4,000. All prices will go into effect Friday, August 15th, 2008.

You can read the rest of the release, pricing schedule and see the new site at www.classicsincorporated.com Also make sure to check out his crash course in restored comics.