eBay and research in historical geography

eBay and research in historical geography

Dydia DeLyser Rebecca Sheehan and Andrew Curtis

Department of Geography and Anthropology Louisiana State University 227 HoweRussell

Geoscience Complex Baton Rouge LA 70803 USA

Abstract

The electronic trading forum eBay presents fascinating but under-examined possibilities for research in

historical geography With literally millions of items for sale and millions of users participating in on-line auctions

there seems little limit to what one might find In this essay three authors briefly trace the history of auctions and of

eBay before explaining how eBay works and then describing some of the ways that buying (or not buying)

research materials on eBay has changed the ways that we think about our work We further explore some of the

implicationsmdashempirical theoretical methodological and ethicalmdashthat the availability of such items to the highest

bidder presents address some of the consequences for the socially constructed and place-specific nature of value

that on-line auctioning reveals and ponder some of the implications of this for contemporary consumption

q 2005 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

Keywords eBay Auctions Historical geography Research methods Consumption

Introduction

In the last decade of the 20th century the widespread availability of on-line shopping brought new

consumption experiences to many of those with internet access Today among the computer savvy even

those who have never bought books CDs gifts or for that matter pornography on-line are aware that it

is possiblemdashand for better or for worse widely practiced But in addition to such items all of which are

also available in conventional lsquobrick-and-mortarrsquo businesses on-line buying and selling and specifically

on-line auctioning have brought to the surface a spectacularly wide array of second-hand items recycled

goods and rare and unique objects

Though historical geographers have traditionally relied upon archives and libraries as the main

sources for their research materials the existence of the now immensely popular on-line auction site

Journal of Historical Geography 30 (2004) 764ndash782

wwwelseviercomlocatejhg

0305-7488$ - see front matter q 2005 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

doi101016jjhg200501001

Corresponding author

E-mail address dydialsuedu (D DeLyser)

D DeLyser et al Journal of Historical Geography 30 (2004) 764ndash782 765

eBay opens up a realm of new possibilities and in so doing raises a number of important issues for

historical geographers to consider In this essay three authors relate some of their experiences buying

research materials on eBay linking those experiences in turn to some of the methodological (and other)

questions that such practices raise1 Not meant to fully explore the empirical theoretical

methodological or ethical extremes of eBay this brief essay attempts to draw the attention of those

perhaps not yet aware to processes already ongoing processes that are already changing the way we can

and will conduct research in historical geography processes not likely to cease

Neither will this essay be able to fully engage the rich and ongoing debates about contemporary

consumption (both within and outside geography)2 Instead we hope in a limited space to draw the

attention of historical geographers whose work may not normally lead them to study contemporary

consumption to the ongoing practices that are already affecting the way we conduct our research And

while we are acutely aware of (at least some of) the implications that such practices (on our parts and on

the parts of others) pose for the future of (historical geographical) research in this essay we nevertheless

deliberately adopt a playful tone This should not be seen as inconsistentmdashindeed such tensions are

characteristic for many of the consumptionshopping experience3 The tone is meant to reflect not our

ignorance but rather the fullness of our participation in that which we describe4

Auctions and eBay

For those unfamiliar the on-line auction site eBay promotes itself grandiosely as lsquoThe Worldrsquos Online

Marketplacersquo with a mission is to lsquohelp practically anyone trade practically anything on earthrsquo5 Indeed

for those geographers interested in the timendashspace continuum eBay once offered a lsquoTime Machinersquo

though lsquousedrsquo and showing lsquosome rustrsquo Although missing some parts including a lsquoflux capacitorrsquo and

lsquodilythium crystallitersquo the time machinersquos seller suggested it would still be lsquogreat for school projects and

good for time enthusiastsrsquo6 For climatologists interested in a hands-on approach to their study eBay one

winter featured lsquoSnow powder 120Crsquo That seller noted that if lsquoyou clear a path from Interstate 40 to

my house Irsquoll discount your winning bidrsquo7 And perhaps unsurprisingly there are those who have sold

their souls on eBaymdashliterally Contained in a four ounce glass jar lsquoMy Soulrsquo sold for $13258 in what

seems a small price for a one-of-a-kind ethnographic object9 These anecdotal and playful stories

however provide merely a starting point to eBayrsquos potential as a serious and significant online

geographic data and research base particularly for historical geographers10

Emerging in September 1995 the internet auction site now hosts literally millions of items over

thousands of categories and as of late 2004 boasted over 125 million registered users (up from 541

million in 2002)11 On eBay a motorcycle sells at least every 18 min and by mid 2003 150000 people

had left their lsquoregularrsquo jobs to start eBay businesses instead12 Though auctions have existed for some

2500 years13 eBay by making auctions available to anyone anywhere with computer and internet

access has brought this mode of commodity exchange to millions around the world who previously did

not participate in or have access to auctions Called by one observer a lsquopowerful mix of e-commerce

virtual community and nostalgia for all manner of bric-a-bracrsquo14 eBayrsquos name is based on lsquoEcho Bay

Technology Grouprsquo a name Pierre Omidyar had used for a one person consulting firm because he

thought it sounded lsquocoolrsquo15 The brainchild of Omidyar then a 27-year-old computer programmer (now

worth some 85 billion dollars)16 eBay promoted itself as an inspiration by Omidyarrsquos wife Pam (then

his girlfriend) who sought a means to talk about and trade her favorite collectible colorful and variously

D DeLyser et al Journal of Historical Geography 30 (2004) 764ndash782766

shaped plastic Pez candy dispensers Pierre Omidyar has since admitted that he simply realized that an

auction-based Internet company was a great idea but using the Pez story improved the companyrsquos

interest with journalists and thus its visibility with potential users17 Within a year Omidyar working

not from a corporate office but from his home had established what has been called the first on-line

lsquotrading postrsquo intending eBay as an impartial third party to facilitate the exchange process18

Auctions the trade and exchange system that eBay is based on have existed at least since 500 BC in

Babylon By the time they reached ancient Rome in about 140 BC auction systems were organized as

today through four positions of seller buyer auctioneer and promoter19 Not always for private profit

during the 17th century for example auctions were used to raise money to support Buddhist temples20

Whether for profit or not throughout history auctions have been used as a means to establish the value of

commodities in a manner some see as fair and objective bringing the seller and buyer to agreement

though their means of determining value could just as easily be seen to favor the seller and reckoned

frenzied and unfair (for example by raising the price at times astronomically in their delirious heat)

Further because auctions place monetary values on items often not otherwise deemed salable

commodities their buying and selling can be seen both as particularly usefulmdashfor example when the

item has a value not firmly established in other marketplacesmdashand as deeply troubling and

inappropriatemdashfor example when the item is of deep personal value but little monetary worth or in

particular when the item offered for sale is a person21 Indeed auctions whether on-line or off can be

seen not just as a means to establish market prices for often unusual commodities but simultaneously as

a way to throw into high relief the socially constructed and place-specific nature of value itself22

Buying and selling on eBay

As in the rest of the auction world eBay makes available a variety of auction types23 Most common

on eBay is the English auction (also called the Ascending Price or Open-Outcry auction) a simple

system where a relatively low starting price is first provided by the seller and then bids increase until the

predetermined length of the auction comes to an end The highest bid wins and is the price paid for the

itemmdashbut opening prices need not always be low For example eBay once offered an original pair of

1880s Levi Strauss amp Co blue jeans at a starting price of $25000 These well-used second-hand pants

the lsquooldest knownrsquo pair of trademark Levi jeans eventually sold for $465320024 As in conventional

auctions however the seller exerts a great deal of control in order to prevent an item from slipping

away for a price deemed beneath its worth sellers (on eBay as elsewhere) may attach a minimum or

lsquoreserve pricersquo to an item a price below which the item will not be sold even though to stimulate

bidding opening bids begin below the reserve price25 While in traditional auctions bidders (or their

representatives) are usually present in the same place at the same time on eBay an auction takes place

over a period of days (three five seven or ten) the auctionrsquos precise closing time is always clearly

posted for each item and bidders never meet Having items available over so long a period typically

helps to attract more bidders (since eBay users all over the world must be able to locate the item among

eBayrsquos offerings and not all are on-line searching at any one time) and also gives (potential) bidders a

chance to locate the item in another venue or determine its possible value in a different way

Actual bidding on eBay can proceed in several ways One is to watch the bidding activity on the

desired item online and make a bid whenever eager bidding at least slightly higher than the then-current

price Any bidder though can also use the systemrsquos automatic proxy-bid method where a bidder submits


(in confidence) to eBay the highest price shehe is willing to pay for the item eBayrsquos computers will then

bid for herhim up to the specified amount only increasing the bid when another bidder has surpassed the

previous high bid This method frees the bidder from the time commitment of the bidding activity as well

as from the potential frenzy of last-minute bidding with its extravagant spendingmdashyou can simply place

your bid and walk away bidders are notified of auction results by e-mail within hours of an auction

closing26

But eBay is not only about bidding (or winning and losing) it is also fundamentally about searching

about finding items to bid on With about 35 million items added daily27 in over 27000 categories (up

from 1600 categories in 1999)28 on any given day hundreds and sometimes thousands of new items

are listed within each eBay category providing a wealth of material some of it potentially valuable data

for geographic research For example Table 1 shows the numbers of items listed in categories the

authors deemed likely to be of interest to historical geographers that were available on eBay in just one

week in the fall of 200429 With so many items to choose from both the curious and the serious generally

limit their searches to categories of items or perhaps even to specific items themselves Indeed when

looking for a particular kind of item eBay provides searchers a variety of ways to comb its site and

supplies both lsquoeasyrsquo and lsquoadvancedrsquo searching options Potential bidders can search for an item through

all categories or in any number of subcategories and different strategies work for different types of

items Word choice punctuation titles descriptions and conjunctions are used in much the same way as

in online library catalogues or on Internet search engines such as Google or Yahoo Importantly also

users can further narrow their searches by for example limiting sorting dates including an asterisk or

lsquowildcardrsquo (which allows any combination of characters before after or between words) or even by

specifying words to be avoided in the search30

With so many such varied items up for sale at any give moment searching itself provides

entertainment or even excitement to many and just coming up with the search terms can present a

challenge For example for those with either a personal or professional interest in the US Civil War

searching only on lsquoCivil Warrsquo leads to as many as 25000 items from books to t-shirts from tin types to

used bullets Adding lsquoSpanishrsquo to the search changes the focus dramatically and also narrows the

number of items considerably though those with an interest in the Spanish Civil War might still wish to

limit their search further beyond the more than 1350 items typically available under that search for

example by searching instead on lsquoLincoln Brigadersquo a search leading generally to a list of under 130

items Even under so limited a search however the items available vary dramatically in this case from

published books available through other sources to original photographs and posters and including even

Table 1

eBay activity by category 20ndash26 November 2004

eBay category Average no of new items per day Average no of total items per day

Antiques books and manuscripts 494 3803

Antiques maps and atlases 1357 10141

Books antiquarian and collectible 8854 63815

Collectibles photographic images 7538 45992

Postcards and paper ephemera 520 3721

Postcards and paper postcards 18158 131500

Postcards and paper scrapbooks 52 412


a wide array of materials from American soldiers who volunteered to fight for the Spanish Republic in

the 1930s (helmets uniforms rank badges safe-passage passes) and much paper ephemera related to

the Lincoln Brigade support effort in the United States (buttons flyers for fundraisers propaganda

pamphlets and newsletters)

Once an auction has ended the results are posted under the item listing on the eBay website and are

also e-mailed to sellers lsquowinnersrsquo and the other auction participants According to eBay rules the seller

has 3 days to contact the buyer by e-mail and make payment arrangements Most sellers simplify this by

describing acceptable payment types directly in the item description (many will not accept personal

checks or will wait mailing items until such checks have cleared) To simplify matters further eBay

allows a variety of credit-based payment systems The most popular of these PayPal created in 1999

and acquired by eBay in 2002 allows buyers to make an instant payment by entering credit card numbers

on a secure web site The service is free and qualified listings are covered by PayPal Buyer Protection for

up to $500 Even if a purchase is not covered under this plan it is often covered by PayPalrsquos Buyer

Complaint Process While this system certainly creates security for sellers who need not part with their

items until payment has been secured for buyers a certain risk may linger one that for many must

ultimately be resolved by simply sending their money out into the ether or mail and trusting the sellermdash

but even trust is to some degree deliberately built into and regulated by the eBay system

Individual eBay users are said to spend an average of over 3 h and 15 min per month31 (often vastly

more) searching buying selling posting and chatting on eBay until according to eBay it becomes lsquoa

part of our membersrsquo lifestylesrsquo32 Because of this even with millions of users who remain for the most

part anonymous to one another and even with eBayrsquos stock now publicly traded on the New York Stock

Exchange the company continues to consider itself a grassroots business focused around the idea that it

has developed a distinct and remarkably trusting eBay community culture33 The qualities and power of

such online communities in terms of networking social identities and alternative ways of being a

community have been noted by many scholars34 but in the case of eBay where millions of dollars are

exchanged daily among over a 100000 members who generally never meet a certain sense of trust is

seen as essential35 Of course eBay provides some other official safeguards the first of which may seem

relatively mild but in practice has a great deal of importance for most community members Each time

buyers or sellers complete a transaction they have the opportunity to evaluate the person with whom they

conducted the exchange by leaving lsquofeedbackrsquo either positive neutral or negative for the other

member When bidding each eBay memberrsquos (positive) lsquofeedback ratingrsquo is shown next to their log-on

namesmdashhigh numbers (for some sellers in the tens of thousands) indicate an honest and reliable seller or

buyer low numbers indicate a novice or perhaps an unreliable lsquoeBayerrsquo Many members do check

sellersrsquo individual feedback comments before bidding on items and most eBay users are not only aware

of but also quite concerned about their feedback ratings For some sellers it is worth it to loose money

on an item rather than gaining negative feedback so powerful is the feedback rating system36

Further eBay provides a strict and detailed privacy policy as well as lsquosafe secure technologyrsquo to

ensure that their variety of protection programs operate properly For membersrsquo safety publication of

contact information of other members in an online public area such as on an eBay community board or

chat-room is not permitted eBay has also established a lsquoSafe Harborrsquo discussion board where members

can lsquolearn more about trust and safety initiatives from other community members with the support of

eBay staffrsquo37

Thus for those who make the time to try eBay offers a source a means and perhaps even a lsquofieldrsquo for

research but its potential for research (in historical geography) has not yet been widely realized With so


wide an array of materials available it is not difficult to imagine that a researcher might come across

something interesting unexpected andor valuable to herhis research even a rare or unique item

something not catalogued in any archive or agency The rest of this essay explores in turn some of each

of the three authorsrsquo experiences on eBaymdashdiscovering and buying (or losing) materials relevant to our

research The three of us here reveal some of our strategies and also ponder some of the issues that our

actions in auctions raise

eBay and past plagues and epidemicsmdashAndrew Curtis

Because my research in medical geography using GIS and spatial analysis involves plagues and the

epidemics of the past particularly the spread of Yellow Fever in the 1800s when a group of over 100

newspapers from Nashville Tennessee appeared on eBay my curiosity was piqued the period covered

July to December in 1878 the time of the major yellow fever epidemic that decimated both New

Orleans Louisiana and Memphis Tennessee But the eBay description held scant mention of lsquoyellow

feverrsquo to bid on the papers would therefore be a gamblemdasha $230 gamble since single antique

newspapers on eBay sell from $4 to $40 (sometimes higher) depending usually on the lsquoperceivedrsquo value

of the newspaper or its content38 eBay offers some fantastic opportunities but since many of these lie

hidden within the subtext of two or three lines of item description they are opportunities often fraught

with uncertainty for many items the description is brief vague or even all too often incorrect39 In this

case though my experience as an eBay bidder combined with my experience with the research topic

made this gamble seem worth taking I entered my bid and sat backmdashfor the next 3 daysmdashto wait As the

final seconds counted down to the end of the auction I sat anxiously hitting the refresh key on my

Internet browser There had been no other bidding attempts in the three-day interimand yet I suspected

someone else was watching that someone else sensed a lsquobargainrsquo Sure enough with 6 s left I was

outbid In the heat of the moment and with just 1 s left I outbid the lsquoaggressorrsquo The papers were mine

the contest had been won As for the papers when they arrived the front pages of many were dedicated to

the epidemic It was a marvelous find for my research first-hand accounts of a long ago epidemic from a

local newspaper now difficult to access let alone acquire40

Contest and research make for an interesting if not also troubling combination and though eBay

bidding adds a new wrinkle for many of us the link between contest and research though not ideal is

also not new As academics depending upon our field we may perceive ourselves to be in competition

with others in terms of things like numbers of publications external funding access to data or even the

race to fit the final piece of a research jigsaw But while these contests for better and for worse have

long plagued scholars for some eBay can and does add a real-time adrenaline kickmdashwhat some of

Gregson and Crewersquos informants refer to as the lsquothrill of the chasersquo41mdashto research and the acquisition of

research materials a kick that comes from finding an item of research significance and then having to

lsquofightrsquo for it And that lsquofightrsquo can be lsquofunrsquo as I emerging victorious thought in this case though of

course both fight and fun here are the perceptions of an individualmdashothers may just as likely be

disgusted42 Regardless of onersquos view though when in the accessing and acquisition of research

materials the lsquowinnerrsquo is the highest bidder this also brings an all-too-familiar market system into

research one based to be sure on who is watchingbidding but also fundamentally on how much a

researcher is willing (or able) to pay to aid his or her research And now with the help of eBay a process

already in motion has accelerated as items often formerly expected to be held in the province of


the public or private archive or library have become widely available for personal acquisition and

materials once perhaps counted on as publicly available may now increasingly be slipping into

individual private hands all of them going to the highest bidder

But so it goes on eBay With limited financial resources and like other bidders each researcher must

attempt to asses the value of an item and then decide on a bidding strategy as well as a monetary ceiling

But researchers likely assess value differently from (other) collectors unlike others bidding on eBay

items (most often individual collectors or those buying for resale) the researcherrsquos value judgment is

based on research content not necessarily lsquocollectabilityrsquo or resale value In the case of the Nashville

newspapers I had attributed a high value to them because the year and location were so closely tied to

the epidemic I knew that individually the newspapers would have a high collectorrsquos monetary value

based on their individual content and dates My interest (my hope) was in acquiring a series of papers

that would record the progression of an epidemic My hope was justified but the financial cost was not

low when in the heat of the auctionrsquos last moments I couldnrsquot bare to loose I later paid the price

literally

Why buy newspapers One could argue that information contained in (some) newspapers can be

retrieved from microfilm But microfilm records are often scratched and difficult to read while access is

limited in terms of whether a copy of the microfilm exists whether an individual library has (or can get)

a copy and whetherwhen a readercopier can be accessed Of course much more than newspapers are

available on eBay and I tend to search also for items from the categories of reports maps and letters

historic US-government reports frequently include data that can now be explored using GIS and spatial

analytic techniques (see Fig 1) In fact I turned to research topics initially out of sheer curiosity after

four years of buying-out-of-print CDs on eBay On one of my first forays I discovered a 1904 report on

the origin and spread of typhoid fever in US military camps during the Spanish-American War I was

interested but had no idea what such an item might be worth so I developed a valuation procedure for

such historical documents I check for the item on other websites (like abebookscom an antique

booksellersrsquo clearing house) where it is possible to see if a book is available and at what price and I

search for it also in my own Universityrsquos library especially the special collections department With

some modification according to the quality of the available copy of the book (for example if a map it

contains is torn) I set an upper bidding limit for myself In the case of the typhoid fever book its price on

eBay was above my limit but still interested I purchased a copy from an antique bookseller instead

Ironically a week after my copy of the book arrived an article based on the very same report appeared in

the Annals of the Association of American Geographersmdashin the competitive model of research it

seemed a topic had been lsquotrumpedrsquo43

Of course my valuation process does not work in many cases Usually the item is not for sale on other

websites and the library holds no copy This in itself can excite me as it might be an indication that I

have found a truly scarce document but I am left with no way to determine its lsquovaluersquo In this case

bidding becomes gambling and as is common among collectors I am likely to become swept up in the

desire for the itemmdasheven beyond my own valuation of it even beyond my own budget44 If I feel the

item is so important to my work that I need it I enter what to me seems an extraordinarily high bid

knowing (or hoping) that others will not outbid me even if they try to do so at the last second in a bid

ploy known as lsquosnakingrsquo or lsquosnipingrsquomdashif I have indeed bid high enough I neednrsquot worry further the item

will be mine When my interests are lower I enter my bid according to the value I have assigned and

take my chances hoping still to win but willing to walk awaymdashand this I can do in the last seconds of

the auction hoping to snipe the item from an unsuspecting other bidder But when auctions end in

Fig 1 Yellow Fever Mortality in both the 1853 and 1878 New Orleans Epidemics Note The results of two Ebay purchases the underlying map

(scanned and imported into Arc View Geographic Information System 32) originated from a report generated after the 1853 Yellow Fever

Epidemic in New Orleans Although no actual death locations are shown areas with high mortality identified as lsquonuisancesrsquo and lsquofever nestsrsquo are

displayed as darkened sections particularly those inside the (original) inset box Mortality addresses from the 1878 Yellow Fever Epidemic as

listed in the Official report of the deaths from yellow fever as reported by the New Orleans Board of Health (1879) were imported and overlaid onto

the 1853 map In this way both epidemics can be spatially compared in the GIS The original source documents are City Council of New Orleans

Report of the Sanitary Commission of New Orleans on the Epidemic Yellow Fever of 1853 (New Orleans 1854) and Official Report of the Deaths

from Yellow Fever as Reported by the New Orleans Board of Health (New Orleans 1879) both in the personal collection of Andrew Curtis


the middle of the night or at a time when I am for example in class or if I am uncertain of my Internet

connection the sniping strategy may fail Thirdly for still other items I recognize that I might be

interested if the price remains low enough In this case I watch the bidding and pledge not to go over my

upper price limit (though often compelled by curiosity I do exceed it)

By way of example I followed my lsquoI have to have itrsquo bidding strategy for the item below which was

identified under a search for lsquomosquitoesrsquo

Government reportsmaps

$5304 Medical entomology insects Malaria mosquitoes

Description

A collection of 18 older publications dealing with mosquitoes Malaria and public health

lsquoExperimental Investigations With Malaria the Mosquitoes of New Orleansrsquo (1902 78 pp)


lsquoMalaria Commission Report on a Tour of Investigation in the United States in 1927rsquo (1927 38

pp) lsquoMalaria in the Philippine Islandsrsquo (1915 77 pp) lsquoMosquito and Malaria Control California

Department of Public Healthrsquo (1933 41 pp) lsquoMalaria Lessons on its Cause and Prevention for use

in Schoolsrsquo (1943 23 pp) lsquoUS Public Health Service Public Health Bulletin no 79 Impounded

Water Surveys in Alabama and South Carolina During 1915 to Determine its Effect on Prevalence

of Malariarsquo (1916 33 pp) lsquoUS Public Health Bulletin No 156 Transactions of the Fifth

Conference of Malaria Field Workersrsquo (1925 142 pp) lsquoUS Public Health Bulletin No 137

Transactions of the Fourth Conference of Malaria Field Workersrsquo (1923 183 pp) and ten seperate

[sic] bound collections of Malaria papers from The Southern Medical Journal all titled

lsquoSymposium on Malariarsquo and dated 1927 1928 1930 1932 1933 1935 1936 1938 all from

50 to 90 pages Lots of great historic information many pictures maps and illustrations

throughout45

While it was impossible to research the individual contents of this lot the price of under $3 per item

made seem it a gamble worth taking the report on malaria in New Orleans and the mention of malaria

maps made this an exciting prospect for me When the documents arrived the New Orleans booklet

contained a map documenting where different mosquito species were found in the city A second fold-

out map contained a sketched distribution describing where Yellow Fever was found in the city during

the 1901 outbreak providing one of the first ever visual comparisons of bugs and disease As far as this

author knows these maps have not previously appeared in a publication on yellow fevermdashthis too was a

wonderful find for my research

Although subject expertise naturally helps on eBay experience gained just from watching andor

bidding on auctions themselves increases my knowledge of what items are For example the following

item lsquo1902 Typhoid amp Malaria map of Washington DCrsquo was described as follows lsquoThe map yoursquove

always wanted No 1 map of the city of Washington showing location of fatal cases of zymotic diseases

for the year ended June 30 1902rsquo Several clear scans showing the entire map and inset details were also

included The final bid price for the map was $7235 with two bidders going against each other starting

from an initial $20 bid With a little lsquoexperiencersquo these bidders might have discovered that the map

originated from a District of Columbia report one also containing four other fold-out mapsmdashon

Diphtheria and Scarlet Fever Diarrhoeal Disease Acute Lung Disease and Consumption The price for

the entire volume on Abebookscom is typically around $70ndash$80 They paid too much but they had to

have it

Unfortunately this example also highlights the destructive side of eBay and other antique sellers both

on the Internet as well as at swap meets flea markets specialty meets and in antique stores In this case

the map had been removed from the original report because selling maps (or illustrations or

advertisements) singularly fetches a higher price than the seller can get for the book or magazine as a

whole especially if the lsquosellrsquo is well done Many rare and important materials have been damaged or

destroyed in this way and with the availability on eBay of highly specific item searching this process is

now only accelerating

But eBay has also encouraged the (digital and other) reproduction of rare items like one scanned

historical text made available on a CD-ROM that lsquonavigates like a websitersquo The original 1795 book

A Treatise on the Fevers of Jamaica With Some Observations on the Intermitting Fever of America

and an Appendix Containing some Hints on the Means of Preserving the Health of Soldiers in Hot

Climates by Robert Jackson typically sells on line for $750 The price of the CD-ROM on eBay under


the buy-it-now option was $2499 In ways like these eBay offers the chance for academics to not only

further their research but also archive and redistribute the items back to other people with computer and

internet access everywheremdashthough always for a price

eBay and past places both real and fictionalmdashDydia DeLyser

Unlike Andrew my own approach to finding research materials does not involves checking their

value in books or looking up prices of items on other web sites after many years of doing research on

the same topic and hunting for unusual materials related to it I usually feel overconfident that I know

which items are rare but more importantly their value to me as a researcher may be quite unrelated to

their value to anyone else

I began doing research on Helen Hunt Jacksonrsquos novel Ramona long before eBay existed46 The novel

had been published in 1884 and soon after the authorrsquos death in 1885 became influential in shaping the

way that southern Californians and visitors to the region interpreted the regionrsquos past The Ramona-

inspired version cast a golden glow over the Spanish and Mexican periods of southern Californiarsquos

history and within a few years of the novelrsquos publication what historian Carey McWilliams termed a

lsquoRamona promotion of fantastic proportionrsquo emerged as readers identified people places and events that

appeared to have been described in the novel47 As a cultural and historical geographer my interests lie

in Ramona-related landmarks and in the meanings that such places held for visitors to them Of such

places there once were many though today few remain For example two ranchos once contended for

the title lsquoHome of Ramonarsquo and a third adobe hacienda became lsquoRamonarsquos Marriage Placersquo while at

Mission San Gabriel there was lsquoRamonarsquos Birth Placersquo and on a remote Indian reservation in San Diego

County there was even Ramonarsquos grave Each of these places (and more besides) were described in

tourist guidebooks and pinpointed on maps there were photographs and postcards designed to be sold to

tourists and even according to McWilliams writing in 1946 while the interest in all things Ramona was

still high lsquobaskets plaques pincushions pillows and souvenirs of all sortsrsquo48 The novel photographs

postcards and guidebooks are easy to find at regional libraries like UCLArsquos Department of Special

Collections which has extensive Ramona-related holdings The souvenirs however have always been

more elusive Then they all began to show up on eBay and this changed my research

I began collecting different editions of the novel (I now have 14 of which all but three were purchased

on eBay) knowing that even a first edition was then worth only about $100 and have spent less than $10

for most of the copies in my collection But when a later edition appeared with an evocative inscription

describing its ownerrsquos love of the novel and the novel-related landscape in other words when a copy

came up on eBay that was directly related to the topic of my research I felt I would be willing to pay

virtually any price Unfortunately so did another book collector and I lost the auction but saved the

buyerrsquos e-mail address and have a copy of the inscription to cite in my workmdashwhile for the most part

using eBay for research is about the purchase of research materials it can also open doors to the private

collections of others collections not normally accessible to the researcher

But whether one indulges in the acquisitive and capitalistic side of eBay or not the mere availability

of so many and such varied potential research materials can change the direction of onersquos research In

fact it was the availability of items like that book (and others like it which I have since purchased) that

led me to rethink 50 years of scholarship on Ramona When I found copies of the book so lovingly

inscribed I realized I could show that both the story and the landscape it was linked to sincerely held


meaning for readers I saw that tourists to southern California were not simply as other scholars had

suggested duped into mistaking the fake for the real49 Indeed I found on eBay touristsrsquo own

photographs smiling poses before the sign at Ramonarsquos Marriage Place in San Diego (Fig 2) images

marking meaningful spots on touristsrsquo itineraries and postcards inscribed with details of tourist visits to

Ramona landmarks (Fig 3)

Inscribed books postcards and tourist photographs are one way to demonstrate that Ramona-related

landmarks held meaning for visitors but since eBay allows the curious to search not just by item title but

by description also and since many sellers enter extremely lengthy and detailed descriptions (often

containing literally dozens of key words or place names) in efforts to attract more bidders other items

become available as well the 1941 honeymoon scrapbook of a couple from Texas documents Ruby-

Faye and Loran Dennisrsquo travels to California including photographs restaurant match books brochures

postcards and souvenir receipts Because they visited Ramonarsquos Marriage Place and dedicated two

pages in their album to that landmark and because the seller had listed names of most of the places

documented in the album that scrapbook came up when I searched on Ramona in lsquotitles and

descriptionsrsquo In this case not only did the couple visit the spot where Ramona and her fictional lover

were wed they also described their visit in the album the wishing well was lsquonearly full of pennies

Fig 2 Tourists pose before lsquoRamonarsquos Marriage Placersquo ca 1915 Note Ramona-related tourist attractions such as Ramonarsquos Marriage Place

in Old Town San Diego California drew thousands of tourists annually For many their visits were important enough to be remembered with a

snapshot like this one Libraries and archives seldom collect incidental tourist snapshots but on eBay such photographs and often also the

albums they came from are plentiful From the personal collection of Dydia DeLyser

Fig 3 Inscribed postcard of Rancho Camulos Ventura County California the lsquoHome of Ramonarsquo ca 1900 Note Though scholars have been

critical of Ramona tourism the tourists themselves were often keenly observant like this one who wrote on a card sent to Kansas lsquoSomewhere

about here in some such low stucco dwelling lived the heroine of Helen Huntrsquos story Los Angeles San Gabriel Ventura in fact most of the

towns down the coast claim scenes from this romance of the California Missionsrsquo Postcards in most libraries and archives are unused on eBay

researchers can find both used and unused postcards From the personal collection of Dydia DeLyser


nickels dimes quarters etcmdashI made a wish too But I wonrsquot tellrsquo The album beautifully

demonstrates that Ramona landmarks became meaningful destinations for touristsmdashand honeymooners

But if the album is marvelous it also mentioned things it did not contain like the purchase of a

lsquotoothpick holderrsquo at Ramonarsquos Marriage Place Such souvenirs are not found in albums and are not

collected by libraries But I began to discover themmdashthe souvenirs of which Carey McWilliams had

written in 1946mdashon eBay Today my collection of Ramonarsquos Marriage Place souvenir tea spoons alone

numbers over two dozenmdasheach one different Buying so many silly teaspoons may seem ridiculous and

it is (especially since they cost about $20 each) but on another level simply knowing that at least that

many different ornate silver spoons existed testifies to the popularity of attractions like Ramonarsquos

Marriage Place and the tourist souvenirs sold as mementos

But the ability to search for items all over the US and indeed much of the Western world online with

just a few keystrokes items that were formerly hidden away in remote junk or antique stores has

dramatically changed the collectibles resale market Because souvenirs are not regarded as collectible by

most libraries and archives and because even many of the people who buy them do not keep them many

older souvenirs used to be extraordinarily difficult to acquire For serious (even obsessive) collectors

therefore eBay has become a haven and researchers are well advised to watch out for such people


For example I once found with glee one of the most remarkable Ramona souvenirs I had ever imagined

a Ramonarsquos Marriage Place souvenir tape measure Shaped like a yo-yo with an image of the building

on the front and a cloth measuring tape coming out of the center I really wanted it But when I began to

bid my bid was each time instantly bested by that of another Once my price reached the absurd level of

$40 I realized I was in trouble and so looked up my adversary and her completed auctions The woman

against whom I was bidding turned out to be a collector of souvenir tape measuresmdashand she had paid as

much as $400 for one item What was most important to my research in this case was knowing that the

item existed I stopped bidding and let the item go

But while much of what I have purchased on eBay consists of materials that libraries and archives

typically do not catalog or collect that is not always the case with eBayrsquos offerings Some of eBayrsquos rare-

book offerings are in fact highly sought after both by private collectors and public institutions when one

of only four known copies of an 1888 book entitled Rancho Camulos the Home of Ramona self-

published by prominent southern California booster and historian Charles Fletcher Lummis and filled

with his original cyanotype photographs illustrating scenes from the novel appeared on eBay I was keen

to acquire it for my own collection and because of its rarity and importance also to donate it to a

library The other bidders though were some of the toughest and well-heeled bidders to go up against

dedicated photograph collectors and dealers Though I bid what I considered an outrageously high price

in the final seconds of the auction the photo collectors vastly outstripped me and the book went for over

$600 to a private collector today only three copies of the book remain available to the public Just as

private art collections have raised issues of accessibility for for example fine paintings now the

tremendous ease of selling on eBay may make many other items perhaps once destined for public

institutions easier to sell at profit than to donate in the publicrsquos interest

Altruism aside some research areas are prohibitively expensive for academics simply because the

items related to these topics are so highly sought after by collectors with deep pockets This is the case

for my research on the ghost town of Bodie California50 As one of the most infamous of California

gold-mining towns and also one of the best preserved western ghost towns any original Bodie artifact

(whether a photograph book a newspaper or a bottle) is highly sought after by collectors so in most

cases I donrsquot even look for Bodie stuff on eBaymdashitrsquos simply too frustrating But since my research

focuses not on boom-period Bodie of the 1880s but rather on the tourist attraction of the 20th and 21st

centuries sometimes materials are available I was for example thrilled to find a series of color slides

taken by tourists in the 1950s showing these visitors posing in front of the same spots people today pose

in front of Though much has changed in the intervening 50 years these slides help demonstrate that the

actual practices of tourists in Bodie have changed little

While some of my purchases can be justified by the fact that I need not pay nor seek permission to

publish when using these items in publications51 more important to me is my real pleasure in finding and

having them Like many collectors I enjoy owning and looking at the lsquoresearch materialsrsquo in my

collectionmdashthey decorate my office and my home52 Clearly much of what I have collected falls into the

category of lsquokitschrsquo (or lsquogift warersquo to use the industry term)mdashRamonarsquos Marriage Place salt and pepper

shakers napkin rings match-box covers rosary cases and the like Of such items scholar of collecting

Susan Pearce has written lsquothey are the result of a complicity a collusion between the manufacturer [or in

this case the eBay seller] and the purchaser with the intent to maintain a kind of conspiracy of value

which operates as internal to itselfrsquomdashthe value I assign the item by purchasing it on eBay has little

(or nothing) to do with the labor materials and transportation costs once invested in its production53

But even in her criticism Pearce acknowledges that lsquothis very internalism gives opportunity for


the making of personal meaningrsquo54 To be sure like many who actually consider themselves serious

collectors I have become personally vested in my collection of Ramona-related materials (which now

numbers in the hundreds of items)55 While classically collections brought with them high-culture

distinction and possibly the ultimate imprimatur of the museum in the world of second-hand

consumption of which most of eBay is part collections of kitsch and camp (whether Ramona stuff

souvenir tape measures or plastic Pez dispensers)mdashcollections of what often amounts to other peoplersquos

discarded refusemdashallow the ritual of collecting itself at times to take priority over the items the

collection contains56 Just the same the real value of eBay for me has been in the genuinely altered the

nature of my research with rare items not collected by libraries and archives now readily available my

perspectives have changed eBay (and my growing collection) have opened up new avenues and insights

in my research57

eBay and beginning a historical research projectmdashRebecca Sheehan

Unlike both Andrew and Dydia I never used eBay for any personal or academic reasons that is until

they approached me with the idea for this article Beginning my dissertation research on Jackson Square

(the initial site in New Orleans claimed by France in 1718 and now the center of the famous French

Quarter) I wondered what light could be shed on my project if I searched under a range of categories

such as lsquoalbums and archival materialrsquo lsquodecorative and holidayrsquo lsquopostcard and paperrsquo or lsquocultures

Fig 4 Postcard of strollers in Jackson Square New Orleans Louisiana ca 1905 Note Today Jackson Square appears much the same way

and locals and visitors use the Square much as their early 20th century counterparts did Many views of the Square both historic and

contemporary are available on eBay From the personal collection of Rebecca Sheehan


and religionsrsquo What I found through my searches is that eBay can aid the research process in direct and

indirect ways

I have found (and purchased) books postcards stereoviews and photographs of the Square from the

early mid and late 20th century Each documents the Squarersquos physical appearance and together they

show change (and in certain times lack there of) as well as the Squarersquos variety of social political and

economic activities and events (Fig 4)

Of course many of these items or materials similar to them are located in the New Orleans Historical

Collection just down the street from the Square I have found however that scanning eBay (most every

day) for new items concerning my project can be inspiring in terms of forming research questions and

ideas and sustaining the momentum and pace of my research The ability to lsquoaccessrsquo my research site on

eBay at anytime through new material infuses my project with a kind of immediacy so that my study

never grows lsquocoldrsquo And though postcards from the early 1900s to the present day are abundant on eBay

it is precisely because of their abundance that I can learn about the images produced for everyday people

through time

In becoming so familiar with both the rare and the popular images of the Square I wonder for

example what the implications are of the fact that a distant view of St Louis Cathedral the Cabildo

Presbytere buildings (the latter two both long-past centers of New Orleans government) and the statue

of General Jackson are almost always the focal point of such material Why is the Mississippi River just

50 yards from Jackson Square an economic shipping base of the city and literally the route of entry to

the square for thousands of immigrants over the years almost never featured on postcards photographs

and souvenirs Questions like this one which began on eBay have led me to begin to search out other

sources depicting the image and identity of Jackson Square and New Orleans But acquiring items most

costing under $5 on eBay has also by enabling the initiation of my own collection brought me into my

own new research in a personal way

Conclusion

eBay has transformed the way over 125 million people around the world find and place value on

collectibles and lsquojunkrsquo through what one commentator called a lsquoseamless meshing of demand with

supply across infinite distancersquo58 We would challenge the simplicity of this assertion preferring also to

point out not only that supply and demand on eBay nearly never mesh seamlessly (in fact many

auctions end with nary a bid while others yield so much interest many more similar items could easily be

sold) but also that eBay has brought to the surface many items for which there was previously little or no

assessed value but which have nevertheless stimulated a great deal of acquisitiveness greed envy and

exclusionary competitiveness And while with all of its competitive individualism eBay buying is not

politically transformative it has in bringing millions of relatively obscure items to easy access brought

what scholars of consumption have described as the fun and the thrill of second-hand consumption to

millions in the space of their own homes or work placesmdashleaving the lsquoworkrsquo of second-hand shopping

behind and fundamentally also transforming the spaces where such consumption occurs59

In addition to these broader issues of consumption practices however eBay has in fact also changed

the nature of both data and data collection for each of the three of us The ability to search for and

possibly purchase research materials ourselves on eBay has affected and sometimes changed how we

think about our research as well as what we write about Whether it be for instance through Andrewrsquos


discovery of the existence of a 1904 report on the origin and spread of typhoid fever that could lead to a

potential new study Dydiarsquos discovery that actual souvenirs or collectibles provide evidence to

additional and different individual and social meanings or Rebeccarsquos new research questions concerning

the absence of particular landscape perspectives through volumes of postcards and etchings eBay for all

the empirical theoretical methodological and ethical dilemmas it throws into sharp relief also affords a

unique avenue into historical geographic research With eBayrsquos steadily growing popularity the very

availability of lsquoresearch materialsrsquo on eBay and the increasing number of researchers who like us will

become (at least in a limited way) collectors raises questions historical geographers will have to

continue to consider as neither the dilemmas nor the opportunities are likely to disappear

Notes

1 Academic researchers are showing an increasing interest in using the Internet as a tool for performing research See for

example C Madge and H OrsquoConner On-line with e-mums exploring the Internet as a medium for research Area 34

(2002) 92ndash102 C Mann and F Stewart Internet Communication and Internet Research A Handbook for Researching

Online Thousand Oaks 2000 J Sefton-Green Young People Creativity and New Technologies The Challenge of Digital

Arts New York 1999 S OrsquoLear Using electronic mail (E-mail) surveys for geographic research lessons from a survey of

russian environmentalists The Professional Geographer 48 (1996) 213ndash222 Others have explored cyber geographies See

for example M Crang P Crang and J May Virtual Geographies Bodies Spaces and Relations London 1999

R Kitchin Towards geographies of cyberspace Progress in Human Geography 22 (1998) 385ndash406 P Adams Cyberspace

and virtual places The Geographical Review 87 (1997) 155ndash171 Our aim here is to discuss acquiring research materials

online not virtual geographies or doing online research

2 Nor of course do we wish to slight this interesting and engaging work See for example A Appadurai Introduction

commodities and the politics of value in A Appadurai (Ed) The Social Life of Things Commodities in Cultural

Perspective Cambridge 1986 3ndash63 L Crewe Geographies of retailing and consumption Progress in Human Geography

24 (2000) 275ndash290 L Crewe The besieged body geographies of retailing and consumption Progress in Human

Geography 24 (2001) 629ndash640 L Crewe and N Gregson Tales of the unexpected exploring car boot sales as marginal

spaces of contemporary consumption Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers NS 23 (1998) 39ndash53 J Goss

Once-upon-a-time in the commodity world an unofficial guide to Mall of America Annals of the Association of American

Geographers 891 (1999) 45ndash75 D Miller Consumption as the vanguard of history in D Miller (Ed) Acknowledging

Consumption London 1995 R Sack The consumerrsquos world place as context Annals of the Association of American

Geographers 78 (1988) 642ndash664

3 See N Gregson L Crewe and K Brooks Shopping space and practice Environment and Planning D Society and Space

20 (2002) 597ndash617 on this tension in charity shop (or thrift store) shopping

4 See Goss Once-upon-a-time in the commodity world

5 wwweBaycom 2002 eBay does prohibit certain items from sale including alcohol (except wine) credit cards drugs

drug paraphernalia firearms human parts and remains lock-picking devices plants and seeds prescription drugs stocks

and other securities surveillance equipment and tobacco As soon as the company became aware it also removed listings

offering for sale pieces of debris from the September 11 2001 World Trade Center collapsemdashsuch listings had appeared

within minutes See J Adler The eBay way of life Newsweek 2000 50ndash60 esp 55 and 54

6 wwweBaycom 2001

7 wwweBaycom 2000

8 Boston Herald 18 March 2000

9 More recently eBayrsquos selling policy lsquodoes not allow listings that are intended as jokesrsquo (quoted in USAToday 17

November 2004) though this has been difficult for the company strictly speaking to determine See for example Virgin

Mary Grilled Cheese Back Up on eBay See USAToday 17 November 2004

10 eBay is not the only online auction house Others include for example Auctioncom QXLcom uBidcom and

zbestoffercom See httpwwwftpplanetcomauctionauction_siteshtm for a more extensive list of on-line auction sites


But even in combining all other online auction companiesrsquo market shares eBay still holds the majority of the market (www

eBaycom 2001) Furthermore in January 2002 Sothebyrsquos (the oldest brick-and-mortar auction house established in

1744) formed an alliance with eBay for on-line auctions where Sothebyrsquos was incorporated into the eBay marketplace

further demonstrating eBayrsquos authority in online auctions

11 Ebay Inc Press Release Ebay Inc Announces Third Quarter 2004 Financial Results 20 October 2004

12 CBSNewscom eBayrsquos Bid For Success 11 June 2003 Accessed 5 November 2003 at httpwwwcbsnewscomstories

2002103060II

13 B Learmount A History of the Auction London 1985 D Prince Online Auctions eBay Rockline 1999

14 K Cheng eBay Mediaweek 9 (1999) 42

15 The AugustaChroniclecom eBayrsquos early days werenrsquot about PEZ dispensers posted 17 June 2002 Accessed 18 November

2004 at httpwwwaugustachroniclecomrsquostories06172tec_124-2028shtml

16 Forbes The Worldrsquos Richest People 26 February 2004 Accessed 18 November 2004 at httpwwwforbescomfinance

lists102004

17 The Augustachroniclecom 17 June 2002

18 D Bunnell The eBay Phenomenon Business Secrets Behind the Worldrsquos Hottest Internet Company New York 2000

19 Learmount A History of the Auction 9

20 Prince Online Auctions eBay

21 See Appadurai Introduction commodities and the politics of value 15 Auctions to be sure are not innocent market

venues From at least the seventeenth century and into the nineteenth century slave auctions not only took place but they

formed a significant percentage of the entire global auction market See Learmount A History of the Auction 9 D Howell

I Was A Slave Book SixmdashSlave Auctions Washington DC 1999 Also wife auctions began as early as the fifth century

BC with a report by Herodotus of Halicarnassus See C Smith Auctions the Social Construction of Value New York

1989

22 Appadurai Introduction commodities and the politics of value Crewe and Gregson Tales of the unexpected Smith

Auctions

23 Prince Online Auctions eBay J Sinclair eBay the Smart Way New York 2000

24 The high bidder was the Levi Strauss compant itself eBay Press Release 24 May 2001

25 Prince Online Auctions eBay Another though less common type of auction used on eBay is the lsquoDutch auctionrsquo used

when multiple examples of the same item are available for sale at the same time Here bidders bid not only on price but also

on the number of items they wish to buy

26 wwweBaycom 2001 For some eBay items it is no longer necessary to engage in the auction process at all the lsquoBuy It

Nowrsquo option enables a seller to choose to set a price that shehe will sell the item for immediately If any bidder selects this

price before any other bids on the auction have been registered the auction is ended and the buyer is committed to the sale

see wwweBaycom

27 B Sullivan Ebay fights its toughest legal battle 21 September 2004 Accessed 19 November 2004 at httpwwwmsnbc

msncomid6030048print1displaymode1098

28 wwweBaycom accessed 5 November 2003 Neither is eBay a strictly American phenomenon there are currently twenty-

three countries where eBay operates its auction websites wwweBaycom accessed 18 November 2004

29 eBayrsquos growth has been tremendous when the authors investigated similar categories just three years earlier the numbers were

dramatically smaller For example the lsquoMaps and Atlasesrsquo category grew from an average of 6600 a day to 10141 a day

30 Another helpful tool is the lsquoMy eBayrsquo page where users can save their favorite searches or ask to be notified by e-mail each

time a particular item comes up for auction see wwweBaycom

31 NielsenNetRatings 2004 Accessed 18 November 2004 at httpwwwclickzcomstatssectorstraffic_patternsprintphp

3410151

32 Bunnell The eBay Phenomenon wwweBaycom 2001

33 For example eBay provides community help category specific and user-by-user discussion boards and chat rooms

Seventy-two community help boards provide a public space for asking questions and reading about such topics as bids

searches eBay polices trust and safety User-to-user boards include for example lsquoThe eBay Town Squarersquo lsquoThe Soap

Boxrsquo and lsquoThe Parkrsquo which range from miscellaneous ideas and pet peeves about eBay to eBay community sponsored real

recreational activities Thirty-five chat rooms sometimes called lsquocafesrsquo also provide similar avenues to people ideas and

information on a variety of topics wwweBaycom accessed 18 November 2004


34 See for example N Barta-Smith and J Hathaway Making cyberspaces into cybersplaces Journal of Geography 99 (2000)

253ndash266 H Rheingold The Virtual Community Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier Cambridge 2000

D Walmsley Community place and cyberspace Australian Geographer 31 (2000) 5ndash19 S Turkle Life on the Screen

Identity in the Age of the Internet New York 1997 R Shields Cultures of the Internet Virtual Spaces Real Histories

Living Bodies Thousand Oaks 1996

35 It is common for cars homes and even airplanes to be auctioned on eBay In fact the most expensive item yet sold was an

airplane in August 2001 a Gulfstream II business jet described as lsquoa luxurious aircraft configured to seat twelve

passengers in plush surroundingsrsquo sold for $49 million News and Star 11 May 2004 accessed 19 November 2004 at

httpwwwnewsandstarcoukmotorsviewarticleaspxidZ151322

36 For example when DeLyser bought a nineteenth-century leather bound book and the seller accidentally severed the cover

after the auctionrsquos close the seller shipped the book to her free of charge ignoring both the shipping costs and the price to

be paid in the auction but gaining positive feedback

37 eBaycom accessed 9 November 2003

38 While most old newspapers are collected for the stories that appear in them (eg the first moon landing or the bombing of

Pearl Harbor for example) and others for the date (eg a personrsquos date of birth) some newspapers are collected because of

the town they are from (newspapers from the gold-mining town of Bodie California are highly collectible regardless of

date or content) or for the name of the newspaper itself (eg the Tombstone Epitaph)

39 eBay does offer bidders the chance to ask sellers questions by e-mail We have for example asked sellers for additional

images of particular items or for clarification of text or content If the request is asked in a timely manner (long enough

before the close of the auction) sellers are usually happy to the best of their abilities to oblige

40 The newspaper The Nashville is available on microfilm at the University of Tennessee but would only be available at

Louisiana State University via interlibrary loan to our special collections unit which would add another series of

restrictions to extracting the required information

41 N Gregson and L Crewe Second-Hand Cultures Oxford 2003

42 Fun itself however is an important aspect of many consumption practices Particularly in the realm of recycled goods

(whether second-hand stores flea markets antique shops or eBay) where unlike in conventional retailing (eg the stores in

the mall) particular items are never to be found with certainty fun is a prominent part of the consumption experience See

Crewe and Gregson Tales of the unexpected and Gregson and Crewe Second-Hand Cultures

43 M Smallman-Raynor and A Clif Epidemic diffusion process in a system of US military camps transfer diffusion and the

spread of typhoid fever in the Spanish-American War 1898 Annals of the Association of American Geographers 91 (2001)

71ndash91

44 See the contributions in J Elsner and R Cardinal (Eds) The Cultures of Collecting London 1997 especially the interview

with packaging collector Robert Opie 25ndash48 S Pearce On Collecting An Investigation into Collecting in the European

Tradition London 1995

45 wwweBaycom 2001 original listing in January for five days All listings are eventually stripped from the eBay website

thus leaving no permanent publicly available record

46 H Jackson Ramona A Story Boston 1884

47 C McWilliams Southern California Country An Island on the Land (Salt Lake City 1973 first published 1946) 73

48 McWilliams Southern California Country 73

49 McWilliams Southern California Country F Walker A Literary History of Southern California Berkeley 1950

JF Dobie Introduction in HH Jackson (Ed) Ramona Los Angeles 1959 viindashxv M Davis City of Quartz Excavating

the Future in Los Angeles London 1990 EW Stevens Helen Hunt Jacksonrsquos Ramona social problem novel as tourist

guide California History (1998) 158ndash167 196ndash197

50 D DeLyser Authenticity on the ground engaging the past in a California ghost town Annals of the Association of American

Geographers 89 (1999) 602ndash632 D DeLyser When less is more absence and landscape in a California ghost town in

P Adams S Hoelscher and K Till (Eds) Textures of Place Exploring Humanist Geographies Minneapolis 2000 24ndash40

D DeLyser lsquoDo you really live herersquo thoughts on insider research The Geographical Review 91 (2001) 441ndash453

51 See for example D DeLyser Ramona memories fiction tourist practices and placing the past in southern California

Annals of the Association of American Geographers 93 (2003) 886ndash908 D DeLyser Recovering social memories from the

past the 1884 novel Ramona and tourist practices in turn-of-the-century southern California Social and Cultural

Geographies (forthcoming) which are illustrated nearly entirely from my own collection


52 See Elsner and Cardinal The Cultures of Collecting Pearce On Collecting and Gregson and Crewe Second-Hand

Cultures

53 In fact as Susan Stewart has pointed out the collector replaces the narrative of production with one of luck S Stewart On

Longing Narratives of the Miniature the Gigantic the Souvenir the Collection Durham 1993 The quote is from Pearce

1993 386

54 Pearce On Collecting 386

55 See An interview with Robert Opie in Elsner and Cardinal The Cultures of Collecting for insight into the life of a

collector of both antique and contemporary food packaging His collection now fills both his home and his museum it

dominates his supermarket purchases and his commitment to it even limits his ability to travel

56 Gregson and Crewe Second-Hand Cultures

57 See for example DeLyser Ramona memories DeLyser Recovering social memories from the past D DeLyser Ramona

Memories Tourism Romance and the Shaping of Southern California Minneapolis 2005

58 J Adler (June 17 2000) 51ndash52

59 Because the availability of second-hand items cannot be relied upon second-hand shopping is described by Gregson and

Crewersquos informants as lsquoworkrsquo See Gregson and Crewe Second-Hand Cultures


eBay opens up a realm of new possibilities and in so doing raises a number of important issues for

historical geographers to consider In this essay three authors relate some of their experiences buying

research materials on eBay linking those experiences in turn to some of the methodological (and other)

questions that such practices raise1 Not meant to fully explore the empirical theoretical

methodological or ethical extremes of eBay this brief essay attempts to draw the attention of those

perhaps not yet aware to processes already ongoing processes that are already changing the way we can

and will conduct research in historical geography processes not likely to cease

Neither will this essay be able to fully engage the rich and ongoing debates about contemporary

consumption (both within and outside geography)2 Instead we hope in a limited space to draw the

attention of historical geographers whose work may not normally lead them to study contemporary

consumption to the ongoing practices that are already affecting the way we conduct our research And

while we are acutely aware of (at least some of) the implications that such practices (on our parts and on

the parts of others) pose for the future of (historical geographical) research in this essay we nevertheless

deliberately adopt a playful tone This should not be seen as inconsistentmdashindeed such tensions are

characteristic for many of the consumptionshopping experience3 The tone is meant to reflect not our

ignorance but rather the fullness of our participation in that which we describe4

Auctions and eBay

For those unfamiliar the on-line auction site eBay promotes itself grandiosely as lsquoThe Worldrsquos Online

Marketplacersquo with a mission is to lsquohelp practically anyone trade practically anything on earthrsquo5 Indeed

for those geographers interested in the timendashspace continuum eBay once offered a lsquoTime Machinersquo

though lsquousedrsquo and showing lsquosome rustrsquo Although missing some parts including a lsquoflux capacitorrsquo and

lsquodilythium crystallitersquo the time machinersquos seller suggested it would still be lsquogreat for school projects and

good for time enthusiastsrsquo6 For climatologists interested in a hands-on approach to their study eBay one

winter featured lsquoSnow powder 120Crsquo That seller noted that if lsquoyou clear a path from Interstate 40 to

my house Irsquoll discount your winning bidrsquo7 And perhaps unsurprisingly there are those who have sold

their souls on eBaymdashliterally Contained in a four ounce glass jar lsquoMy Soulrsquo sold for $13258 in what

seems a small price for a one-of-a-kind ethnographic object9 These anecdotal and playful stories

however provide merely a starting point to eBayrsquos potential as a serious and significant online

geographic data and research base particularly for historical geographers10

Emerging in September 1995 the internet auction site now hosts literally millions of items over

thousands of categories and as of late 2004 boasted over 125 million registered users (up from 541

million in 2002)11 On eBay a motorcycle sells at least every 18 min and by mid 2003 150000 people

had left their lsquoregularrsquo jobs to start eBay businesses instead12 Though auctions have existed for some

2500 years13 eBay by making auctions available to anyone anywhere with computer and internet

access has brought this mode of commodity exchange to millions around the world who previously did

not participate in or have access to auctions Called by one observer a lsquopowerful mix of e-commerce

virtual community and nostalgia for all manner of bric-a-bracrsquo14 eBayrsquos name is based on lsquoEcho Bay

Technology Grouprsquo a name Pierre Omidyar had used for a one person consulting firm because he

thought it sounded lsquocoolrsquo15 The brainchild of Omidyar then a 27-year-old computer programmer (now

worth some 85 billion dollars)16 eBay promoted itself as an inspiration by Omidyarrsquos wife Pam (then

his girlfriend) who sought a means to talk about and trade her favorite collectible colorful and variously

















































closing26



























Table 1




















































eBay staffrsquo37



























































literally
















































Description















throughout45



















have it


























































































































































in my research57












indirect ways












through time











Conclusion



























Notes





























6 wwweBaycom 2001

7 wwweBaycom 2000














2002103060II






lists102004










1989


Auctions









see wwweBaycom










3410151







































71ndash91























Cultures



1993 386



























































closing26



























Table 1




















































eBay staffrsquo37



























































literally
















































Description















throughout45



















have it


























































































































































in my research57












indirect ways












through time











Conclusion



























Notes





























6 wwweBaycom 2001

7 wwweBaycom 2000














2002103060II






lists102004










1989


Auctions









see wwweBaycom










3410151







































71ndash91























Cultures



1993 386





















































eBay staffrsquo37



























































literally
















































Description















throughout45



















have it


























































































































































in my research57












indirect ways












through time











Conclusion



























Notes





























6 wwweBaycom 2001

7 wwweBaycom 2000














2002103060II






lists102004










1989


Auctions









see wwweBaycom










3410151







































71ndash91























Cultures



1993 386



































































literally
















































Description















throughout45



















have it


























































































































































in my research57












indirect ways












through time











Conclusion



























Notes





























6 wwweBaycom 2001

7 wwweBaycom 2000














2002103060II






lists102004










1989


Auctions









see wwweBaycom










3410151







































71ndash91























Cultures



1993 386




























Description















throughout45



















have it


























































































































































in my research57












indirect ways












through time











Conclusion



























Notes





























6 wwweBaycom 2001

7 wwweBaycom 2000














2002103060II






lists102004










1989


Auctions









see wwweBaycom










3410151







































71ndash91























Cultures



1993 386























throughout45



















have it


























































































































































in my research57












indirect ways












through time











Conclusion



























Notes





























6 wwweBaycom 2001

7 wwweBaycom 2000














2002103060II






lists102004










1989


Auctions









see wwweBaycom










3410151







































71ndash91























Cultures



1993 386
























































































































































in my research57












indirect ways












through time











Conclusion



























Notes





























6 wwweBaycom 2001

7 wwweBaycom 2000














2002103060II






lists102004










1989


Auctions









see wwweBaycom










3410151







































71ndash91























Cultures



1993 386













indirect ways












through time











Conclusion



























Notes





























6 wwweBaycom 2001

7 wwweBaycom 2000














2002103060II






lists102004










1989


Auctions









see wwweBaycom










3410151







































71ndash91























Cultures



1993 386





















Notes





























6 wwweBaycom 2001

7 wwweBaycom 2000














2002103060II






lists102004










1989


Auctions









see wwweBaycom










3410151







































71ndash91























Cultures



1993 386


















2002103060II






lists102004










1989


Auctions









see wwweBaycom










3410151







































71ndash91























Cultures



1993 386










































71ndash91























Cultures



1993 386













Cultures



1993 386











eBay and research in historical geography

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Transcript of eBay and research in historical geography