AC Dickson Sells Out
September 6, 2007 (5) Comments
Folks,
I've been silent on this blog for some time for good reason. I no longer sell things on eBay. I found a better gig. I've sold out. And life is good.
You'll be saying, how do I get on that train? And I'd be more than happy to tell you.
I'm coming back to the PICA TBA festival, extending the A in AC to Andrew and teaching come one come all how to Sell Out in 27 steps.
When? September 8th, 9th, 13th, 14th. 6:30 pm sharp.
How much? $20, $15 for PICA members. Not really much at all, considering how much you stand to make if you follow my steps.
Where? The Wieden+Kennedy atrium. My new place of business. In fact, there's a whole circle-remains-unbroken thing going on with that. The folks who work there saw the eBay seminar. They hired me to do a little pitching for a sneaker company named after the Greek Goddess of Victory. And I'm still there.
Posted by acdickson on September 6, 2007 | Comments (5)
Take a Bite out of This
November 27, 2006 (4) Comments
The holidays are coming and you know what that means, right? eBay prime time is here. From about now until mid-January anything that has any value whatsoever should fly off your virtual shelves. Things that didn't go in June? Relist them now. I want to see some sales out there, people. Big sales!
AC is no exception. What am I selling? Tickets to the New York City premiere of the AC Dickson: eBay PowerSeller seminar. That's right folks, AC is headed to the big Apple.
When? December 12th, 13th and 14th.
Where? The EFA gallery at 23 West 39th Street in New York City.
Why? Well, my good friend Molly has curated a show called the Searchers about eBay and Generation Net.
How can you or your New York friends come? By buying a ticket on eBay, of course.
Actually, not of course. Amazingly, I've never thought to do this before, by Molly, smarty pants that she is, suggested we sell tickets on eBay. And so we have. Get 'em here!
I'm waiting another a week or so to give the show a big calling all cars email alarm, but if you know any eBay fiends in New York or any press types, please tell them about the show, or get in touch with me about getting in touch with them.
What else has been going on?
eBay has been in the news quite a bit lately in regards to the new PS3 game thingamagigy. A few enterprising souls hired strangers off of Craigslist to wait in line over night or nights so as to be able to get around the one console per person rule. Their plan? Sell them for three, four, five times their value on eBay. Many of the entrepeneurs were all too happy to tell reporters of their scheme and grab front page headlines in the process.
AC is torn. On the one hand, this is the way capitalism, and hence eBay works. Find something people want, find a way to buy it for less than its worth, and sell it at its true value (or above) for a profit. But there is a place where capitalism and eBay veer off. See, eBay has a soul. And as eBay members we have look deep within that soul and decide whether or not our actions are honorable. Do they do the greater community harm or good? I'm going to come down of the side of harm as far as the PS3's are concerned.
Keep in mind, I withheld judgment on the eBaypreneurs who bought Madison Square Garden's U2 tickets at face value and sold them for 4 times that on eBay. Yes, hearts were likely broken. But such things are part of the nature of events. And by and large rock shows are for adults, or at the very least young adults. Who should by now understand the life isn't fair principle. So what is about the PS3's that chafes AC?
I may be a little naive here, but video games are by and large for kids. I know, lots of adults play video game, just as lots of adults collect comic books, or throw tantrums in public, and most video games these days are probably best not seen by young eyes. But at the root of it, video games are games and games are designed for children. And like all things designed for children these days, the consoles were released for the holidays. And hence the only kids who will be getting a PS3 have parents with the free time and fortitude to camp out in line, or rich enough to buy one at inflated prices online. Which seems to leave the working class kid playing PS2. Which I guess isn't such a bad fate, I mean it beats working in the coal mine, but that's not the point. The point is there's something grinchy about the whole thing and it turns AC off.
So, what to do to get that grinch off your back?
Check this out. Curiously, that Tradition Keeper fellow looks like he could almost be AC's long lost brother. Strange.
Posted by acdickson on November 27, 2006 | Comments (4)
The Little World of Victoria
October 31, 2006 (0) Comments
AC and Susan are back from a wonderful trip to Victoria BC. The next time you make a sojourn to Vancouver or the San Juan Islands, do yourself a favor and spend a day (or a week!) in Victoria. In fact, from Seattle you can take the ferry there in the morning and come back in the evening.
Victoria is the perfect sized place to explore on foot. Start with a two hour walk from downtown past the endless shops of Canadiana, through the glorious Monaco-esque inner harbor towards the fisherman's wharf (don't forgo the freshly caught fish and chips) and continue on towards serene Clover Point park with its views of Washington. Tell me living anywhere along that journey wouldn't be heaven. Going the other way, further into the city, you'll find an abundance of great thrift stores. A good handful are a short walk from the harbor. And with that favorable US to Canadian dollar exchange, it's like the whole city is having a 12% off sale. AC would also heartily recommend the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, a fantastic contemporary art center that recently hosted Live Art 2 featuring the AC Dickson seminar. It's a nice walk up Fort Street from downtown. The Szechuan soups at Noodle House are a must on the way there or back.
Victoria is also either the miniature capital of the world, or AC and Susan were stuck in some rabbit hole Matrix of all things small. First off, there's Miniature World. Housed in the Empress Hotel complex (arguably the classiest, if most touristy hotel on the West Coast), Miniature World was the Empire State Building of the miniature world when it was constructed in the 70s. Today it's a little dated, but we like that. Don't forget to use your AAA card when you pay and enter a world of painstakingly recreated scenes of Civil War battles, Swiss Family Robinson, and Gulliver's Travels. But don't take my world for it, feast your eyes on these small but savory digital pics.
As if that wasn't enough, doll house stores and culture seemed to permeate every nook and cranny of our Victoria experience. Even the liquor bottles in our hotel room mini-bar were tiny! Then, as if things couldn't get any smaller, we met with the winners of the auction listed during our seminar... brunch or drinks (winner's pick) with AC and Susan.
Having fetched a princely sum of $30, we met Jean and John for an East Indian buffet brunch at the Bengal Lounge in the Empress (where else?). We knew Jean from the show two nights before as she was the only PowerSeller in attendance. More often than not, the seminar audience is a sea of rare and non-users. Soft putty in AC's hands. But it also was a pleasant surprise to see fellow experts.
What does this PowerSelling lady sell? Do you even have to ask. Miniature stuff! More specifically handmade miniature books and tiny sewing kits! We had a fantastic time and we even invited back to their house to see where the magic happens... you know, where they make their miniatures. We were also granted entry in the collectible room and showed a bounty of antiques bought at bargain at local thrifts stores and eBay itself. And just to close the circle, it turns out their gorgeous modern house was designed by a local architect whose work was part of the show at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.
Do you hear that? That's AC setting down his soap box and standing on it. This is the true promise of eBay folks. Bringing people together. Finding connections across countries, generations, and collectible categories. So what are you waiting for? If it's been a few weeks (or months!) since you hopped on eBay, check it out. It misses you. We miss you.
Posted by acdickson on October 31, 2006 | Comments (0)
You Tube
September 2, 2006 (2) Comments
AC hasn't put his seminar up on You Tube yet. Perhaps another day. No, AC wants to talk about stuff he's seen, and you've seen on You Tube.
Like most of you AC has gotten tons of emails from friends like you with links to hilarious and entertaining online clips over the last year or so. AC checks them out, then deletes the emails. Oops. I should have been keeping a running list so I could go back and watch my favorites
So, I'm hoping you all might help AC put his master list together by commenting to this post with links to your favorite videos online, or perhaps a link to a site or blog with a list of tasty online morsels.
In the interest of two way street-ism, here are a few of my favorites.
1) AC would just as soon throw Kevin Smith movies to the lions, but as a stand-up comedian, he's two thumbs up. Check out this clip of him talking about writing a draft for a Superman screenplay ten years ago. It's long, but well worth it. And if you want more, poke around for his tale of shooting a movie for the man in purple, Prince.
2) George Washington is probably the funniest animation I've ever seen. And the music isn't bad either.
3) Finally, here's a little video I put up for some business associates of mine that showcases their ability to get premium sports autographs out at the Nike World Headquarters. Get your pencil and paper ready.
Your turn?
Posted by acdickson on September 2, 2006 | Comments (2)
Wham-bam-thank you Amsterdam
August 30, 2006 (4) Comments
Greetings, from a luxurious houseboat on a quiet canal in Amsterdam. It's nirvana, pure bliss, and a much needed, well-deserved respite from the last week.
The last week? 6 seminars in 6 nights. Susan and AC were lucky enough to be invited to the Noorderzon theater crossover festival in Groningen. Nestled in the northern part of Holland, Groningen is a nice spot. A college town of about 200,000, it's easy to walk from one side to the other in half an hour and is jammed with shops, bars, restaurants, and bikes. Like most cities over here, it's ringed by a beautiful canal.
The festival was modestly described to us as 'little' by the festival director. Ha! We arrived on a Saturday and wandered in our jet-lagged haze across town to the vast city park. The festival had taken over. We turned up at 10pm and couldn't believe our eyes. Thousands of people eating, drinking, listening to live music, watching street performers, streaming in and out of theater tents. It was crazy! It was the town's big summer festival, only with a heavy dose of performance art.
The AC show set up shop in a Spiegeltent, essentially a mirrored cabaret tent that travels to wherever the fun is.
The tent had a handsome bar at one end, a lavish stage on the other, and tables and chairs for a few hundred in between. A more than adequate place to spread the eBay gospel.
The week run went quite well (or "quite all right" as the Dutch like to say.) I was a bit surprised when we were asked to do 6 shows. I didn't expect there would be enough audience, after all, AC isn't exactly a household name in Holland, and eBay is just gaining a foothold over here after buying the competition Markt Plaats. http://www.marktplaats.nl/
But come they did. Every night a few more, until the last 3 shows were sold out completely. At first I thought the Dutch audiences were a little shy, but by week's end AC was talking just a bit slower, leaning on the jokes that worked the best, dancing with an extra pep in the step, and wouldn't you know it the audiences rose to the occasion. By the 5th night, people didn't even bother to raise their hand to talk or ask a question. They just spoke up. Which is how AC likes it.
The festival was a freaks come out at night kind of thing. The first shows didn't start until evening and most of our shows were at 10:30 pm. We'd usually finish up about midnight, grab a dinner in our dressing room and mosey back into the tent for a drink. Around 1:30 the tent would fill up again for the nightly artists and festival crew late night party. Every night. Until 6 or so. AC and Susan, needing our beauty sleep, never made it past 4.
It was more than quite all right.
And now Amsterdam. In many ways the anti-Los Angeles. You don't need a car, it's super compact and everyone bikes. Water is everywhere, in the air, in the canals. Someone I met said prophetically that it's the city of future. When we run out of oil all cities will resemble Amsterdam. You'll bike everywhere and use the canals to move heavy stuff. I could get used to that. The living is easy.
AC and Susan have passed the time walking to Indonesian restaurants for ten-course meals, looking for bargains at vintage stores (polyester ties!), enjoying the photo museum for a spectacular exhibit of American photography, and strolling along the canals in quiet, cool parts of town with not a red light or tourist in sight. And did I mention that the coffee is amazing?
We get on a plane momentarily and head back to the anti-Amsterdam.
Pictures coming!
Posted by acdickson on August 30, 2006 | Comments (4)