By ANTHONY BOTTAN
Epstein, a collector of everything from rare coins to Matchbox cars, recently set up Auctionblip, a Web site that combines auctions from 22 of the largest auctioneers in the world. The company, which is based in Valley Stream, offers specific information to collectors about any item they are collecting.
Auctionblip, which uses a search engine made up of auction house catalogs from around the world, allows collectors to search for any item, from rare Picasso paintings to vintage cocktail napkins. For an annual fee of $99, collectors no longer have to sort through catalogs to find their favorite collectibles. "People who have regular jobs don't have time to seek out collectibles," Epstein said. "We don't want to leave anybody out."
Epstein, who ran American Coin Vault for seven years prior to starting his site, said before Auctionblip he would sift through a stack of auction catalogues roughly three feet high looking for specific collector's items. From there, the idea of Auctionblip was born. "Nobody told me I couldn't do it, so I just did it," Epstein said. "This was just a simple idea that came out of need."
After signing up with Auctionblip, collectors can type in their top 10 collector's items. When the item comes up for auction, the collector is sent an e-mail with the name of the auction house with the auction date, pictures and description of the item, and a link to the auction Web site.
Collecting has been in Epstein's blood since birth. He was born into a family of collectors and has collected since he was a child. He described his childhood bedroom as a museum; his room filled with vintage Swiss Army knives, Civil War memorabilia and even an old-fashioned crank phone. Epstein admitted that his favorite collectibles are his Matchbox cars and baseball card sets, but in a close second are his CrackerJack prizes that date as far back as 1900. "I'm like a kid in a candy shop," Epstein said.
His years of collecting and meeting collectors through auctions helped Epstein lay the groundwork for starting his web site. "I am now collecting collectors," Epstein said.
The Auctionblip founder said that though the site has only been up for a couple of weeks, the response from collectors was positive. His goal is to have 100,000 collectors as registered users of Auctionblip.
The name Auctionblip, Epstein said, was a name he thought described his site. He compared collectors trying to find a specific item to a blip on a radar. "If everyone's on the radar," he said, "then they can easily find what they are looking for."
