More April 2005 Hotlines

H. David Dalquist, who designed the best-selling cake pan in the world, died in January. He designed the aluminum Bundt pan in 1950, and trademarked the name. The pan became a big seller starting in 1966, when a winner in the Pillsbury Bake-Off used the pan.

Dealers tell us sales are good for antiques and collectibles that are top-quality. “Smalls” sell well to people who resell on the Internet. Dealers from Europe, particularly Germany and England, are buying large, showy, expensive, and decorative antiques, especially diamond jewelry and ornate vases and silver, because the exchange rate for the dollar makes everything here a bargain.

Refinished 19th-century furniture and refinished Arts and Crafts pieces are not selling well. Colonial Revival furniture from the 1930s-1960s sells because it is so inexpensive and has a distinctive “look.”

EBay’s recent announcement about some new, higher selling fees caused so much resentment among sellers, who threatened to move their business to other sites, that eBay has decided to decrease some of its other fees. The higher fees were particularly upsetting because they were announced the same week the company reported record earnings.

If you can find the “Cody” action figure made by Dragon Models USA Inc., buy it. The figure, made in 2003 for sale at U.S. bases in Kuwait, was pictured in January on a website where anti-American militants often post statements. An Iraqi militant group claimed the figure was a captured U.S. soldier wearing fatigues, a vest, and kneepads. The photo was quickly identified as the Cody figure, not a real soldier. So Cody is now of historic importance and should go up in price.