A couple of years ago "eBay.com" began in the San Francisco Bay area as a local computer bulletin board where someone was trying to sell her PEZ candy dispenser collection. Immediately other people wanted to borrow space on this electronic forum to announce their goods for sale. Today eBay is one of the top success stories of the Internet age, with thousands of transactions hourly. For family history buffs, eBay is a crowded attic, loaded with memorabilia waiting to be found – and the inventory changes DAILY.
I started searching on eBay using my usual tactic of entering surnames with the thought that maybe something might click. Nothing. Then I decided to try the names of towns and cities associated with my family. Suddenly I had dozens of postcard images to choose from. When I tried other searching tactics I found assorted souvenirs to select – a 1935 ashtray from the Chicago hotel where my grandfather was the Head Buyer, a 1929 menu from a German ocean liner my mother had traveled on as a child, a photo of my father's high school, taken when he attended it, and a video documentary of our favorite childhood Chicago amusement park, long since torn down. Not only could I place a bid, I also was able to email directly to their owners for further information.
There is no charge for looking at the eBay web site. Furthermore, there is no charge to become a buyer – no membership fee. You bid only on the item and incur shipping costs if yours is the successful bid. Your transaction is directly with the item's owner, usually by email and money order. Profit for eBay occurs when it exacts a small commission from the seller for each sale.
My latest success was when I put in my mother's surname and back came a list of 125 items; none of them had anything to do with our family – except for one. There was my great-grandfather's name! The item was listed as "Pharmacist Photo Framed 1890's". It was a large interior photograph of my great-grandfather's drug store in Cincinnati in its original frame. Also in the photo I recognized HIS father, the immigrant! None of my generation or my mother's generation had ever seen a photo of the store's interior. I quickly contacted the owner of the photo, explaining its importance to our family. He had found the photo somewhere in a yard sale and had thought of giving it to his daughter, a pharmacist, if he couldn't sell it online. I immediately became the successful bidder and now have a "new" heirloom.
When searching on eBay, do not only use surnames but also consider the following as search items for you and your ancestors:
- Hometowns
- Names of schools
- Places of employment
- Vacation spots
- Favorite toys, games, books
- Churches
- Old TV shows
- Old music, books, records
- Hobbies
There are good tips for making a successful eBay search at: http://www.ebay.go.com/help/buyerguide/search.html
I haven't even mentioned the entire "Genealogy" section of eBay, but that will be the subject of a future column. Happy browsing!