Tripod- Best of Second-Hand pod Tue, 11 Nov 1997
Cheap Thrills - The Second-Hand Pod Newsletter Wed, 26 Nov 1997
by Gail Burns aka QueenOfTagSales
The page I selected as “Best of Pod” this week raised questions from a couple of my co-workers at Tripod. They asked how a page on collectibles from a long defunct soap opera related to second-hand shopping. Frankly, I was surprised they would ask that question when the answer seemed so obvious to me, but I realized that on a couple of occasions people have looked over my shoulder at the list of pages posted to this pod and asked similar questions: How do Dark Shadows memorabilia or offers of vintage clothing and watches for sale or a collection of big-eyed art relate to shopping second-hand? My answer is that anything that cannot be purchased retail has to be purchased second-hand. But these questions go deeper than that. What these people are really questioning is WHY and HOW people go about second-hand shopping, and what they do with the things they buy in that market. Here are the reasons I can think of for people to shop second-hand: 1) To save money 2) To beat the media-hyped, over-priced retail system 3) To recycle 4) To make money 5) To acquire or collect things that are not available in the retail market 6) To relive or retrieve physical objects from our past 7) For the thrill of the hunt 8) To have fun! I find that people often have a hard time with numbers 4 and 5. There is resistance to the idea of reselling items purchased second-hand for a profit. There is resistance to the idea of people amassing valuable collections by buying second-hand. There is resistance to the idea of things recently available on the retail market becoming sought after collectibles. And yet all of these things happen on a regular basis, and they are legal and legitimate hobbies and methods of making money. People with these problems seem to overlook the fact that this buying, reselling and collecting second-hand objects has been going on for at least the past 100-150 years. It is called dealing in Antiques. When does an item morph from something you donate to the Salvation Army into a a sought-after antique? Quite frankly - when the market dictates! Now, “Dark Shadows” memorabilia has been hot for a long time because the show, like its contemporary “Star Trek” became a cult hit the moment it was canceled. But unlike Star Trek, efforts to revive and reinvent the show have failed. I understand that even the recent reruns on the Sci-Fi Channel have been terminated. With the market building for twenty-five years and no new merchandise being created during that time, DS memorabilia became “antique”, or at least collectible, years ago. But some people, like me and our pod member who collects “big-eyed art”, make treasures out of other people’s trash on a regular basis. No one will ever offer me big money for my collection of books about the origins and etymology of names, but I love them just the same. I create my own little market niche - one with very little competition. I want all varieties of second-hand shoppers to know that they are welcome here in this pod. I see nothing wrong with someone who has a specialized, even valuable, collection that they have amassed via second-hand shopping sharing it with us here. I see nothing wrong with people offering second-hand items for sale on their web pages - after all, we are a logical and captive market for such goods. I do trust that we will all respect each other’s privacy. Pod members should be able to choose whether or not to visit a page that offers items for sale and whether or not to purchase those items. Spamming the mailboxes of Pod members with offers is uncool and unacceptable!! It completely spoils that “thrill of the hunt” sensation that we second-hand shoppers are so addicted to! Happy Turkey Day everybody! And remember to hit the Thrift Shops the day after Thanksgiving. They’ll be nice and empty - everyone else will be at the mall!!

Yahoo! Internet Life Magazine- Pretty Strange
January 1999 issue, '98 Top of the Net
by Scott Alexander
On the Net, it's not uncommon to run across personal pages whose proprietors make awkward, difficult, or painful confessions. But even we were creeped out by this one. The site's creator is "totally obsessed with big, poor, pitiful, weepy sad eyes." Thus warmed, enter the Big Eyes Gallery, which showcases the teariest, most ocularly endowed waifs the modern world has to offer, from bunnies and kitties to small children and elves. Diabetics, beware: There's enough sugar here to put you into a coma.

Y-Life Daily- Pretty Strange Site Of the Day
Dec 22, 1998
Jeepers, creepers, where'd they get those peepers? The Big Eyes Gallery chronicles one woman's admitted obsession with "big, poor, pritiful, weepy, sad eyes." Depending on your sensiblitlies, her images of bunnies, kittens, and teary-eyed waifs will make you go "awww" or "ewww" -- just pray they don't haunt you in your sleep.

URL hURL- rAnt du jour Lookin' for gold? Next time you dumpster-dive, keep an eye peeled for Mega-Optic Art. • Walter and/or Margaret Keane's saucer-eyed waifs and mawkish mammal-babies creep one step beyond pop-art folly. They be memes, dammit, acid-etched on America's orbs. • Collectible, too. Hasbro's 1965 Little Miss No Name doll fetches 100,000 smackers today 'cause it terrified kids and got thrown out en masse years ago. • Princess Megan, queen of zine Besmirched, has the big-eye bug bad: I just wish these kids' eyes were bigger and sadder. Stagger with this real gone kitty thru the obsessive world of retinal lust. • Wear safety goggles. Grip your wallet tight. And if an eye offend thee, pluck the sucker out! C/NET TV/The Web- Denizine- Deb Elias Linkworthy