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INTERNET AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT SITES: DO THEY WORK?

There are several companies that attempt to measure Internet audiences,
similar to the way Nielson measures TV audiences: Media Metrix, PC Data
Online, and Alexa Research are three examples. These companies watch the
browsing habits of a tiny percentage of users, and then extrapolate the
results to cover the entire Internet. Some companies, like PC Data
Online, attempt to monitor a "statistically representative sample", while
others such as Alexa Research monitor whichever users happen to install
their browser utility.

As an example of the inaccuracies of these measurements, a Ruby Lane
competitor recently quoted Alexa Research as saying Sotheby's was ranked
#1 and Ruby Lane was ranked #6 among Antique & Collectible web sites. But
according to PC Data Online's report for August, Ruby Lane is ranked way
ahead of Sotheby's, in terms of unique users per month - 317,000 for RL
vs. 217,000 for Sotheby's, and total number of hours spent on the site - 61,000
for RL vs. 16,000 for Sotheby's.

So, are the statistics useful? Yes, they can be. But when you see a
web site quoting these statistics, remember it is a marketing message,
not a fact.

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COLLECTING CHINTZ BY JANE FERHRENBACHER & KEN GLIBBERY OF
THE JOURNAL OF ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES

Collecting vintage chintz china has become a remarkable phenomenon! Chintz
china, twentieth century transfer ware, which evokes images of summer gardens
in full bloom and provides collectors with indoor flowers year round, has
exploded onto the collectibles scene. The price and popularity have
experienced unprecedented growth.

The term "chintz" has its origins in India (the Indian word was chintes)
where colorful patterns including richly-hued flowers and brightly plumed
birds were printed on cotton fabric and imported into England from the late
seventeenth century.

When transfer printing was developed, it enabled chintz to be printed cheaply
enough to reach a large market. By the mid-1800s many Staffordshire
factories in England were producing chintz china aimed toward everyday
use. The first patterns were loose designs with larger flowers and birds.
Around 1920, patterns were designed with more tightly placed, smaller
flowers. It was then that the collectible china which is known generically
today as "chintz" began to be made and was manufactured until the late 1960s.

Although inexpensive, the production of this earthenware china did require an
amazing amount of handwork. The designs which appear on each piece of
Chintzware were transferred by hand from lithographs. The process required
meticulous cutting and matching. This handwork, along with any gilding, was
done before firing.

The major and most sought-after producers in England are Royal Winton, Lord
Nelson Ware (Elijah Cotton Ltd.), James Kent Ltd. and Crown Ducal (A.G.
Richardson). Royal Winton made more than fifty flowered patterns with names
like "Summertime," "Sweet Pea," "June Roses" and "Old Cottage Chintz."
Lord Nelson Ware made "Rosetime," "Heather" and "Briar Rose."

While Crown Ducal did not stamp its chintz with pattern names, the authors of
recent books have assigned names to the Crown Ducal patterns to provide a
uniform method of identification. James Kent produced patterns with names
such as "Primula," "Apple Blossom" and "Hydrangia."

Other chintz makers include Barker Bros., Ltd., Brexton, Empire, S. Ford &
Co., Johnson Bros. Ltd., W.R. Midwinter, Ltd., Myott, Ridgeway, Royal
Doulton, Shelley, Wade, Wedgwood, A.J. Wilkinson and Wood & Sons. Dutch
Chintzware has been found. Chintzware also was made in Japan, Germany and
Czeckoslovakia. These patterns are less collectible.

Chintz comes in all shapes and sizes, from dinner sets to tiny nut dishes.
Some collectors try to collect a set of chintz all in one pattern. Others
collect a form, such as tea cups or bud vases. However it's collected, it's
all lovely.

To read the entire article, with over a dozen color illustrations, please
visit The Journal of Antiques and Collectibles: Your source for information
on collecting at Journal of Antiques.

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SEPTEMBER TIP: TOP 20 KEYWORDS USED BY RUBY LANE SHOPPERS

The following is our most recent statistics on the keywords most used at Ruby
Lane. There are more than 10,000 keywords used. For those of you selling
online - using THESE words in your descriptions can GREATLY increase the
number of times your items come up in searches! For a list of the Top 50
keywords go to Ruby Lane's Top 50 Page.

1. glass
2. antique
3. silver
4. china
5. art
6. toys
7. watches
8. poster
9. pottery
10. dolls
11. disney
12. furniture
13. clock
14. posters
15. blue
16. dolls
17. royal
18. lamp
19. porcelain
20. cookie

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SELLING SUCCESSFULLY ONLINE - RUBY LANE TIPS FOR SHOP OWNERS

A recent Ruby Lane press release listed specific steps you can take to be sure
your online sales venture is a success. See Selling Online Has Advantages, Pitfalls.

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ABOUT RUBY LANE

We are one of the largest and hottest Internet-only web sites for collectors.
We have a community of over 500 shops from all over the world offering both
fine antiques and collectibles. Our site indexes an inventory of over 2
million items in over 2,000 categories. We also feature a Global Search
Engine, which searches all inventories in a particular category from Ruby Lane
shops and various online auctions and malls. Visit us at www.rubylane.com

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CONTACT US:

If you have a suggestion on how Ruby Lane can better serve you, or if you have
an article you would like to submit or a subject you would like us to cover in
an upcoming issue, contact us at pasttimes@rubylane.com