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Dealer Profile
Eric Lingen - Topcovers
Eric is a 13 year old high school student.
His parents, Debbie and Roy Lingen, operate
"The Cover Box" at Lingens.com, so Eric has
been exposed to stamps and covers from a
very young age.
Left: Eric outside the National Gallery,
London England while visiting Stamps 2000 last May
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Eric has always been fascinated with the many topics
that can be collected. Because of his interest in
history, he collected medieval topics for some
time, but has now moved on to his newest favourite,
aquarium fish on stamps and covers. Besides his
interest in covers, Eric loves to read about history
and unexplained phenomena, tend his aquarium fish,
and hone his martial arts skills. Eric holds a green
belt in Shotokan karate and hopes to move up to a blue
very soon.
With his parents' encouragement, Eric has embarked
on building his own niche in selling topical covers
on-line.
His father, Roy, says, "I would rather see
him develop entrepreneurial skills in his own
endeavours than to flip burgers for an hourly wage.
This is much like an apprenticeship. Eric carries out
all his own business activities, but we are constantly
watching and provide whatever support and resources
he needs. It's important that he knows his success
comes from his own efforts, not just carrying out our
instructions."
Eric has chosen to sell only at auction. He says that
this way he can regulate the amount of time his business
will take up and he can control the closing schedule.
Eric is hoping to list a 30 lot cover sale twice a week,
to close on Tuesdays and Fridays. Eric's first 32 lot
sale started this week and 8 covers had bids within 24
hours. He says he is "encouraged".
Eric's auction listings ask potential bidders "What can
I find for you?". Eric says, "My job is to find interesting
covers and make them available at auction. The more I know
about what's wanted, the better job I can do. I don't have
the experience to price covers for sale, so I just start
them as cheap as I can and rely on the market to price them."
"That's why I chose Auction-123. I needed a free auction
site because I couldn't afford listing fees at the price I
wanted to sell. I checked out some of the other free sites.
It seemed to me that they were mostly a few big dealers
listing things right off their retail pricelists, and my
stuff would get lost. I need a site where collectors come
to buy and sell, and where it is cheap and easy. When my
father told me Auction-123 was coming back, I thought this
might be it. So far, I'm encouraged."
Eric's lots
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