Rod Collins

For the forthcoming week here is what’s hot and what’s not
What is gaining ground and what is, consequently, losing it

Going Up
1: Sunglasses
2: Biblio
3: Finding new pages in MSN search
4: Henri Lloyd
5: Sharpe boxset on DVD
6: Goddaughter

Going Down
1: Scarves
2: ABE
3: Not finding new pages in Google search
4: Rockport
5: Iprcess file on DVD (still nearly 20 quid!)
6: All other kids

ABEbooks got some much needed publicity in the May 2006 issue of the men’s style magazine GQ.
Not sure what some of the booksellers would make of parts of it but Read the rest of this entry »

The official teaser poster for the new 007 James Bond film Casino Royale has been released.
It certainly looks Read the rest of this entry »

It seems the old ebay Paypal scams are finally starting to arrive at abebooks. With so many booksellers hopelessly outdated Read the rest of this entry »

GQ, the men’s magazine, have announced their best dressed man of the year.
Read the rest of this entry »

Branston Hall not only offers fabulous food and a fine dining experience it is set against a stunning backdrop.
As can be seen from this picture, some people really can visit in style ….
Read the rest of this entry »

Last night saw the first airing of Sharpe’s Challenge on ITV1. It saw the return of Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe also Daragh O’Malley as Sergeant Harper.

Well, time marches on and none of us are getting younger, but they looked old to me. Having watched the box set of DVDs it is perhaps easy to forget they were filmed a few years ago.
It was well shot and directed, with a quality cast and did not disappoint. I shall, of course, have to buy the DVD which was advertised after the programme. No doubt it will be a real gouge in price terms.

For the anoracks out there: Did you spot the Sergeant Sharpe had a fight with?
He played a deserter that Sean Bean previously had a run in with in an early episode. If this was meant to be character continuation then Sharpe would have recognised him or was it a casting coincidence.

Anyway, always recommended as are the previous episodes and, more importantly, the original books by Bernard Cornwell

ebay appear to be getting worried about the relentless march of Google.
They are holding talks with MSN and Yahoo in the hopes of creating a triangular alliance in order to defend their position against Google.

There is every possibility that Google are going to enter the online payments market in direct competition to Paypal.
This is an area they could really do very well in and extend it well beyond the limited range of Ebay. The benefit of being such a trusted brand would further increase their strength.

Here’s something to think about!
What if Google decide to introduce Google shops?
Think of the traffic they could drive towards them. Think of the credibility they would carry.
Ebay are on a downward slide and do suffer from great credibility problems with many.
Ebay and Paypal are badly damaged by all the scams, account hijacks, fraud and phishing scams.

Google are the only company capable of challenging Ebay and the prize may be too great to resist, especially in light of their need to diversify their reliance on online advertising.
Watch this space!

Confusion reigned, and not for the first time, at La Casa Collins this morning.
An airmail missive arrived from the Good Ole US of A and contained this

No letter, no note, no return address. The sum does not equate to anything we know of!
How very strange I hear you cry, in an organised manner.
Not so say I, in a disorganised manner.

I am currently holding a $35 Western Union money order (over 1 year now) same scenario
A UK sterling postal order, again a complete mystery!
A UK cheque from someone unknown to me, this did come with a letter saying ‘for the book’

I am contemplating a campaign of begging letters, if people want to give me money without me even asking Imagine how well I could do with a hard-luck story and a pleading request!

The ebay related posts seem to be very popular and I get emails asking for more so to that end, another peach Read the rest of this entry »

All search engines have different systems for ordering their search results, this is known as an algorithm.
It is a hugely complex issue and well beyond the technical understanding of the likes of us.
Whilst we may not understand exactly how it does what it does, it is important to try and understand what factors it puts weight on and which will get you penalised.
Read the rest of this entry »

Church’s shoes are a sign of class and quality in an English gentleman.
Naturally, we would recommend anyone aspiring to such heights to have at least two pairs.
If your current budget will only stretch to one pair then we recommend a pair of black Oxfords to Read the rest of this entry »

In the last thread mention was made of ranking highly in Google.
I am now on another mission - how NOT to be #1 in MSN search!

They are devouring this new site, new pages are in the index within a couple of days, with SERPS beyond belief.

I’ve even knocked myself off the top spot for a search for Collins Crime Club!
Poetic justice for the last post!

Getting a page to number one in Google for a designated search phrase is clearly the holy grail. As well as being financially beneficial and increasing traffic it can also be amusing.
I built a page on a popular collectable author and managed to go straight in at #1 for the key two word search phrase.

This prompted an email:
Could you move your page down from the top please? I have been at number one for years and now you have knocked me off. I have emailed Google and asked them to put me back on top but have not heard back yet.
I look forward to hearing from you.

Another mouthbreather!
My response: I built another page on another site which is set to push them down even further. It’s a cruel world

I am trapped in the living nighmare that is John Creasey!. He wrote over 500 books and I am currently preparing a bibliography for one of my other sites. This means short posting!
He sold over 60 million books, I wonder how much money that generated?

Wishing all my readers a Happy Easter
Did that sound sincere? I do hope so !

Book & Magazine Collector is a UK based publication which was first published in 1984. It features articles on first editions, rare books, authors, genres and classified ads. The thrust of the magazine is aimed at collectors and has been a valuable resource for many years.

Recently however, whilst improving the format and modernising the layout, the quality and reliability of the articles seems to have taken a dive.
There has been much amusement amongst serious collectors of first editions and specialized dealers of late, particularly over some of the crime fiction based articles.
Whilst some of us may find these howlers amusing there is a serious point. There are people who will take what it says as gospel and that is when the problems start.

In a recent Book and Magazine Collector article it was Read the rest of this entry »