“Making Live Auctions Pay: Explosive Profit From Auctions and E-Commerce Reselling” is the easy-to-follow guide offers detailed and practical advice on successfully buying, consigning and e-commerce reselling of valuables and inventories through live regional auction houses. The edition’s straightforward language introduces little known profit outlets and potential passive income streams and through the lucrative, fast-paced industry of auction buying and selling. Author Marques Vickers cuts through the traditional misconceptions surrounding auctions and simplifies the process of buying with the purpose of reselling exclusively for profit. ecommerce reselling, sales outlets and resources are explained in detail. Entrepreneurs and selling beginners seeking financial independence and freedom can easily grasp the hidden explosive income and passive goldmine potential auction houses may provide. The book stresses obstacles that author overcame in learning how to buy and sell knowledgeably. Proven strategies and steps create a blueprint for success for individuals seeking innovative primary and secondary sources of income. Vickers shares his experience and observations directly from the auction floor and behind the computer monitor. His online store Marquis Gallery sells rare books, fine art and collectibles. Auction houses have become a staple source for his operations to acquire inventory for e-commerce and passive income sales outlets. "Making Auctions Pay" concisely breaks down the elements of how regional auction houses operate. The book simply defines staple auction terms including appraisals, value estimations, bidding options, strategies and increments, previews and advance research, reserves, buyer and seller premiums, warranties, shipping and delivery options. An extensive database of website resources and references is included along with a glossary of relevant auction industry and online usage terms. The book stresses proven ecommerce sales strategies for reselling auction purchases. Emphasis is concentrated on optimizing selling exposure through major and innovative online ecommerce outlets including eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Craigslist and Barter Exchanges as well as direct selling vehicles such as consignment shops and estate liquidation services. eBay and Amazon’s proactive consumer marketing programs are showcased stressing their innovative seller promotional and marketing tools for success. Cultivating positive buyer feedback from even difficult customers is emphasized as critical to longevity and cultivating additional passive income ideas. Other distinctive chapters focus on selling precious metals, their derivative products and fine jewelry. “Making Auctions Pay,” emphasizes how global Internet exposure, technological advances and easily employed live bidding applications have distinctly changed auctions and live auctioneers. Online bidding has radically expanded the worldwide base of auction participants and opened explosive new income opportunities. Broader participation has also introduced complicated ethical issues involving authenticity, non-paying and shill bidders, shared marketing data, sales tax legislation and collusion. The book’s clear and practical instruction empowers both novice and seasoned professional to maximize their selling potential. Dynamic opportunities continue to broaden. With the phenomenal television following for programs such as Antique Roadshow, Storage Wars and Pawn Stars, a substantial demand for understanding the hidden potential of auctions already exists. “Making Auctions Pay” is an essential reference book for enabling individuals to expand their financial resources and destiny.

“Making Auctions Pay” by California author Marques Vickers is the first easy-to-follow guidebook for successfully buying, consigning and reselling valuables through regional auction houses. The editions straightforward language cuts through the traditional misconceptions surrounding auctions and simplifies the process of buying with the purpose of reselling for profit. “This book is designed to help you avoid the roadblocks I endured learning how to buy and sell knowledgably at regional auction houses,” notes Vickers in his Preface. “The book creates a blueprint for success for individuals seeking innovative primary and secondary sources of income.” Vickers shares his experience directly from the auction floor. His northern California based online store Marquis Gallery sells rare books, fine art and collectibles. Auction houses have become a staple source of acquiring inventory. Making Auctions Pay concisely breaks down the fundamentals of how regional auction houses operate. The book address important defining elements including appraisals, value estimations, bidding options, strategies and increments, previews and advance research, reserves, buyer and seller premiums, warranties, shipping and delivery options. A critical component of the book stresses proven sales strategies for reselling auction purchases. Emphasis is concentrated on optimizing selling exposure through major online outlets including eBay, Amazon, Craigslist and Barter Exchanges as well as direct selling vehicles such as consignment shops and estate liquidation services. eBay and Amazon’s proactive consumer marketing programs are showcased featuring training and data resources to compliment innovative distribution and promotional opportunities. Two distinctive chapters focus on selling previous metals and their derivative products and the necessity of cultivating positive buyer feedback from even difficult customers. Making Auctions Pay emphasizes how global Internet exposure, technological advances and easily employed live bidding applications have distinctly altered the auction landscape. Online influence has expanded the worldwide base of auction participants and enlarged the scale of opportunity. Broader participation has also introduced complicated ethical issues involving authenticity, non-paying and shill bidders, shared marketing data, sales tax legislation and collusion. An extensive database of website references is included along with a glossary of relevant auction industry and online usage terms. “The book’s clear and practical instruction empowers both novice and seasoned professional to maximize their selling potential,” notes Vickers. “Dynamic opportunities continue to broaden. With the phenomenal television viewership following programs such as Antiques Roadshow, Storage Wars, Pawn Stars, etc., a substantial demand for understanding the hidden potential of auctions exists. Making Auctions Pay is an essential reference book for enabling individuals to expand their financial resources and destiny.” Author Marques Vickers has had work published in AntiqueWeek, The Artist Magazine, Art Calendar and wrote Marketing and Buying Fine Art Online through Allworth Press of New York. He has published numerous works on fine arts, the auction industry, southern France and photojournalism.

"Making Live Auctions Pay: Explosive Profit From Auctions and E-Commerce Reselling" is the easy-to-follow guide offers detailed and practical advice on successfully buying, consigning and e-commerce reselling of valuables and inventories through live regional auction houses. The edition's straightforward language introduces little known profit outlets and potential passive income streams and through the lucrative, fast-paced industry of auction buying and selling. The book cuts through the traditional misconceptions surrounding auctions and simplifies the process of buying with the purpose of reselling exclusively for profit. ecommerce reselling, sales outlets and resources are explained in detail. Entrepreneurs and selling beginners seeking financial independence and freedom can easily grasp the hidden explosive income and passive goldmine potential auction houses may provide. Making Auctions Pay concisely breaks down the elements of how regional auction houses operate. The book simply defines staple auction terminology. An extensive database of website resources and references is included along with a glossary of relevant auction industry and online usage terms. The book stresses proven ecommerce sales strategies for reselling auction purchases. Emphasis is concentrated on optimizing selling exposure through major and innovative online ecommerce outlets including eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Craigslist and Barter Exchanges as well as direct selling vehicles such as consignment shops and estate liquidation services. "Making Auctions Pay," emphasizes how global Internet exposure, technological advances and easily employed live bidding applications have distinctly changed auctions and live auctioneers. Online bidding has radically expanded the worldwide base of auction participants. The book's clear and practical instruction empowers both novice and seasoned professional to maximize their selling potential.

“The Twilight Tree Graveyard of Rialto Beach” features over 105 photographic images capturing the stacked bleached tree lined shorelines and bordering forest. Rialto Beach’s shoreline is the most distinctive and scenic of five La Push, Washington regional beaches. The region is home to the Native American Quileute Nation, renowned for a folklore descending from wolf tribalism. Author Stephanie Meyer incorporated this ancient mythology into a popular book and film fantasy compilation entitled the Twilight Series. She injected the culturally popular themes of vampires and werewolves into the story lines. In Meyer’s work, the Vampire community has staked out the adjacent town of Forks and the Werewolves, nearby La Push. One of her primary characters, Jacob Black is a Quileute with the propensity to transform himself into a werewolf. Tourists and readers have invaded the region hoping to pinpoint the literary icons with their actual physical reference locations. Movie viewers are frequently disappointed. The actual filming was completed in Oregon and Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Rialto Beach features the stark duality between darkness and light highlighted by the phantom ghost trees that line its shores and layer its sands. The severe vision mirrors a contrast between life and death. The bulk of the adjacent forest pulsates with lush growth. The trees fronting the forward fringe slowly capitulate towards their intended destiny. Their skeletal remains resemble phantom monoliths awaiting a nemesis of death and decay. A subsequent generation of growth nudges them annually closer to oblivion. The graveyard forests stretch across ebony and silted sands. The purification of their carcasses is accelerated by the scathing winds and inhospitable waves scrapping bark bare and bleaching color absolutely. Each tree becomes honed, polished and smoothed until ultimately broken and disposable. Periodic lightening strikes enflame the vulnerable mounds. Twisted and gnarled rootstock accentuates texture, punctuated by gaping holes and splintering surfaces.

California artist Marques Vickers’ second poetic edition “Zen By Default” establishes a sustained interior dialogue between the poet and his ongoing life evolution living along the American Pacific Coast. His 300+ concise works address the ongoing themes of displacement and relocation and the challenge of cultivating and sustaining relationships in the midst of upheaval. Vickers works are typically untitled and entirely in lower case. His themes are interwoven into soliloquy compositions and internalized realizations. The process of discovery is as relentless and ongoing as the travels he has opted to pursue.

“Entombing Our Icons: The Jimi Hendrix, Bruce and Brandon Lee and Lake View Cemetery Memorials” features over 125 photographic images captured by artist Marques Vickers. The photography portrays musician Jimi Hendrix’s tomb and Seattle’s Lake View Cemetery featuring the gravesites of Bruce and Brandon Lee and other notable historical personages. Vickers features an essay within the edition entitled “Entombing An Icon: Celebrity Death Worship and The Anonymous Forgotten” detailing the daily processional remembrance visits and biographies of two of the most recognized Seattle icons. Hendrix’s memorial is located in suburban Renton and the Lake View Cemetery in the Capitol Hill district of Seattle, Washington. The deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Lee and his son Brandon Lee have been significantly documented but remain shrouded in speculation and mystery. Vickers’ essay details their biographies and each man’s final 24 hours. Divergent theories and accounts have accompanying their deaths over the subsequent decades. Jimi Hendrix’s international musical fame while he lived lasted a brief four years upon his emergence from the London music scene in 1966. His electrifying performances at the 1969 Woodstock and 1970 Isle of Wright Music Festivals cemented his career legacy. He remains one of the most popular and copied electrical guitar performers globally. He died on September 18, 1970 by asphyxiation from his own vomit induced by his barbiturate and amphetamine use in London. In 1995 with proceeds from Jimi’s substantial royalty earnings, his father Al Hendrix enlarged the compact family internment area to a 54-plot space near the entrance of Renton’s Evergreen Cemetery. Designed by architect Mark Barthelemy, a granite commemorative gazebo is supported by three massive pillars. The interior includes three laser-etched portraits of the performer accompanied by handwritten lyrics from some of his most memorable compositions. The immense edifice was completed in 2002 and is visited by an estimated 15,000 visitors annually. Bruce and Brandon Lee were buried adjacent at the Lake View Cemetery. Bruce’s reddish rectangular headstone is composed of granite bearing his image, with gold letter engravings and a black opened book at the base. Brandon’s headstone was designed by Washington sculptor Kirk McLean and features two twisting rectangles of charcoal granite joined at the bottom. The pair of stones gives the symbolic impression of being pulled apart at the summit. Bruce Lee is lionized as a Chinese-American martial artist, Hong King film actor and director, martial arts instructor to celebrities, philosopher and founder of his own self-titled martial arts movement called Jeet Kun Do. He became the undisputed global face of a martial arts craze during the latter decades of the 20th century. He died on July 20, 1973 in Hong Kong of a cerebral edema while napping before a scheduled dinner appointment. Conspiracy theories and rumors immediately circulated due to some of the notorious enemies he had cultivated with his efforts to expand martial-arts exposure internationally. A reported family curse directed towards him by these hostile organizations gained credibility on March 31, 1993 with the accidental shooting death of Brandon Lee during the filming of the movie “The Crow”. Established in 1872 as a Masonic burial ground, Seattle’s Lake View Cemetery reflects the multinational population of urban Seattle. Tombs and bronze plaques signifying Russian Orthodox, Communist and Masonic affiliations, Asian Nationalism and even artistic ciphers are interspersed amidst the grounds. Their designations and the various monuments’ artistic craftsmanship are captured vividly through Vickers’ lens. Numerous renowned Seattle patriarchs including the namesakes Mercer, Yesler, Denny, Maynard, Boren and Nordstrom are buried on the Pioneer incline tract of the cemetery. Chief Seattle’s eldest daughter, Princess Angeline lies buried obscurely on the grounds. Inscriptions involving wars, fraternal organizations, popular causes, the arts and specific tragedies are visually captured in the edition.

“The 2014 Napa Valley Wine Harvest: Demystifying the California Wine Industry and Coming Economic Decline” is a photographic edition portraying the beauty and landscape of the northern California wine region during each stage of the annual wine harvest. Photographer Marques Vickers 80+ images captures the diversity of the vineyard terrain and majesty of the individual vines from his artist perspective. The photography is supplemented by his observations and projections regarding the 2014 final grape crush report released on March 10, 2015 by the United States Department of Agriculture, Pacific Field Office. Vickers addresses the three most strident issues: water, real estate value levering and overproduction that peril the continued stability of the industry. The 2014 Napa Valley harvest may ultimately prove a benchmark before the reality of the California drought radically affects the region’s yields. The harvest was the second largest and most lucrative in the history of the Napa Valley region bringing in a 9% value increase from 2013. By contrast, the state of California’s overall production shrunk 8.3% and valuation rose less than 1%. The Northern San Joaquin Valley region had production decreases of 16%. Vickers elaborates on what is going on within Napa that is eluding the majority of the State’s wine regions. Despite the continued effects of severe drought conditions, the 2014 harvest may ultimately emerge as the finest year of the decade due to the smaller and more concentrated berry sizes, creating greater flavor complexity. What distinguished 2014 from the current year has been the timely rains and seasonal heat spikes. As water sourcing becomes the new alchemy within the Napa Valley and throughout California, aggressive deep well water drilling for underground sources is creating a potential for economic, liability and ecological catastrophe. The depletion of underground sources and storage reserves may prove necessary for short-term coverage caused by the continuing drought and overproduction. Longer-term implications such as stricter water rationing and production moratoriums may inhibit continued growth and elevate pricing. Will fine wine palettes and consumers foot the bill at the marketplace? Vickers writings elaborate beyond the traditional marketing rhetoric and hype both Napa’s production success and California’s decline during 2014. More poignantly, the results from the grape crush report identify significant production trends taking shape regarding emerging drought resilient grapes and increasingly out-of-favor Zinfandel and Merlot varietals. Based on the immediate economic threats and absence of nimbostratus (rain) clouds, a major financial correction appears eminent. Vickers’ “The 2014 Napa Valley Wine Harvest: Demystifying the California Wine Industry and Coming Economic Decline” edition is a straightforward guide for wine enthusiasts to understand the complexities of a wine harvest and outstanding visual overview of one of the most renown wine regions internationally.

“The Reflective Powers of Water as Visual Alchemy” is California artist Marques Vickers photographic edition of over 120+ images of inverted and reflective objects created by water exposure. The diverse photo sequence was captured through various bodies of water and fountains throughout northwestern Washington State. FROM THE PREFACE: The transparency properties of water create magical illusions for reflective and submerged objects. Their reappearance creates inverted shapes and forms resembling non-objective artwork. Water based distortions become variations of substance and shadow resembling visual alchemy. Though water appears crystalline, in truth its instinctive properties are a slightly bluish hue. The accentuated surface tension diffuses and redistributes color seemingly random and erratically. The interaction between deconstructed color created layers of overlap suggesting a deepened texture. Alchemy in its purest form is the ability to transmute base metals into noble and precious derivatives such as gold. The practice of western alchemy dates back to ancient Egypt with the city of Alexandria as its capital. Islam and Asian based religions embraced the shadowy art from their earliest inception. This ancient transformation of base metals symbolically assumed a spiritual dimension as an elixir of life. In the context of water reflection, linear shapes are restructured into abstractions and curvatures. Objects are liberated from their fixed matter and reshaped into fluid forms lacking edge and definition. The decline of alchemy as an established practice was facilitated in the early eighteen century by the rise and acceptance of modern scientific methodology. Ancient spirituality and mysticism were displaced by experimentation and quantitative comparison. Chemistry universally replaced the role of alchemy. There remains a space for interpretive alchemy when one views the unlocked reflections stimulated by water. Restructuring matter becomes as mystical as water transforming into vapor under extreme heat. Does not life resemble a vapor? demands the poet. There is room for suspending concrete imagery and structured color each time we view the reflective and distorting properties of water. The results create stunning and unimaginable imagery.

“Coffee Anarchists of the World Unite: The Italian Roasted Elixirs of Tacoma, Washington” is a photographic depiction of coffee obsession. Over 65 images portray the beauty and aesthetics elicited by this roasted alchemic infusion. Tacoma is a unique and sometimes gritty port community bordering Washington State’s Puget Sound region. It lacks the cultural character and variety of nearby Seattle and the glossy veneer of Bellevue. The city often exhibits a crusty exterior profile coating an even crustier interior. Tacoma is common sense and concrete with stray but striking dandelions sprouting amidst the cracks. Despite it’s lack of polish, the city has a thriving independent coffee house base. There is minimal pretense and a certain informality and comfort level resembling the author’s northern California blue-collar roots. Vickers’ images mirror a gourmet celebration of a former delicacy that has evolved into a necessity. FROM THE PREFACE: To understand the splendor, passion and complexity behind Italian roast obsessions, one begins with the essential vernacular. The term Cappuccino translates from its Italian origins as Little Cap. It was descriptively employed towards the monks of Capuchin and their distinctive coffee colored hooded cloaks and shaved heads. Today, the remnant of the sect remains in bygone burial in caverns underneath Santa Maria Della Concezione Dei Cappuccini church in Rome. Two other common but important coffee terms include Latte and Crema. Latte simply translates as milk and Crema as crème. Crown would be a more suitable moniker. Crema is the thin caramel layer of foam that radiates atop the surface of espresso. Crema is the elixir, which separates alchemy from consumable hot beverage. Properly composed into minute concentrated bubbles, it dissipates amidst initial sips. Its role is essentially to prepare the palette portal for the espresso/coffee blend to follow. There remains dispute amongst coffee appreciation purists as to whether the Crema or the density of the bean grinding ultimately influences the quality of taste most. The discussion is of negligible importance. Both parties and elements are accurate. Italian roasted coffee beans radiate pitch ebony burnt tones resembling dark chocolate. The smoky edged Turkish coloration stimulates robust flavors. This stout essence will overwhelm most popular consumer oriented limpid taste preferences. Italian roast coffee preferences are savored without excuse or contrition. Ultimately, penetrating Italian roast eliminates all acidity, rousing subtle and favorable undertones. As with any multi-layered wine, substance is appreciated by a diversely composed strata.

“The Artistic Properties of Reflective” is California artist Marques Vickers photographic edition of over 105+ captured images of inverted and reflective objects mirrored by glass. The diverse photo sequence was captured through a variety of windows from the port district of Tacoma, Washington. FROM THE PREFACE: When lightning strikes sand, the optical dispersal of imagery mirrors and scatters coherent composition. The alchemy involved in forming glass creates curtains of fluid and reflective waveforms. This distortion reassembles appearance into fresh reconstructions. Reality is transposed into a hallucination of disintegrating elements, elevating its innate simplicity into multi-dimensional appearance. This deconstruction process enables a viewer to visualize objects into unimaginable patterns. We are confronted with a vision that challenges our neatly and concisely constructed assemblages. We are compelled to acknowledge the inner layers of composition superficially invisible to the eye. We break imagery into constructive granulated sands that ultimately disjointed unions. Alchemy in its purest form is the ability to transmute base metals into noble and precious derivatives such as gold. The practice of western alchemy dates back to ancient Egypt with the city of Alexandria as its capital. Islam and Asian based religions embraced the shadowy art from their earliest inception. This ancient transformation of base metals symbolically assumed a spiritual dimension as an elixir of life. In the context of glass reflection, linear shapes are restructured into abstractions and curvatures. Objects are liberated from their fixed matter and reshaped into fluid forms lacking edge and definition. The decline of alchemy as an established practice was facilitated in the early eighteen century by the rise and acceptance of modern scientific methodology. Ancient spirituality and mysticism were displaced by experimentation and quantitative comparison. Chemistry universally replaced the role of alchemy. There remains a space for interpretive alchemy when one views the unlocked reflections stimulated by glass. Restructuring matter becomes as mystical as reconstructing sand particles into sheets of solid matter.