The net is a world of opportunity for collectors, Angus Kidman reports

Published in AustralianIT, May 27 2003

HOBBIES are vitally important to people, and not just as a way of passing the time. A survey conducted last year by CIGNA Behavioural Health found 47 per cent of workers took up a hobby as a way of dealing with workplace stress (if you're in any doubt about the prevalence of workplace stress, the same survey found 45 per cent of employees were so stressed they'd considered leaving their jobs).

Mainstream hobbies such as stamp collecting and genealogy have always attracted large crowds, and have proved to be big business. But finding fellow enthusiasts becomes difficult if your preferred leisure activity is more esoteric, or if you're in an isolated location.

That's where the internet has proven a major boon.

Sites you get for free While popular hobbies have attracted numerous site developers, many are only interested in signing you up for a paid membership or selling you other items. The following sites all offer reasonably in-depth information for free (though some also have commercial arms as well). Model trains Sites:Model Railroader www.modelrailroader.com Australian Model Railways www.australianmodelrailways.com Newsgroup:rec.models.railroad The model railway community is highly developed, and at times highly divided (especially when it comes to matters of scale). Again, this can make isolating a single site difficult. The site for Model Railroader magazine contains a range of beginner resources, though it tends to bombard you with ads. Australian Model Railways is the local equivalent, although it offers a little less information. Coin collectors Site: Gold Coast Coins & Stamps www.coins-stamps.com.au/page3.html Newsgroup: rec.collecting.coins It's hard to single out just one site for coin collectors; the best sites tend to focus on coins from a particular country or era (a useful list is regularly published on the rec.collecting.coins newsgroup, though it depressingly includes one Austrian site in its Australian listings). For collectors of Australian currency, the site mentioned above has lots of information, despite its commercial focus. Stamp collectors Sites: Stamp Collecting FAQ www.stampfaq.org/ Stamps.au www.stampsau.com.au/ Newsgroup: rec.collecting.stamps Derived from the original FAQ exchanged on the rec.collecting.stamps newsgroup, the Stamp Collecting FAQ offers heaps of information for potential stamp collectors. Although occasionally outdated and in some respects US-centric, it offers lots of useful information and has no particular commercial axe to grind. For a more local perspective, the online edition of Stamps.au includes a detailed stamp search facility for Australian releases. (Gold Coast Coins & Stamps, mentioned above, also has some good resources.)

The most visible manifestation of internet fervour in the collector community has been in specialised mailing lists and forums.

Whether your interest is rare R&B records from the 1950s or ancient Roman coins, there's generally a mailing list where you can swap ideas and news.

Consolidation of mailing lists in recent years means this market has become dominated by a handful of sites, such as Yahoo Groups and MSN.

The ability to create sites is a secondary way in which the internet has transformed the world of hobbyists. High-value hobbies have attracted commercial sites, but many of the best information sources are dedicated individuals who are willing to share their knowledge.

Often these sites will include ads for commercial operators as a way of offsetting hosting costs, but they generally retain a healthy air of independence.

It could even be argued that the creation of sites has in itself become a new hobby, although website developers would probably beg to differ.

Another category that has transformed the hobbyist universe is online auction sites, which provide a well-regulated environment for acquiring rare items or offloading unwanted excess.

In fact, eBay began as a trading environment for one of the late 20th century's tackier hobbies -- beanie babies.

Auction sites have proved something of a mixed blessing.

While eBay often carried items that simply can't be purchased any other way, competition from a global market often makes prices excessively high.

This phenomenon is further exacerbated by the ease with which previous prices can be looked up on the site.

If a single item sells for above-average figures, everyone will be setting that as the reserve for subsequent auctions, and then wondering why they can't sell anything.

Astute hobbyists also know that other online marketplaces can provide cheaper alternatives.

For instance, record collectors can generally find items at the same price, or cheaper, on conglomerate trading sites such as GEMM (www.gemm.com), without going through the bidding process. On the upside, auction site feedback mechanisms provide a stronger control on shoddy traders than is possible in less formal environments.