Diecast Collectibles: The Collectors’ Guide to Making a ProfitWritten by Dale Stewart
Millions of people have made a hobby of collecting items of one sort or another, but some take it to a higher level. These collectors view their collections as more than just an accumulation of trinkets that they happen to enjoy; to them, it’s a business, and they’re not in it to lose money. For those who collect diecast models, making a profit can be a challenge, unless you know ropes of how to effectively collect pieces and then apply necessary strategies to resell at an increased price.It’s a good practice to collect only those items that you truly like, and then do quite a bit of shopping around in order to find best buy. Market trends are never very stable, and by collecting those pieces that particularly appeal to you, others may view them in same way. This will enable you to resell them more easily. Certainly, it’s never good business practice to buy first piece that you find. Competition is stiff, and there are some great deals out there that you can use to your advantage. Avoid specializing in one specific area of diecast collectibles. If, for instance, you’re interested in collecting NASCAR models, it’s best not to isolate your purchases to those of one particular driver. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t include them among your other pieces, but there’s a need for diversity if you’re hoping to eventually realize a profit. Although a piece may not seem to have much value in today’s market, that doesn’t mean that it won’t increase as time goes by. Older diecast models make a nice addition to anyone’s collection, and can eventually precipitate a good amount of sales revenue. Don’t overlook what you may now see as relics or outdated pieces. There’s always someone out there who’s looking for an older piece – whether for nostalgic reasons, to complete a collection or for purposes of an eventual sale – so don’t limit yourself by excluding golden oldies.
| | How to Add MIDI to Your ComputerWritten by Ross MacIver
Interested in making your own music? Writing songs, instrumental music, even symphonies? You can do it with your computer thanks to wonderful technology known as MIDI – Musical Instrument Digital Interface. No need to know how to read music, MIDI can be edited using easy-to-read graphs.MIDI allows you to connect musical keyboards and other devices to your computer and each other. They communicate to each other with MIDI – language specific for musical applications. With a MIDI keyboard connected to your computer, you can record music, edit it, orchestrate it and polish it into a professional product. There is a MIDI connection built into most personal computers. The joystick port doubles as a MIDI interface and you can connect a standard MIDI cable to it. The MIDI cable has two connections – MIDI out and MIDI in. Connect computer’s MIDI out to keyboard’s MIDI in and computer’s MIDI in to keyboard’s MIDI out. Next, you need some MIDI software try out connection. You can try a freeware product like JAZZ++ or a commercial product like Cubase. Many companies have demo products of their MIDI software, allowing you to try before you buy. With MIDI software installed and running, play a few notes on your MIDI keyboard. They should be recorded into software and available for playback and editing. If nothing happens, you may need to make some changes in your BIOS setup. Reboot computer and check BIOS to make sure that MIDI port is activated. Check documentation of your motherboard for details.
|
