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Thesis specifications
The thesis "body" should be a minimum of ten pages in length, single spaced. The cover page, index, graphics, table of contents or bibliography do not count towards the ten pages. Alternatively, the thesis body should be between 6,000 and 7,000 words in length.
The thesis must focus on issues relating to the history, identification, value-relevant characteristics, and market-relevant issues relating to the property type.
Market-relevant issues to be addressed might include:
- Is the property type increasing or decreasing, or staying relatively constant in value?
- Are the primary buyers and sellers that can be identified? If so, who are they?
- Do buyers mostly belong to an organized collecting society?
- Is it an aging collector population? Are there new collectors entering the collector pool?
- Who primarily buys: collectors with the intention of retaining the property or dealers intent on reselling to collectors?
- By method do buyers normally purchase this property type (online auctions? private sale? traditional auction galleries? retail stores?)
- Is there a different collector pool depending on the quality or price of the item?
- Are all sectors of the specialty area performing the same, or are the better quality items selling while the lower quality items languish?
- Which museums, historical societies, etc. display the property type?
- What specialty books should one who is interested in this specialty area own or to what periodicals should one subscribe?
- To what collector's club should one belong?
- Where or by what method would you suggest one sell these specialty items in order to realize the highest price?
- Is the property type being faked or reproduced? If so, how would one tell a genuine article from a fake or reproduction?
Address the above issues that you feel relevant to your property type. Add issues you feel are relevant but which might not be included in the above list.