Manion's

The company started in 1970 and was incorporated in 1983.[3] It published a black and white auction catalog every month with categories that included U.S., German, Japanese and European Military items. For instance, one of its notable items auctioned in 1993 was a 1934 command flag once flown by SS chief Heinrich Himmler.[4] Bids were accepted by mail, phone, and later fax. There were fewer than 10 employees that photographed,[5] described, packed and shipped items for each 30-day auction.[1]

Manion's went online in the late 1990s, with their www.manions.com website. The site enabled members to view newly consigned items every day, create a Watch List to keep track of more interesting pieces, check their winning and losing bids, and receive the most up-to-date information via email.

In 2008, the Kansas City Star reported that Manion's had moved to a 4-day workweek for some of its staff.[6]

In 2009, it offered at auction a vampire-slaying kit. "The kit comes in what looks like an antique jewelry box and contains a wooden stake, a single-shot pistol, 18 silver bullets, several crucifixes, holy water and three mysterious vials filled with unidentified substances," according to an article in the Kansas City Star.[7]

The company went out of business in 2014.[8] Then CEO Jody Tucker blamed a January 2014 website crash for the closure, citing it as a catastrophic since it cannot be repaired in a timely manner at an affordable cost.[9] The company also incurred millions of dollars of debt and that while some have been restructured and settled, other debtors opted to sue the company.[9]

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