Forty Years of “Almost Anything Under the Sun”

NOTEBOOK-May/June 2009
Jessica Strelitz
Photograph by Natalie Conn

It may look the same, but Uncle Henry’s Weekly Swap or Sell It Guide, which turns 40 this year, has changed a lot over the last decade, with an out-of-state expansion, reader polls, and even a website. But the goal remains the same: helping users to “find their own value and hidden treasures,” says Kevin Webb, general manager.

Headquarters: Augusta

Cost of single issue in 1969: 15 cents

Cost of issue in 2009: $2.00

Year original owner Henry Faller of Rockland sold the business: 1983

Availability: Worldwide

First went online: 1999

First publication outside of Maine: March 2009 (an edition in Massachusetts)

Listings each week: “Thousands,” across more than 70 different categories

Content: Submissions are reviewed but receive only minor edits

Pictures: Yes, but not of children

Publication: Always on Thursdays

Cost of private-party listing: Free for up to 30 words for a single listing or two, 15-word ads

Biggest change in 40 years: The drop in print demand. “We don’t want to lose track of our roots, but we have to continue to engage and attract readers like everyone else,” says Webb.

Online poll: Questions run from ethical, philosophical, current events, and vintage Maine. Example: “Do you like fiddleheads?” 54% said yes, 25% never tried them, and 20% said no.