A pay day may be getting closer for Richard Ekstract, the 70-year-old magazine entrepreneur who put Hamptons Cottages & Gardens and three other titles on the block.

First-round bids are due this week, though the deadline doesn't seem to be hard and fast.

Sources said that the company was hit with a flurry of new offers when Media Ink first reported that the titles were on the block.

Jason Binn's Niche Media and Michael Kong's Modern Luxury Media aren't believed to be participating in the auction. But Sandow Media, which recently purchased Worth magazine, is said to be still in the hunt.

In addition to Hamptons titles, the group includes Palm Beach Cottages & Gardens, Connecticuit Cottages & Gardens and Westchester Cottages & Gardens.

The group is projected to have sales of $7 million in 2008, and is said to be clearing a six-figure profit.