Posted By:
Bob LemkeThanks for the continuing dialog.
To answer Tom's question, specifically: No, we do not "seed" goofy prices or non-existent cards to trap pirates. In fact, case law holds that you cannot copyright data, only the form of its presentation, and further, that a logical form of presentation cannot be protected, either. That's why we don't make our data baseavailable on-line or on CD; it would make it too easy for someone to produce their own "vintage-only" catalog! The occasional out-of-left-field price you find in the book is either a very human typographical error, or the computer's attempt to correct what it views as an error. Despite Julie's several snide comments over the years about cards which don't exist being listed in the SCBC, she has yet to provide any details. As those of you know who read SCD, we've spent considerable column space in recent months on exactly that topic, trying to weed out non-existent cards which have been carried in checklists for decades. Example: the T3 Vic Willis - Pittsburgh. Unless one shows up soon, that card will be removed from the catalog and from the want lists of many advanced collectors.
Jeff . . . you just had to bring up the "1887-1947 Baseball Card Price Guide" didn't you? That was a debacle foisted on the hobby in the years between Dan Albaugh's stewardship of the data base and my own. Whether it bombed because it was merely a rehash of the SCBC's vintage section of the day, or because the market would not support a vintage-only book is unknown. But bomb it did, and that contributes to management's reluctance to try that tack again.
A slip-cased multi-volume set is not possible because it would not add just a couple of bucks to the cost, but would add tens of dollars due to the extra bindery charges and extra covers, not to mention the slip case itself.
I will forward all of your comments relative to the desire for a vintage-only book to my boss.
And Dave, your Wisconsin bovine is on her way to you. She's been kind of a family pet, but has been acting very peculiar lately; due to a recent tendancy to froth about the mouth, we affectionately call her Foamy.