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Posted By: Brian McQueen

A good question and I would agree with Steve's response. I would propose one little amendment onto Steve's summary which basically encompassed Ebay. My thoughts involve questions that pertain to items in house auctions. Granted, questions for these items would be fewer in number because there are fewer concerns about cards being authentic, trimmed, etc...However for house auctions I always thought the following was sound, however "unwritten" guidelines. Anyone is free to agree or disagree with what I have before. This is just my opinion so feedback is welcome.

1. Most house auctions are 3-4 weeks in length. So if you would like input on something, it is better to publically ask about an item early on in the auction. However if the auction is ending in a day or two, perhaps taking Steve's suggestion of writing an individual on the board privately would be the more appreciated avenue to take.

2. Even if the auction's end is a day or two away, if you have a question involving a Mastro item, REA item, or an item from the large auction houses, it is still probably ok to ask as most people know about these auction houses and scrutinize their offerings anyway. The only exception to this would be "outing" a "hidden gem" tucked away in a large group of cards. That is probably something that will be frowned upon. When in doubt, ask the question privately as that will always avoid ruffling any feathers around the community here.

3. For smaller auction houses that others may not know are going on or don't pay too much attention to, you might want to avoid outing cards here altogether as that will drive traffic to that item and certainly affect the price. Sometimes entire auctions can "fall through the cracks" and slip by unnoticed by a large portion of the card collecting community.

You really just have to use your good judgment altogether in deciding whether or not it's worth "outing" an auction item or not - be it Ebay or an auction house. Like I said above though, when in doubt, asking someone privately to a board member or two may be the best way to get your question answered without drawing attention to it. And if it's something you're not serious about trying to win anyway, waiting until the auction ends would be another good solution. Hope this helps....

-Brian