In the very early days of ebay it was amazing what you could find -- I was able to purchase game bats that included Ty Cobb, Tony Lazzeri and Jackie Robinson.
One of my favorite stories: I won two bats at auction from the same dealer -- there were no photos, but the bats were described as 1950s coaches model bats of Heinie Manush and Luke Appling. The bats arrived and the Manush was indeed a 50s model, but the Appling was a brand new show model bat. I contacted the seller and he said he couldn't really afford to refund my money, but did mention he had some other bats and I could have my choice in an exchange -- the only other HOFer he had was a Walter Johnson, so he sent me that and it turned out to be what is the earliest known signature model Johnson gamer.
Good deals still pop up on ebay now and then, but there is much more competition -- I did find manage to buy in the last couple of years game bats of Tris Speaker, Eddie Collins, Miller Huggins and Paul Waner -- all but the Huggins were incrrectly listed as store models.
I know there are others who spend much more time scouring ebay and flea markets, so I'm looking forward to hearing their treasure hunting stories -- I'm sure Carlton has some amazing stories that he has yet to share about flea amerket finds!
Greg
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