Let the bidding frenzy begin......

[Brian Van Horn]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Babe-Ruth-Hu...torefresh=true

[HRBAKER]

There should be some mild interest here.

[scooter729]

And let the debate begin.... on whether this should have been outed here!

[Brian Van Horn]

Interesting it is a one day auction.

[HRBAKER]

Interesting that the seller makes no mention of M101-6 or Felix Mendelsohn or Sporting News.
Seller has two feedback since Jan of '09.

[Jlighter]

Originally Posted by HRBAKER

Interesting that the seller makes no mention of M101-6 or Felix Mendelsohn or Sporting News.
Seller has two feedback since Jan of '09.

I was wondering the same thing, he/she is selling another high value card.

[glchen]

Originally Posted by scooter729

And let the debate begin.... on whether this should have been outed here!

I'm surprised this auction was outed also. Is it okay to publish any auction as long as it's not your own?

[jb217676]

Checked his feedback, this seller has sold some nice stuff. Auction looks interesting, thanks for letting us know!

[jb217676]

Price just doubled since this post started!

[Leon]

Originally Posted by glchen

I'm surprised this auction was outed also. Is it okay to publish any auction as long as it's not your own?

It is not ok to out anything you have a vested interest in, or doing it for a friend who has a vested interest... That would be against the rules. No, it is not against the rules to out other ongoing auctions, in general. It is a very debatable issue, and I would prefer they not be outed myself, but there can't be a rule against it for various reasons. We have had at least 3-5 good debates about outing ongoing auctions, and we can always have another, but I can't imagine that rule changing.

[sdkammeyer]

Originally Posted by Leon

It is not ok to out anything you have a vested interest in, or doing it for a friend who has a vested interest... That would be against the rules..

Are you saying that people arent allowed to advertise their own ebay auctions here if they are doing so in order to get a better price?

So because this guy is selling stuff "off of ebay" for his own personal gain it's not against the rules? Or is my definition of "vested interest" completely skewed?
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...ght=wade+boggs

Why is this JUST NOW coming up? Because this thread is about a high end card? I see people on here ALL THE TIME linking to their own ebay auctions.

Hell there is a section on the main page for linking to ebay auctions in general?

Here is over 100 pages of people "outing" their own ebay auctions because they obviously have a vested interest in how much the item sells for.... and also tons of links where people are pointing out other peoples auctions.

http://www.net54baseball.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16

Anybody ever see this before?

Ebay/Vintage Card Auctions B/S/T
All posts in this section should involve any ads/notifications for Ebay auctions, Heritage, Huggins & Scott, Lelands, Grandslambids.com, shows etc..

I am not directing this at you in particular Leon .... it is more for everyone else who is complaining ..... yet again.

Now I'll climb back in my hole for a couple days and wait to see if the storm ever passes over this site...........

[bcbgcbrcb]

I was not interested in bidding either but do not think that it should have been outed. Other than a newbie, no one who was an interested bidder would have mentioned it.

I know that on a couple of occasions recently, fellow board member(s) have outed an auction or two where I was an interested bidder and they ended up skyrocketing in price afterwards. For payback, I would consider doing the same on an item that I would pass on but think might interest them. Maybe something like that was the reasoning here........Hopefully, it was not helping a friend out.............

[HRBAKER]

Do we really think that an ebay auction with Babe Ruth in the title is going to go unseen?

[bcbgcbrcb]

Jeff:

Since I have been searching for a Babe Ruth item on e-bay for the past few months, I can tell you that on an average day, there are 200 - 300 new listings that mention Babe Ruth in the title, on free listing days, I have seen near 1,000 listings. I'm not too sure that too many collectors would be willing to sift through all of those listings on a daily basis by performing a simple search for the name "Babe Ruth" and not more detailed search criteria.

[HRBAKER]

If that's the case then "outing" it would be doing you a favor, right?
That is if you're not willing to do the work to sift through the listings.

I can see both sides of the issue, to me - no big deal as long as there is no "pimping" going on.

I am just glad the seller didn't end it early and sell it to someone who noticed it and send them a $500 offer to sell off of ebay.

[nolemmings]

I would have missed it, and I search for Mendelsohn, m101-6, 1917 and 1917-20 every day. I oftentimes check for m101-6s in postcards and photos too, although not by that search term. Obviously, none of that would have helped me here.

This was a 24 hour auction of poor description. While Ruth chasers might have immediately clued in, I believe it likely at least some of the bidding came as a result of this auction being outed. I certainly don't search for Ruth items on a daily basis, and there probably are loads of things to sift through if you do.
Bottom line and FWIW, count me among those who think this auction should not have been outed.

EDITED TO ADD: I see I'm late on some of these remarks but would add that although outing it allowed me a shot, I still think it should not have been outed.

[HRBAKER]

I would agree in the thought that a substantial amount of bidding may have resulted from the post here.

[conor912]

Um, this thread is the first I have ever heard of "outing". Either I understand it completely wrong or I have no idea why it would be an issue to broadcast the sale of an item. Is the argument that if no one says anything that the eventual winner will get it for cheaper? If so, that is absurd.

[HRBAKER]

Two issues at play here: a.) the issue of a seller/consignor slyly "outing" his listing anonymously in order to attain greater audience share and drive price, and b.) the feeling that if an ebayer through their own work has uncovered something listed either poorly, erroneously or incorrectly so that it may be able to be obtained at a significantly lower price then the "outing" negates this chance. It is "b" that is being discussed here.

[D. Bergin]

I don't really have any opinion on the "outing".

My first impression was that Brian posted the link because of the sketchy way the item was listed. High end card, one day auction, seller doesn't quite know what he has, or quite where he got it. Legitimate listing or not, it was one red flag after another.

I was really expecting a debate on the validity of the auction itself, not a three page argument revolving around who deserves to see the auction, and who doesn't.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Gary,

You told me that it was done, over and that you’ve moved on. Apparently it’s not and you haven’t. I still don’t know why this auction is such a big deal to you and no so much in other auctions (Plank for example) that I also see outed on the main board? When I asked you what the difference was, all I heard from you was excuses. Then Phil chimed in with an answer, “Same applies to other auction houses as well.” While I disagree with his stance on this matter, I have the utmost respect for his opinion because at least he’s consistent no matter what. His opinion doesn’t change based on circumstances. All I’m hearing from you is basically that sometimes it’s okay and sometimes it’s not. Again, if you feel this strongly on the matter, why haven’t you said anything about the Plank thread (or the many other threads where auctions are outed)? Another poster even pointed out that auctions are outed for contests. Ever speak up in one of those threads to condemn the outing of the auction? Sorry, but you couldn’t be any more wrong about this. And it’s not your opinion that’s wrong - it’s the fact that you opinion seems to change based on the circumstances.

[T206DK]

too many sour grapes over the "outing" of this card and others on this board. I for one don't care if auctions are outed or not. this card came up in one of my saved searches but I would not have bid on it. what's to say that some of the complainers aren't just flippers , who wouldn't have bought the card on the cheap and then turned around and tried selling it for 5-10x what they paid for it anyway....thats what I really don't like

[glchen]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Gary,

You told me that it was done, over and that you’ve moved on. Apparently it’s not and you haven’t. I still don’t know why this auction is such a big deal to you and no so much in other auctions (Plank for example) that I also see outed on the main board? When I asked you what the difference was, all I heard from you was excuses. Then Phil chimed in with an answer, “Same applies to other auction houses as well.” While I disagree with his stance on this matter, I have the utmost respect for his opinion because at least he’s consistent no matter what. His opinion doesn’t change based on circumstances. All I’m hearing from you is basically that sometimes it’s okay and sometimes it’s not. Again, if you feel this strongly on the matter, why haven’t you said anything about the Plank thread (or the many other threads where auctions are outed)? Another poster even pointed out that auctions are outed for contests. Ever speak up in one of those threads to condemn the outing of the auction? Sorry, but you couldn’t be any more wrong about this. And it’s not your opinion that’s wrong - it’s the fact that you opinion seems to change based on the circumstances.

David,

I am done with this auction and have moved on. However, some posts like this one have been directed at me with questions, so I'm answering them. That's all. Also, I still believe that auctions should not be outed in the future.

I was the poster that pointed out that auctions are outed in contests. Leon is the one who usually does the contests. He owns the board, so obviously, he can do what he wants. I'm definitely not going to interfere there. He usually does it to drum up interest in the hobby, and he doesn't do this for obscure auctions. Only those auctions done by major sellers on ebay who start their auctions at 99 cents. So you can say that he's giving them free advertising privileges for that contest duration.

[nolemmings]

While the line can be blurry, there is certainly no comparison between a 24 hour, poorly/vaguely- described auction on Ebay and a major auction house's featured item in a two-week auction directed expressly at our hobby. None.

I do not believe in outing any auctions, but it is fair to suggest that a major auction house that sends out specific-target advertising and catalogues and provides such a lengthy time for discovery and thus bidding is not really capable of being "outed". This is particularly true if you're talking about a T206 Plank. Of course, this is not what happened in the Ruth m101-6 ebay auction.

It does become more complicated if the seller is a less-prominent auction house. Also, I have seen little gems buried in multi-card lots in major house auctions, some added late to the catalogue/website, that should not be "outed", IMO.

There may not be an absolute rule against exposing ongoing auctions and probably should not be. However, as Pete said, it is a matter of etiquette. When in doubt, don't out.

[atx840]

Anyone know if this is scrap or not...thanks.