Well if the bad actors don't actually break the law, what do you expect the hobby to do to these people? It's not like we can hold a tribunal and banish them from the hobby. If the do break the law, then it's up to the courts and attorneys to bring the charges. If they shill their auction on eBay, then it's up to eBay to detect that and kick them off their site.
The one and most powerful tool that we, as collectors,
do have against these crooks is to no longer deal with them, no longer bid on their auctions, and no longer buy their cards. You can vote with your feet. That's how the hobby should police itself: put the scammers out of business by no longer doing business with them.
I also believe you have the choice to do whatever you want to do and buy from whoever you want. Buying from Probstein doesn't make one a bad person.
You ask for the hobby to punish these crooks, but then you reward them with continued business.
¢hu¢k wolf (since I'm giving an opinion here)
Quote:
Originally Posted by BioCRN
I've taken a good amount of personal criticism (none here that I know of) for saying I don't mind buying from the crooks and criminals of the hobby because the hobby doesn't punish, police, or otherwise move these people out of the hobby. I accept it as part of the hobby because the hobby has never shown me otherwise.
It's kinda odd considering how good the hobby is about self-policing the investigating and breaking the news of hobby corruption. The hobby is really good at finding the bad apples, it's what comes afterwards that's lacking substance.
That said...most people are awesome. Some are above and beyond, downright generous. Nonetheless...
In my own collecting life (since the early 1980s) I've never known an era in this hobby without crooks. I've never known an era in the hobby without nearly yearly "shocking" corruption.
I may be missing some instances, but I'm yet to see any of the corrupt actors leave the hobby unless they voluntarily remove themselves.
I just want pictures of baseball dudes and I can't find a justifiable reason to bring myself to bother with a purity test.
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