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davidcyclebackPersonally, I wouldn't use the term "leap of faith" for bats or cards or fine art. I would say that educated and intelligent collectors make a judgment as to the identity and authenticity. The judgment never has to be an "all or nothing," but should an a sound experesion of one's objective opinion about identy.
Judgment is done one item at a time. Sometimes a collector will be certain something if fake ("The black light proves that the paper is modern, It's impossible for this poster to be from 1909"). Sometimes a collector will be certain something is genuine ("I know it's the Reggie Jackson autograph is real, because I got it from him in person"). Sometimes the opinion won't be definite ("My guess is that it's authentic, but I'm not certain" or "I have no clue. I know nothing about German expressionist paintings.")
"I have no clue what this thing is," is an example of sound judgment about authenticity if you have no clue what the thing is. Making up an answer when you don't know, is an example of a poor judgment ... One of my rules for beginners leaning how to "authenticate" is that it's always better to say "I don't know" or "I'm not sure" than to give a wrong answer ... An expert in judging authenticity knows the limits of his knowledge and is willing to say, "I have no idea." It's a hack who thinks and says he has all the answers.
For the collector, this judgment is usually done in a context. Usually the context is whether or not to buy and how much to pay. If there is a leap of faith involved in collecting, it is not in making the sound judgement, but in purchasing an expensive piece of memorabilia where your judgment about identity is not 100 percent certain.
Making a judgment about authenticity or identiy is one question. Whether or not to buy and how much to pay based on your authenticity jugment is a different question. Two experienced collectors can come to the same judgment about authenticity, but to a different conclusion about whether or not to buy.
Anyone who buys regularly on eBay or even from reputable auction houses like MastroNet is taking at least some degree of chance. This is because you won't be able to see in person and make your final opinion about authenticity, grade, etc until after you have paid for it.