Another point I'd like to make is that it's easy to bash the TPA's; they won't come after you; they won't pursue you.
But if you bash the "bad guys of the hobby," they will do everything they can to discredit you and attempt to destroy your life (both Steve and myself experienced those attempts).
Truth is, like Ebay, the hobby has become more of a cesspool of forgeries and junk, and big part of that, is the aforementioned Ebay.
Although I do try to compartmentalize, it is impossible to ignore.
And what I mean by "compartmentalize," is that the hobby consists of two populations.....
Maybe twenty-percent of the hobby are true hobbyists and the other eighty-percent are the delusional autograph collectors, impulse buyers and the scammers (the ones who take advantage of the "system" and the aforementioned "delusional and impulse buyers").
You can bash the TPA's all you want, but as an example hows does a "company" like Guaranteed Forensic Authenticators (Stephen Rocchi) stay in business "Forensically Authenticating" thousands of copies of forgeries!!!!
And what about Lee Trythall and Scott Malack (Coach's Corner Auctions)!!!!
The point I am making is that collectors continue to bash the TPA's every chance they get, but they're "bored" with those that continue to expose the likes of Stephen Rocchi, Coach's Corner, Ted Taylor, Chris "I Never Saw An Autograph I Didn't Like" Morales and others.
I was on another site exposing the various forged/counterfeit cards, and I was told "It's old news, etc."
It's never "old news" as long as it continues.
The TPA's aren't perfect, but they make the headlines, but a headline about "GFA/Stephen Rocchi" just wouldn't be juicy enough.
I know I went off the rails a bit here, but I needed to vent.
|