Posted By:
Eric BrehmMy opinion:
(1) If you want to talk on this forum about an item in a current eBay auction or offered by an auction house, whether you are concerned about the item's authenticity, or want to discuss something else about the item or the seller or the auction, you should feel free to do so. Laissez faire, is my attitude (pardon my French). Obviously there would have to be some limits on this (no slander, for example).
(2) It is ridiculous for anyone to try to capitalize on their 'ingenuity' in finding a hidden gem that some mis-informed seller happened to put in the wrong eBay category, by trying to prevent anyone else from making the existence of that auction known. I don't see what difference it makes whether the item is categorized properly or not. Any item offered for auction or for sale on the internet is in the public domain, and I frankly think it is selfish to try to keep an item you are interested in a 'secret'. Besides, generally speaking, the more publicity about baseball cards for sale there is, the more interest there will be in the cards, the higher will be the prices realized, and that is good for the hobby as a whole.
(3) If I was myself auctioning an item on eBay, or had consigned one to an auction house, I would not be happy if people on this forum, who might or might not know what they are talking about, started speculating that the item might be fake or trimmed or something bad like that. But that's the way it goes. As others have said, it is better for the industry if these things are out in the open. On the other hand, as a seller I guess I would be happy if people had positive things to say about my item, which might increase the number of potential bidders.