Mr. Verkman – Keep your Word - Letters From Bill Mastro, Joe Orlando, & Marshall Fogel

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Posted By: Demeter1

I am amazed at how many people can develop their own such strongly held opinions without any reference to the primary data. I have had cards rejected by PSA then slabbed when they were re-submitted 6 months later. I have had vintage autographs with differing opinions from respected authentication sources within the hobby, people whose opinions I still respect, although it was not possible that they were both correct in certain instances. Unfortunately, in this hobby we too often have only opinions to work with, and not one of them is, or can be , definative, and we in the hobby have to work through that murkiness all the time. But why act like that is not the case? Does it make us feel better about what we bought, or chose not to buy?

This is a unique case where credible scientific testing is available, so why not do it? And why not withold judgement until that testing is done? All this talk about lawsuits and punitive damages is fantasy (I am a lawyer, and I assume if there are other lawyers on this blog they will agree with me). No one is getting punative damages in a commercial dispute, which is all this is, where the subject matter is in legitimate dispute. But if there is a lawsuit, the very first thing that is going to happen is the very testing that is NOT taking place now will, and Viola! The answer will be revealed, and the matter settled way before a judge or a jury ever hears about it. The sad thing is, we will either not hear about it, or no longer care about it, by the time this resoves itself. But all our opinions without basis will be posted here, in cyber space, without being confirmed or refuted, forever.

Find some independent 3rd party to coordinate testing and bring this out of the realm of opinion and into the realm of fact. This is not an arguement about whether or not CSA honors its commitments-it is an arguement about whether the facts bring that commitment into play. When there is objective, verfiable testing available to answer that question that testing needs to be done. Only testing will bring this entire matter out of the realm of speculation and into the realm of fact. As a hobby we already confuse fact with opinion enough, because too often we have to, because we have no other options. They do here, and they should use them. And if this case does go to court, that is precisely how it will resolve itself anyway.

All that said, barry might have hit the nail on the head-sometimes the damage is done, regardless of who is right or wrong.



Mark