Feeling Dirty?

[murphusa]

More and more the questions asked by a lot of people here these days works out to be something like this.

I just went to a preview of an auction and or an estate sale/ebay whatever, and I saw this.
Before I buy/bid on this can someone here tell me if I should?
What should I pay for it?
Can I sell it and make a profit?

I know being good at heart and to help someone is nice but are any of you beginning to feel used?

[Leon]

I get these questions very often. I will usually help a little unless it gets crazy. Recently I got a PM with a long list of regular type vintage cards. The person asked me if I could tell them a good price so he could buy them and make money. I said, well, actually no.....you need to get a VCP subscription and check out other sales to know that. I mean it was a freaking laundry list. I very much felt used on that one. I do answer most short questions...especially if it has to do with collecting instead of flipping. I think if you are flipping for money you sort of need to do your own homework (at least most times). Just my half cent but I absolutely am empathetic to this question posed. regards

I should note that I think this was almost the first (can't think of any others) time that I actually said "no". I am always eager to help folks as I have been helped a lot too....but sometimes too much is just too much :).

[laughlinfan]

Interesting thought. About six months ago someone contacted me about an item I have a good set of knowledge about. I took some good time and sent a very detailed explanation of what it was and why it was an especially nice (and fairly scarce) item. I received no thanks, no reply - nothing. I was amused to see my very nice writeup used verbatim in his eBay auction a week later (and he did very well with it!) I am guessing similar things have happened to many on this board. That being said, I think I would still opt to share what I know, as sometimes people are very appreciative, and I have run into more than my share of people in the last 40 years who have been more than generous with their knowledge.

[Rob D.]

It's a pretty fine line to walk. There are a few board members who the only time I hear from them is when they want to know the value of a piece of Cleveland Indians memorabilia. After answering quite a few of these inquiries only to never receive a reply until the next time they needed to know a value, I stopped. It sounds kind of harsh, because I love talking about this stuff. But when it becomes pretty clear that the only interest is dollars and cents and not really about the collectible itself, I don't feel too badly about not replying.

The flip side is it's really enjoyable trading correspondence and phone calls with most folks, especially those who have an interest in the hobby beyond the wallet.

[HRBAKER]

There are many, many members of the Net54 community who are always willing to help and to serve as a reference and then there are readers and users. Fairly easy to quickly discern the difference.

[autograf]

I think on something obscure you know about, it's good to share your knowledge.....to an extent. On just general questions like 'theres a lot of T206's, how much should I pay', I agree people need to educate themselves. Or the 'do you think this autograph is good' thing from some people ALL the time. Again, do some due diligence. I guess pimping others IS a form of due diligence to an extent but some people forget that ebay has a COMPLETED auction functionality. I'm like, check completed auctions on ebay......

Rob, your quote reminds me of Anchorman where the guy is trying 'sex panther' cologne and says '60 percent of the time it works every time'. Will Ferrell says 'that doesn't make sense'.....

[autograf]

wow.....me & HR reading the same thing @ the same time..........whoda thunk it.....

[barrysloate]

I used to get emails fairly often from collectors who were about to make a trade and wanted to know if I felt they were getting a fair deal. I always hated these inquiries because I never want to get in the middle of somebody else's deal. And I can't tell you how many times I've advised the person not to do the trade or deal, and then found out he did it anyway. I always wondered why he asked me in the first place.

I've also helped a number of people without getting even a thank you in return. Finally, I sometimes get emails from people asking me for advice on a deal, and they sign off only using their first name. Am I supposed to know who it is? Is it somebody I might know well but don't realize it?

Overall I tend to help people out but I'm not a big fan of the unsolicited email. People do often want free advice and while I don't expect to be paid for answering a question, I do sometimes feel I'm being taken advantage of.

[Exhibitman]

It's a pretty fine line to walk. There are a few board members who the only time I hear from them is when they want to know the value of a piece of Cleveland Indians memorabilia. After answering quite a few of these inquiries only to never receive a reply until the next time they needed to know a value, I stopped. It sounds kind of harsh, because I love talking about this stuff. But when it becomes pretty clear that the only interest is dollars and cents and not really about the collectible itself, I don't feel too badly about not replying.

The flip side is it's really enjoyable trading correspondence and phone calls with most folks, especially those who have an interest in the hobby beyond the wallet.

+1

For the most part I am pleased to share my expertise (such as it is) with anyone silly enough to ask. However, there have been a few times where certain board members have abused it to the point where I've told them to buy the book.

[Woundedduck]

I know I've been the beneficiary of knowledge from board members, but hopefully I've expressed my gratitute well enough for the help I've received. I know Leon has helped me several times. Mostly I've had to ask questions about authenticity and whether or not a price for something was reasonable for something I wanted to add to my collection. I only made the collecting jump to vintage about a year ago and there's a ton I don't know. It's been a blast learning though. Hopefully I haven't crossed the line and hopefully I never do in asking for help as I could see why it would be annoying to have someone pestering who only wants to make a buck off your knowledge.

Eric

[Leon]

I know I've been the beneficiary of knowledge from board members, but hopefully I've expressed my gratitute well enough for the help I've received. I know Leon has helped me several times. Mostly I've had to ask questions about authenticity and whether or not a price for something was reasonable for something I wanted to add to my collection. I only made the collecting jump to vintage about a year ago and there's a ton I don't know. It's been a blast learning though. Hopefully I haven't crossed the line and hopefully I never do in asking for help as I could see why it would be annoying to have someone pestering who only wants to make a buck off your knowledge.

Eric

Eric,
In our communications you have always been a gentleman and a scholar. It's always my pleasure to help you when I can. I want to help just about everyone however, if anyone (not you Eric) has a laundry list of common vintage cards you are looking at to buy for resale, then I would suggest you do most of your own homework. And If anyone ever has anything to ask about collecting or something for their collection, I am more than happy to lend a hand. regards