I have no love for the guy, he banned me from his auctions 15 years ago for telling him I thought his shipping fee was too high for an item I had won. But it does seem he's developed a niche that's good for him and for sellers, if not for collectors, and that's just capitalism at work.

I've blocked JonStats as well.

It was years ago he either freaked out on me because I wouldn't end an auction or wouldn't ship something out fast enough. But I couldn't take his bitching.

He tried with a 2nd account as well as it was from his same Texas city. Knew it was him. Same M.O. Blocked that account too.

Both are currently on my blocked bidders list on Ebay.

Guy was a total dickhead to me for so little reason. Was a flat item, probably a photo, that I knew he'd be paying two or three bucks to mail, and I think he charged seven or eight when a lot of sellers were including the S&H in the total. My message with payment was just something like, "your shipping fee seems high for this," and he answered, "Well now you won't ever have to worry about it again!" What a jerk.

Very good point, and I agree wholeheartedly.

I've never had a problem with him (though he does over charge for shipping) but I've heard many stories like this....but also know several people who think he's the best thing since sliced bread.

I'm guessing they never complained about the shipping! He could have just said something like, "didn't you see it in the listing?" and that would have been the end of it, but chose instead to get off by wielding his enormous power to ban me from his auctions. Just think of all the time I spend lamenting my audacity and trying to figure out how I could get back into his good graces.

Let’s not turn this into the “Bash jonsstats” thread. :p

People ask me fairly often if I have anything to trade. Problem is, I never feel like I do. Yeah, maybe some crap no one wants, but little else. I own some Holy Grails and covet some Holy Grails but I never feel like trading one for the other. Maybe it goes back to memorabilia being more “held” than, say, cards. I know a small community of Giants collectors….they know what I have and I know what they have. Unfortunately, giving up one Holy Grail for another means I will probably never get back what I traded. Arrrrrgh! :p

I did actually have a great ebay experience a few days back. I was able to add to my Giants collection and get some duplicates for friends. Right before that, though, I pulled the trigger on something that, turns out I already own. Not sure where it is, though. That’s another, somewhat rare, ebay frustration and nothing I can blame on anyone other than myself.

After writing this I decided to check my purchase history on EBAY for this year, and just as I thought, I haven't purchased anything this year (and can't even remember the last time I searched). Proud of myself, I thought I just do one quick search...and wouldn't you know it I found something I've been looking for for several years and at a great price too. Yeah of course I bought it. LOL

I actually think memorabilia, old baseballs and tickets have been more plentiful as of late. Not sure why, but last month of so, seeing more and more after a long dry spell.

Sorry, I got carried away.

As the prices of cards have climbed so much recently, it makes sense that some collectors may start turning more attention (and money) to things like memorabilia, thereby starting to draw more of such out for sale. Plus, there seems to be more and more card auctions than ever these days, and as a result, more opportunities for memorabilia to be listed to fill out those extra auctions as well.