Posted By:
Joe P.If the collectors don't try to police the hobby no one else will do it.
Not SCD.
Not eBay.
Their mindset is in the intake of the buck.
They close their eyes to the bottom fish and sometimes give them Customer Service Awards, or Power Seller's degree. ..... sometimes even after the facts are known.
The bottomfish know this, so they ply their trade in confidence.
Whereas the buck starts and ends with the collectors.
In reality "The Buck Stops Here."
Back in 1990 I learned that lesson.
Between Memorial Day and Labor Day of that year, I was stung, I took a quick crash course on the sting, I regrouped, I fought back, I won. .... it was an all around learning experience for someone who should have known better.
I mainly got to know the ground rules and the playing field conditions.
In 1990 I was up against a situation that would have made a mockery of vintage card collecting.
I got to meet, deal and undeal with your favorite Doctor.
Although I didn't realize it at the time, I also got to see some of his other works of art.
The lions share of the crash course that I immersed myself into was looking for flaws in his works.
The pooling of information between Mark Macrae, Lew Lipset and myself, turned out to be invaluable.
Scott, if we allow the bottomfish to operate, they will kill the hobby.
Back in 1990, I pointed out a bottomfish to SCD and the majority of the major dealers in the hobby during my visit to the Texas National.
In 2003 I'm reading on this forum about someone that sounds very much like D.D. the Doctor in question.
The Big Boys have had a chance to take care of business since 1990, and they haven't.
Well done Scott, it's a step in the right direction.
Joe P.