Posted By:
MarkJosh K, puffery is "an expression of opinion by seller not made as a representation of fact." That's straight from my Black's Law Dictionary. Purchase price is a factual statement, the opposite of puffery, not "close to puffery."
I don't know if you really don't understand, but the reason a recent purchase price could easily be "material" is that it often represents what a buyer can expect to receive if the card were sold on the open market. For many collectors, cards are quasi-investments meaning that, while they may really like a rare card, they also might be concerned about getting a fair price. These types of buyers could easily find it material to learn they are paying significantly more than the card sold for the week before on ebay. I'd even go so far as to say that nearly every court in the country would agree a seller's statement that he has $500 into a card when in fact he bought it last week on ebay for $300 to be fraud.
I am surprised that you consider lying about purchase price to be acceptable "salemanship."