Posted By:
DavidThere are obvious exceptions that I think most (most) of us would follow. If someone came up to me with an original $50,000 Picasso print, kept in the family, and was offering it to me for sale for $5-- I would point out their error in pricing. If someone had a genuine T206 Magie error, that they were offering in person at common price, I would tell him what he had and have him change the price.
Secondly, if contacted, I am willing to give an honest guestimate of price of an item and a cursury judgement of authenticity. I'm sure that most people on this board are the same way. I know for a fact that if a newbie posts a value or identity question to this board, board members will give an idea of value and/or direct to relevent recource (SCD). In other words, a newbie can't complain that she didn't get an answer, if she didn't ask a question.
When I have an item of which I have no idea of value, I put it up on eBay (without BIN) to find out. In some cases, the item sells for three times what I would have thought, sometimes 1/3. Sometimes I think, "That guy got a steal." That's the way it works out and, almost always, the highs and lows even out and I'm happy.
I think many newbies mistake real value with being gyped. Commonly someon thinks that his fancy Rookie Card he's had for the last five is worth $40, and is furious and dissapointed when it only sells for $15. It's not a case that he was gyped, but that that the card was always worth $15. If he had asked anyone knowedgeable in the past five years, she might have said "You can't sell that for $40. It's probably worth $15." In other words, eBay can act as the great 'reality check.'
Last point: If you don't know an items value, don't use BIN. If a collector is going to put a $5 BIN on that $50,000 Picasso, there's really nothing I or anyone else can do for him.