Posted By:
MWRoy,
First let me say that there is a very clear difference between "pieces of cardboard" that were manufactured and distributed through a variety of commercial means and intended to be used as "trading cards", and taking copyrighted material from the same time period, disassembling it, and deceptively marketing it in such a way as to confuse baseball card collectors on eBay. But I think you already know this.
Also, the problem with the sales of used cars is not with the vehicle itself -- it is with the SALESMEN WHO MISREPRESENT THEM. Inanimate objects such as used automobiles or scraps removed from a 1917 Spalding baseball guide are not controversial. It is those individuals who SELL THEM IN A DECEPTIVE MANNER that create the controversy (and in many cases, derision).
Next, your contention that you would be willing to list your "cutouts" in a separate and distinct category appears disingenuous -- I find it exceedingly difficult to believe that putting your newspapers and magazine scraps in just any old eBay category would be satisfactory to you. I think it's pretty obvious that when you put your manufactured scrapbook handiwork in the BASEBALL CARD categories (particularly pre-1930), several predictable objectives are achieved:
1. You receive more traffic/views per item as compared to topical alternatives.
2. The ambiguity of what you sell confuses many beginning and some intermediate BASEBALL CARD collectors.
3. You defraud collectors by marketing relatively worthless scraps as baseball collectibles that are "graded"; a condition whereby your snake oil snippets closely resemble baseball cards that have been LEGITIMATELY reviewed and encapsulated by a trusted grading company. This similarity between what has value and what does not creates further confusion for those with litte hobby savvy or who have an untrained eye.
Yes, it is true that you now have a tiny disclaimer with the phrase:
"The main item/s being offered here are not cards but "paper stock cut outs" i.e., memorabilia that has been professionally cut, authenticated, and graded by the specified grading company,"
...but that does not preclude the fact that you still REFUSE to tell customers exactly what they are buying. For instance, whenever you sell your "1938 Goudey Joe DiMaggio Rookies" if you plainly and succinctly wrote that you are selling individuals pages taken from disassembled 1938 Goudey Big League Baseball Movie Flip Books, you WOULD NOT RECEIVE ANY BIDS.
Alternately, when you list any of your fake Spalding baseball cards, instead of ambiguously blurring the distinction between what you sell and LEGITIMATE Spalding baseball cards from 1926 or 1927, be honest and tell prospective buyers that they're actually bidding on cut-out pictures from Spalding baseball guides. Of course, you'd never do this because then your little parlor game would come to an end and you'd begin to lose gullible bidders because (gasp!) you'd be EDUCATING THEM about what you are actually selling. Don't believe me? Be forthright, make your auctions public (not private) and try it.
That being said, what don't you actually try to buy and sell vintage sports cards like the rest of us? Go to some major conventions or construct a website that attracts sellers of vintage baseball cards. It's not that difficult. Instead of wasting two-thirds of your listing fees on worthless scraps that don't sell or throwing away all those 19.95 featured category charges, trying doing something honest and contributing positively to the hobby. It wouldn't at all surprise me if, after buying something like a 1933 Goudey Set and breaking it, you'd realize much higher profit margins than you do now. Try it. It might grow on you.