Just sad. No, not sad. Pathetic.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Agreed, I totally get it. I'm just content to factor everything in to my comfortable paying prices. There's reality, which needs to be lived in and faced, and then there is pining for some parallel universe in which certain daily annoyances don't exist (not saying anyone here is doing that, just pointing out a path on which I do not want to find myself).

This is not to say making all collectors aware of shilling is not a great service. It is. And knowledge is power. I just think the best thing to do with that knowledge is factor it in, understand what price it takes to acquire a desired card, and either reel that baby in and enjoy it as part of a collection, or not.

This is why fraud succeeds, because people (not singling you out, we are all guilty of it to some extent) just become complacent/resigned and accept fraud as part of the landscape.

[MattyC]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

This is why fraud succeeds, because people (not singling you out, we are all guilty of it to some extent) just become complacent/resigned and accept fraud as part of the landscape.

I hear ya. But I don't think there's a way to ever rid the hobby or the world of fraud altogether; perhaps it's a misanthropic worldview, but I believe it is part and parcel of the human race. I think the best we can do, hobby-wise, is educate ourselves, factor in inflated prices when formulating bids, choose to abstain from bids (if one prefers), learn how to spot shilling and fake sales, etc. And one must also strike the balance between, on one hand, maintaining an awareness of and rooting out fraud, and on the other, leading a happy life-- especially within one's hobby, which is ideally a source of pleasure. If the cost of combatting fraud at the most knightly level is a default state of frothy rage or annoyance, a state that makes the hobby unenjoyable, that might not be a cost some are willing to pay. So some hobbyists may choose to adopt a more even approach of vigilance and caution that does not over-consume or cause one too much heartburn

We also have to end apartheid, for one. And slow down the nuclear arms race, stop terrorism, and world hunger. We have to provide food and shelter for the homeless, and oppose racial discrimination and promote civil rights, while also promoting equal rights for women. We have to encourage a return to traditional moral values. Most importantly, we have to promote general social concern and less materialism in young people.