Mastronet, I may be wrong here but let's here opinions??

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Posted By: Doug Allen

Wow that Pete is a trouble maker! Seriously I wanted to take a couple minutes to respond to comments made on this forum.

First and foremost I consider Dan McKee and his father great collectors and good friends. I do believe it is unfortunate he chose to include a private e-mail on this public forum and I told him such. I have no problem with his communicating the general message but I believe the tone of Pete's e-mail was related to his comfort level with Dan personally. He won't make that mistake again! Pete that is...I can't control Dan.

I guess the most disturbing comment was the following "Mastro is running a big business, once that happens the little guy and the hobby courtesies that we are use to get thrown out the window." Although we make mistakes I really hope this is not the case.

Let me make a couple comments and listen for your response as I do value your feedback:
#1 There were comments about small images...we have done two proactive things first we went from what used to be a 16 items per page format in the book to 9 items per page and more importantly we began image serving out of the new location which allows you to blow up every image to allow for clearer viewing. This should be less of an issue as we continue to improve this.
#2 We allow for open viewing for each and every auction. If there are lots you want to personally view we would be happy to host you and even provide some great Chicago Style Pizza!
#3 We are pretty good at providing feedback on lots when questions arise. As long as the request is reasonable we ty to be responsive.

Regarding the issue at hand. Our goal is to accurately describe a lot and depict images that support a majority of the value. In many cases 10% of the volume represents 80 to 90% of the value. Those are the cards we try to depict. I do agree that if a card is described as GD-GD/VG or lesser and are not considered to be cards of significant value (as 28% of this lot was) no futher detail as to specifics leading to grade are necessary. On the other hand I agree that if cards are VG or better more detailed descriptions of imperfections such as writing, back damage, etc should be clearly disclosed. If we have failed in this regard we need to make corrections. I discussed Adams card specifically with Pete. He indicated the minor paper loss on the corner did not impact the lettering and it has a solid VG/EX front. In his estimation it is still a VG card.

Overall I believe Pete does a fantastic job and is very good at what he does...he is also living his dream!

I guess that is it for now....very interested in your thoughts.

Sincerely,
Doug Allen