Rogue REA employee on eBay?

[Jim VB]

Rob emailed me that he is 100% convinced that hobbyguynj and smgsmg1968 are different people, but have done business with each other.

If that's the case, I don't have a big problem here. I find it difficult to believe that people connected with our hobby, be it auction house employees or grading company employees, would have no interested in the hobby itself. I realize that leaves some potential for a conflict of interest, but I don't see any way around it.

If Rob is incorrect or has been lied to about these Ebay ID's, then there is an even bigger problem.

Maybe David R can jump back on here and clarify. I'm not very familiar with the Cardtarget website. Does that show definitively that those PSA numbers were on the same submission, or does it just show that they went through the system close together?

[barrysloate]

So let me pose this hypothetical, and it in no way has anything to do with Dean or REA:

We all agree it is unacceptable for an auction employee to bid with the company he works for, even if he only wants to buy something for his own collection. The reason is he has inside information concerning other bidders that would give him an unfair advantage.

So wouldn't an employee of a major auction house have access to the mailing list and contact information of all the auction house's key clients, something he wouldn't have if he were not an employee? And couldn't he contact these key clients with cards for sale? And suppose the deals didn't go so well- couldn't the clients call the auction owner and lodge a complaint about that employee?

So even if selling cards is not a direct conflict of interest, if I owned an auction house with employees I think I would tell them to focus on their day to day work, and not sell the same product the auction house sells.

[oriolesbb6]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

So let me pose this hypothetical, and it in no way has anything to do with Dean or REA:

We all agree it is unacceptable for an auction employee to bid with the company he works for, even if he only wants to buy something for his own collection. The reason is he has inside information concerning other bidders that would give him an unfair advantage.

So wouldn't an employee of a major auction house have access to the mailing list and contact information of all the auction house's key clients, something he wouldn't have if he were not an employee? And couldn't he contact these key clients with cards for sale? And suppose the deals didn't go so well- couldn't the clients call the auction owner and lodge a complaint about that employee?

So even if selling cards is not a direct conflict of interest, if I owned an auction house with employees I think I would tell them to focus on their day to day work, and not sell the same product the auction house sells.

Sorry read earlier post, before later clarification.

[barrysloate]

Oriolesbb66- it's fine that you disagree with me but I have no idea why. Should I assume you changed your mind and deleted your post? No big deal either way, just curious.

Also, this thread is not about Rob. It's about an employee of REA who used bad judgment on ebay. I spoke with Rob today at length and it goes without saying he preferred this never happened. But he has spoken to Dean and considers it over with. I doubt that will put an end to this discussion, but I wanted to share my conversation.

[autograf]

Tim......love the animated gif........VERY APPROPRIATE