: Jeff said

: It's difficult to know what we are actually seeing on eBay . . .

Jeff,

We had a very interesting discussion on one of the pocket watch bulletin boards under the heading of "How Has The Internet Changed Collecting?". I know most of the contributors on the forum face to face from years of being at shows and auctions. They range in age from their late 20s (sons of collectors I know) to their 70s. One of the contributors to the discussion who is in his early 70s is probably the dean of American collectors with a collection far better than the Smithsonian. He hates "Fleabay" and bitches about it when ever anyone will listen...but I know he has acquired some gems by using it.

My favorite collector on this forum is the son of another great collector. I have known dad and son for years. The son was a smart and interested little kid at shows 20 years ago. He learned to comb the mart rooms and pick up the gems from his dad and his dad's friends. He got to be better than most of his mentors at seeing the trends and getting in early....buying at the beginning and selling near the top. He trades and upgrades and has stupendous stuff in his collection. He got good at what the "Dean" misses from the good old days and translated it into how he deals with the way things work on the internet. He is still hard to beat in the mart room and very tough to beat on the internet. He is a great friend and the kind of guy I would lend 10 grand in cash at a show without even a hand shake.

I think he has no better opinion of eBay than the "Dean". He just knows what he needs to do...now and I am pretty sure he will be showing me how it is done in the future. He may be the "Dean" at some point and maybe when he is he will have time to talk about how good it was "in the good old days".

BTW, I am with you...I don't like what eBay has become and I have less and less patience to deal with it every day. I do however love to look at what my friend Fred Jr. brings to NAWCC Regionals for show and tell.

JohnCote