Personally wish that e-bay would post all replies to messages for all active auctions.
The questions would be very interesting to read with all his replies.
I sell stuff on eBay for a living and I'd crap if eBay decided to do that. Think about what people are willing to say in their threads here at AZ, multiply that by 10 times, and that's the level of messages people are willing to send me about stuff I sell on eBay. I sell loads of stuff that I'm no expert on, but the postures that people are willing to take in their messages to me and the reasons they are willing to say make them experts, are often laughable, and the stuff they claim and the accusations can get pretty absurd. Personally, I'd be upset if eBay trashed up my pretty auctions by publishing that stuff.
You can't really expect eBay to police all their millions of auctions. They disclaim about their position in the process and are pretty well covered. And you can't really expect eBay to take sides in a "he said she said" deal between a seller and a self-proclaimed "expert". What they do is have a program experts can join called (I think) VERO. Companies like Chanel and Vuitton that see great value in their trademark and logo protection are members. Artists' representatives are members. Once you are accepted in to the VERO program you can call eBay, question the authenticity of a listing, and eBay will immediately close the auction down. It is then its on the seller to prove the authenticity of his offering or move on to listing something else.
Guys like Barry, Tasc, Ernie, Hercek, Tad, Searing and really all craftsman that trade on their names and logos or provide authentication, have a stock in keeping the pool of collectibles in their respective brands pure. It is to Searing's benefit for example, just like it is to Rolex, that a buyer seeing their logo will be assured that what they are getting is high quality and genuine. In this way its in Searing's best interest that cues with his name on the forearm are really made by him. Dennis has to expect that if he allows 1000s of cheaply made cues to be out there with his logo on them, it hurts his customers , and ultimately will cost him. Its to Dennis's benefit to ID cues that are his as his, its to the buyer's benefit to verify that the stick that at least 1/2 the monetary value assigned to lies in the Searing logo, is a Searing. Searing is glad to do it, you get the point.
It was nice of Barry to log in on this thread and render what would, of course, be the final word on authenticity of this cue. I like the way these guys protect the market as it is, I don't think they have to join VERO, spend their time or money policing the world, or even logging in to an AZ thread and rendering opinion. What they all already do is gladly authenticate their product or the brand they represent (if asked). That's really a great service, and that's really more than enough. If one is willing to buy a cue that is represented as a Balabushka without prior authentication by Tascarella, or without the contingency of Tasc's verification, then that buyer deserves what he gets. The service that Tasc provides in authenticating George's cues holds way more value than the money he charges for it. In this way, he and Barry and others protect the market and support the value of their brands and it is foolish to attempt to trade in their brands without their knowledge. That's what they do. Its a great service and its a cooperative venture. Its in the maker's or his representatives' best interest to keep the cues in his brand pure, its of course in the buyer's best interest to seek their advice. I think its a great system and I'm grateful for those that provide it or participate in it.
Thanks
Kevin
