by Yanks23 » September 26th, 2013, 10:34 am
Well put, Murph. And I think that people on this board are coming at it from a variety of directions/views on all of this. Reality is, most don't have to like or agree with how he is doing things. Bottom line is it isn't "wrong". He is going about it from a business perspective. The hobbyists out there might take exception to this. And that is their prerogative. I just wish he would have stuck to his guns and simply went about his business. That is the challenge when you bring the business aspect into the hobby. Lines can get blurred and sometimes other priorities get in the way of the "purity" portion. Nothing wrong with that, in my opinion. The dishonesty about all of it is off-putting. And kind of foolish, actually. I am a new collector, so I find a lot of this entertaining...and realize I am looking at this without any prior history with him or any of you. But it is becoming easy to see Jared's point on the "glove police" aspect. So he bought some lots and is reselling as individual auctions looking to make more than he paid. Sounds like American Pickers or Pawn Stars to me (I love those shows). Again, I'll point to my last post when it comes to the exception that people are making toward his tactics in getting some auctions to end early. To me, that is an eBay and seller issue. Not a buyer thing. And while some of you will refuse to take a similar approach, knowing that it happens (and not by just him) is part of the "game" that needs to be understood and accepted.
I, for one, will still bid on some of "Sarah Jean's" auctions. The unfortunate part of this scenario is that a knowledgeable collector (I assume he knows his stuff) has now been chased from providing information to potential buyers like myself, who are still learning about the hobby and want to know as much as we can about gloves that we try to win or flat out purchase. Instead, he has turned to playing a "role" as another seller who comes off as less informed. THAT is a disservice to the hobby, but I can't say I blame Jared for going in that direction.
Let me put this out there...is it worse if he buys some gloves at a lower price with the idea of turning a profit by putting them back out there for the hobby to consume while providing the details...or this way? Same end result in terms of glove availability. Less information. Personally, as a new collector, I feel I am worse off for it. And for those of you out there who feel like he is being dishonest, there are other sellers (on this board) who leave out information in their auctions about gloves like ink that isn't visible in the pictures presented, though obvious when in-hand. And when there are multiple pictures presented in the listing, you know it isn't an oversight. So, noodle with that when we are all out there passing judgment. Jared is not the only seller from this board who is doing what some consider to be deceitful to make a buck. And that hurts the hobby as a whole in the near and long-term.
Say what you want about Jared's business tactics in how he acquires gloves. If someone is willing to sell them at a price that he offers, good for him. And if we are willing to pay more than he did to acquire a glove that he snagged before us, good for him. I say, go get 'em Sarah Jean...keep those gloves coming. And if you prefer to play the "role", it is a matter of the buyer/bidder knowing enough to know what they are getting.