Michael I agree with both your points. If you and I are at the convention, and I offer to sell you chip magnifico for $5 (presuming all other aspects of our deal are ethical and above board) and you accept then we have made a fair trade. Even if the next day we find out that their are now a thousand magnificos out there, and it is a trash chip, or that this magnifico was really a rare first edition and is worth $10. That is the nature of the beast.

If I (or you) use decietful methods (even legal ones) to garner a better bargain, then the deceiver is a worthless schmuck and should not be dealt with. Obviously my example presumes similar levels of knowledge. If one collector has an advantage over the other, than they have an ethical burden to deal in good faith with the newbie. I can cite examples where more experienced collectors have prevented me from making huge errors.

The reason I differientiate between bait and switch and using shills is that in an auction, a legitimate bidder may be your nemesis. In a bait and switch, you have accepted the deal, and are now tring to pay for it, or collect it, and they change the deal on you. Even if there is a valid alternate purchaser, he is to late.

Imagine buying a chip, tendering payment, and being told that the chip is now more because a bidder came along after the auction ended?

In any scenario where a person acting in good faith gets screwed, it should upset them (it should p**s the hell (heck?) out of everybody who expects to be dealt with in good faith.