... we have been discussing knew exactly what they were doing, as BriaN noted in his post in this thread:

>> I have contacted all the people offering the chips on ebay that are in
>> question. They all admitted to getting the chips at the convention.

Thus, to answer your question ...

>> Then you're saying that if he knows enough to buy or borrow a copy of the
>> Chip Rack and quote from it, then he should also have been to the convention
>> and known about the chips offered there?

No, that isn't what I'm saying. But, it does appear they all had immediate access to accurate information, were almost certainly TOLD about the chip find and conveniently neglected to mention it in their eBay ads. Are you prepared to defend this, too?

>> Or are you saying that you can't quote from the Chip Rack without ALSO being
>> a regular reader of this message board, or "hang out" with experts so you'll >> know about recent finds?

No.

>> Or are you saying that the discovery of additional Thunderbird chips was on
>> the front page of every newspaper in the country, and on CNN as well?

No.

>> Or are you saying something entirely different, and I'm just not getting it?

Yes. Anyone familiar enough to quote from TCR can be reasonably expected to know how to obtain current information about rare chips. Such as, whether there has been a recent find that would affect their value. Especially if they were able to buy them from a knowledgeable seller for a fraction of the "book" value.

>> Exactly how much research is acceptable to you? None at all is not enough,
>> and some is not enough, how much is enough?

Enough to accurately and honestly describe the item being sold. But, that's not really the point here, which is that these sellers HAD the information necessary to provide accurate and honest descriptions and chose to make misleading descriptions instead.

>> Or are you saying that only "experts" should be allowed to auction chips
>> on eBay?

No, of course not. But anyone who is not an expert should at least do enough homework to be able to accurately describe an item being offered without making false, misleading or exaggerated claims about the chip(s).

>> I don't get it.

Apparently not.

>> And you say this is not an auction discussion board? Well, it's a message
>> board where online auctions are regularly discussed, isn't it? Excuse me, big
>> difference.

I'm not familiar with all of the "auction discussion boards" you have mentioned, but I have the impression they are all run by or associated with some specifie auction venue. At least, that is what I understand the term "auction discussion board" to mean. While auctions are discussed here, this site is not associated with any auction venue and is not a place where eBay bidders in general would be likely to visit. It is a chip collectors board, not primarily designed to discuss auctions. And yes, that is a "big difference". ----- jim o\-S