"couldn't the same be said for guu auctions?..."

robert, you're correct. while i think there are some inherant flaws in GUU's Auction system, i suppose the big difference in your example is that GUU explicitly requests and depends on the community to examine their items as part of their authentication process whereas most auction houses, like HA, charge far more substantial premiums to "get it right" with their own crew. with HA there's the expectation that they got it right in-house whereas with GUU i suppose there's the expectation that the community got it right. If this helmet had come up in a GUU auction and sold, i guess we could all blame ourselves

"is it possible to bring helpful information to forum members without compromising the reputation and integrity of a seller that freely and promptly removes an item that is found to be not as described? further, is it unethical to share the details of the problem with the forum even though the seller has done everything in his power to right the situation?"

obviously, everyone's made mistakes. the issue is the number and nature of errors. some people make very few mistakes and even fewer are stupid mistakes. others seem to make stupid mistakes every 5 minutes. i don't think people simply see the error without regarding the context. i've made errors and many people i respect have made errors but noone holds anything against them because the errors have been so few and far between and they weren't stupid errors. there's also the increased expectations when someone's paid to be an "expert" and they go around beating your chest proclaiming themselves to be the greatest ever, like many auction houses do.

i don't think there's anything unethical about sharing info. you're assuming their reps will necessarily suffer and i don't think that's the case. kim stigall's made some errors and his rep is stellar. people can barely remember the mistakes he's made because they were so few and far between and they weren't stupid errors.

with this namath helmet, i was simply floored that for $20k they couldn't spot 2 holes vs 1. $20k! if i pay someone $30, then i don't expect them to spend 2 solid days working on something. however, if i pay $20 grand, i want chris ivy's head buried in SB3 books for at least 2 solid weeks, day and night. it's all about expectations. for me, heritage failed to live up to them. errors aren't just errors. there's the context that determines how they'll be regarded.

"at the end of the day, the seller's integrity and motives will always be contemplated."

i don't really agree that they'll always be contemplated. again, it depends on the context of the error.

rudy.