Please excuse the sensational headline.

Several members here are wondering why anyone would bid on items from certain auction houses, or on items that have been approved by certain authenticators. I think each collector has their own reasons, but here's the way I see it.

On the subject of authenticity, I believe that most educated collectors simply ignore the LOAs! (or use the descriptive information from the letters to help make their own decisions) There are obviously plenty of collectors out there who do "buy the letter" instead of the item, as we have seen, but shame on these buyers for their lack of homework. Am I giving a pass to the auction houses and authenticators who continue to accept big dollars for bad items? Heck no! (more on that below) But the question is why would a buyer continue to use certain auction houses at all.

It doesn't really matter what kind of game-used equipment you collect... As long as the items you're searching for are hard to find, you're gonna be interested when something shows up on eBay, a traditional auction house, Craigslist, etc. From there, educated collectors spring into action -- researching game video and photos, posting questions on forums, getting money together in case they decide to buy the item...

Are you supporting institutions that are bad for the hobby when you put hundreds of dollars in the pockets of suspect auction houses? Let the debates begin. But once again, if you collect memorabilia of a certain hard-to-find player, and you find a legit example at one of these places, do you not bid to make a statement? We all know how it feels to watch a desirable item sell to someone else, knowing that it may never be available again. To make the pain worse, what if the item you pass on sells for much less than expected? Someone else steals the item you would have gladly paid more for, and the consignor gets the shaft.

My biggest beef is with the "professional" authenticators who are stealing money from their customers -- and more importantly, causing many collectors to loose countless thousands of dollars on misrepresented memorabilia. It is sickening to think that an authenticator can make $150 to put his stamp on a bad item, and an unsuspecting collector goes on to lose $1,500 or $15,000 because of it. I think these authenticators will soon fall by the wayside, because the clock will not turn back. Their errors will be documented, seen by the hobby masses, and not forgotten. Anyone who continues to defend these supposed "experts" will feel the temperature of the water when the ship sinks.

One can debate the ethics of supporting an auction house that authenticates bad stuff. All I know is that I'm personally very selective with the items I collect. I will continue to do my own homework and help others with theirs whenever possible. If I'm interested in an item, regardless of who is selling it, I'll get those research wheels turning and take it from there. As forums like this one continue to gain numbers and publicity, I believe auction houses will also need to get their acts together or they'll be swimming in the same water as the authenticators.

Anyone care to guess how big the GUU auctions will be two years from now?