Babe Ruth Bats

[skipcareyisfat]

It's a good thing we have the "Postings Police" to determine who should and shouldn't post on a given subject. I would think that the person asking for advice can distinguish between bat experts posting on the bats and some forum member just giving an opinion based on the pictures and then make an informed decision based on that input. GEE! Thanks for maintaining the integrity of this forum.
Paul
BTW, I am no expert but if I want to post an opinion on something here I will feel free to do so.

You're exactly right, Paul. Well said. And now ... the aimless rebuttal.

[trsent]

It's a good thing we have the "Postings Police" to determine who should and shouldn't post on a given subject. I would think that the person asking for advice can distinguish between bat experts posting on the bats and some forum member just giving an opinion based on the pictures and then make an informed decision based on that input. GEE! Thanks for maintaining the integrity of this forum.
Paul
BTW, I am no expert but if I want to post an opinion on something here I will feel free to do so.

Anything else?

[trsent]

You're exactly right, Paul. Well said. And now ... the aimless rebuttal.

Anything else?

[CollectGU]

It's a good thing we have the "Postings Police" to determine who should and shouldn't post on a given subject. I would think that the person asking for advice can distinguish between bat experts posting on the bats and some forum member just giving an opinion based on the pictures and then make an informed decision based on that input. GEE! Thanks for maintaining the integrity of this forum.
Paul
BTW, I am no expert but if I want to post an opinion on something here I will feel free to do so.

WAAAY wrong by both you and Skipcarey. If your opinion on something is not based upon at least a little bit of research and experience but a generalized "something looks funny" without any backup then you could be potentially hurting the sale of an item by creating the "perception" that there is something wrong with it. So throwing out an opinion based on bullsh*t is careless and reckless because many people read this and you might shy away a potential buyer with that kind of stuff

[trsent]

WAAAY wrong by both you and Skipcarey. If your opinion on something is not based upon at least a little bit of research and experience but a generalized "something looks funny" without any backup then you could be potentially hurting the sale of an item by creating the "perception" that there is something wrong with it. So throwing out an opinion based on bullsh*t is careless and reckless because many people read this and you might shy away a potential buyer with that kind of stuff

Wow, I think we agree on something today!

[ghostkid]

WAAAY wrong by both you and Skipcarey. If your opinion on something is not based upon at least a little bit of research and experience but a generalized "something looks funny" without any backup then you could be potentially hurting the sale of an item by creating the "perception" that there is something wrong with it. So throwing out an opinion based on bullsh*t is careless and reckless because many people read this and you might shy away a potential buyer with that kind of stuff

I agree completely. A couple of months ago there was a frequent poster on this forum who made careless/reckless comments regarding some bats I was selling. There was a newcomer to the hobby who originally struck up a deal to buy one of these bats and, after reading this poster's bullsh*t opinion, chose to back out of the deal. I have since sold that bat to another collector (he was real happy to get it), so all worked out okay in the end. So, you might ask what's the harm? Well, this newcomer has probably decided to spend his money elsewhere and my suspicion is that we lost this guy as a bat collector. Furthermore, even though I am 100% honest, my reputation is probably tainted in this guy's eyes...and you know how the importantance of reputation. Perhaps that's a bit paranoid, but it doesn't change the fact that the careless/reckless comments (subsequently proven to be false) were unwarranted and detrimental to the hobby.

Kevin Kasper
kevinkasper@netzero.com

[skipcareyisfat]

CollectGU, you're absolutely correct. Kevin, I recall that discussion and, if it's the one I'm thinking of, I remember feeling a little sorry for you. Glad it worked out. So...My fault for 1) giving the wrong impression that I support the offering of unsubstantiated and stupid advice, and 2) violating the "think-before-you-post" rule. My sincere apologizes, folks.

[psmachetti]

WAAAY wrong by both you and Skipcarey. If your opinion on something is not based upon at least a little bit of research and experience but a generalized "something looks funny" without any backup then you could be potentially hurting the sale of an item by creating the "perception" that there is something wrong with it. So throwing out an opinion based on bullsh*t is careless and reckless because many people read this and you might shy away a potential buyer with that kind of stuff

Here's something else:
Do you REALLY think that if the buyer read my "opinion" on these bats , which I did not offer BTW, and Mr. Specht's opinion as well, that he would in any way base his decision to purchase or not purchase the bats on something I posted?Anybody w/ a brain would sift through the posts and pay particular atention to those that are from experts in the area. I think members of this board know who are and aren't the "experts" in a particular aspect of the hobby.
BTW in this particular case I don't think you needed an expert to point out the fact that these bats were not used by Babe Ruth. There are "opinions" posted on this board everyday . If only the "experts" posted on a questionable piece of memorabilia there wouldn't be very much going on here now would there?
Paul

[JimCaravello]

I just wanted to thank Mike for his post in this thread. As Mike mentioned himself, I am too honored to be called an Expert - but I can't tell you how many times I have contacted different collectors in the past with questions on both bats and jerseys, including Mike and others in the hobby.

A few things you should know if you ever contact Mike or myself, or any other Expert on GUU with a question:

• We don't know everything - If we don't know the answer, we will ask others and try to help you in obtaining the answer to your question.
• We do not charge for the services we provide. A user of the Forum recently asked me if I charge for valuing collections for insurance purposes. First off, I told him that Mike and I don't charge anything for our involvement in Game Used Universe and secondly, he should not pay anyone for valuations for insurance purposes and I helped him through that maze of how to value his collection and report it to his insurance company.
• We are conservative, pragmatic and logical - unlike others in the hobby who want to authenticate everything and anything, I think if you ask Mike or me a question on a bat - we give you cold hard FACTS and we don't try to guess as to what is really involved in authenticating or validating a piece of lumber.
• We are honest and have the highest integrity - I am not tooting my own horn here, but both Mike and I agreed to buy the Mathews bat recently sold on ebay where a collector relied on the GUU database that had incorrect information. We are not paid for our services from GUU, and were not involved in loading that data for that record and yet we both independently informed the owner of the site, Chris Cavalier, that we would buy that bat. Of Course, Chris, who's integrity is unparalled, remedied the situation in a quick and professional manner. There are previous threads on this situation.
• We put our own collecting efforts aside to help others - I recently won the Wade Boggs All Star bat on ebay and questions were posted on this site. I posted as much info I knew on the subject matter, even though I desperately wanted that bat for my collection. In essence, I raised the price level by helping to educate others. Around the same time, there was a Thurman Munson bat on ebay that was listed in the wrong section. I would have loved to have that bay in my collection - I found it while performing a Munson search and it was not in the proper game used category. I posted a thread on the Forum immediately after the bat was listed about the bat on ebay, which in essence allowed everyone to know about it and share in the bidding of the piece. I went to about $3,500 on the bat and wish I won. The bat sold for over slightly $5,000. You don't see many people in the hobby who still collect or who are trying to make a quick flip dollar - who go out of their way to help others.

Folks - I am not posting this thread to toot our horn - believe me. I just want to make sure that people are reminded of what Game Used Universe is all about. Its not about Mike or me or any other Expert on the site.......

IT'S ABOUT YOU - THE COLLECTOR - AND OUR QUEST TO HELP YOU IN EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR COLLECTING EFFORTS........

Jim