For those of you who have not been following the Cal Ripken Jersey and Pants auction on ebay,

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190083974004&ssPageNam e=ADME:B:EF:US:11

you really should because it gives a rare glimpse into the hobby and how people deal with each other on ebay as well as an apparently uninformed seller. I have no idea if the jersey is real or not and there is a detailed discussion in the current auction thread. However, the description and Q&A section are highly entertaining.

Typically the sellers will not post questions and buy it now offers that they receive, but this one did . . . thankfully.

It appears that after the auction commenced, Rich Urban (who I do not know but I have read informed posts from) writes to the seller and makes recommendations on the title that unquestionably help the seller bring in more bidders. Very classy act. (Remember the debate on the board about the jersey at a tag sale and whether you should disclose it is worth thousands when you buy for $25).

The seller is promised that bids will be offered on the last day, offerred the opening bid to close the auction and apparently is told by many emailers (not posted) that the jersey, pants or both are fake.

One self-described "large Ripken collector" (does this mean a large collection of Ripken items or simply a large person who likes to collect Ripken stuff?) is interested but says the $5,000 starting price is too high, (seller's response is a classic, she will wear the shirt until it falls apart before selling it for a lower price) while another tells the seller that the lot could fetch $10,000 at an auction house. There are currently two bids and the price is $5,100.

Of course at the same time our apparently uninformed seller is playing coy too. When asked for proof of authenticity, seller responds that the potential bidder should do their research online and when pressed tells the questioner that the lot is not for him/her. A request for money back if not satisfactory to an authenticator is met with a reponse that 19 watchers cannot be wrong and bidders should be left to do what they do best.

I'm sure that many knew this type of thing happened on ebay, but keep it in mind when you see that perfect addition to your collection, there are many working behind the scenes to buy it.

Also, I would love to see the emails sent that were not posted, including those from people claiming that the jersey and pants were not authentic.

Jeff