Authenticity?

[ccmunner]

In general, how "safe" do you think it is to buy a game used bat off of e-bay? What I mean by safe is how do you know you're getting the real thing? I know most players models aren't found in stores so I don't know where else they could come from but the players. Also, I was looking at an Alan Trammell bat on e-bay but the bat has Alan spelled Allan. Is that a red flag? Thanks.

[David]

Beyond personal knowledge of the material, 50 percent of buying well on eBay is knowing the seller. There are sellers on eBay who have good reputations for being knowledgeable and honest. At resale, it's easier to sell when you can show you bought the expensive autograph or rare piece of memorabilia from a seller widely known to be honest and knowledgeable about that type of material. It's known as good provenance and makes the buyer more confident about the item, in particular when he doesn't know you.

[David]

From my experience, there is a minority portion of sellers on eBay who are dishonest, if not complete liars will 'fudge the data' for an extra buck. There are also a lot of eBay sellers who are honest and sincere, but have no knowledge of the material they are selling ("Original or reprint photo? There's a difference?"). In particular considering that it is the seller, not you, that has the item physically in hand, and you're just looking a little jpg picture, it's obviously a good thing to know that a seller is knowledgeable about the material, perhaps knowing more than you. There are some sellers on eBay who are very knowledgeable about the material they sell, sometimes being the top experts in the field, and it's great to buy your rare item directly from the top expert.

I have bought items from sellers I don't know, though typically it's something inexpensive or a pair of shoes or music cd.

[mbrieve]

In general, how "safe" do you think it is to buy a game used bat off of e-bay? What I mean by safe is how do you know you're getting the real thing? I know most players models aren't found in stores so I don't know where else they could come from but the players. Also, I was looking at an Alan Trammell bat on e-bay but the bat has Alan spelled Allan. Is that a red flag? Thanks.

The bat in question also has Trammell spelled "Tramell". Now, that doesn't mean it is necessarily fake, but certainly an error bat. I had it on my watch list, but am now removing it as I would want a better example of a Trammell bat if I was going to drop big money on it...