Protecting Your Source

[quote]So, aside from a few grey areas, I think I?m pretty candid with where I find my items. As for the timeframe, well, I need to work on that as I don?t always update in sequential order, nor do I include witty banter or information about a scene in my comments section. *shrug* I guess I need to get more commentary assistance from Welcome Consumer, Sensei, Tex-chan, and Klet. ;o)[/quote]

*blush*

That's the second time I've received a compliment in the past few days! You guys are giving me a big head. ^_^

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I didn't say stop. :P ^_~

I concur Toni! As another private individual I too see no point in advertising the source of my acquisitions and I certainly do not impose by asking others where they've obtained their treasures. If someone has not directly posted the source of their purchase I assume they do not want others to know b/c if they did, they'd post it already. IMO my privacy has nothing to do with competition or an "...effort to handicap newcomers", instead my privacy is the result of actively completing my homework so to speak. In many ways, I believe doing so helps weed out and reduce the "fad collectors" who tend to drop out within five years.

Regardless of your financial situation, cel collecting experience, and connections, we all know we need to dedicate the time to research and learn about the players in our niche series. Even when I started well over 15 years ago, I didn't ask people where did you get ___ cel? No one owed me an explanation and they certainly are not obligated to lend you a hand or become your support system/crutch. Within reason I do help others, but when someone imposes and/or uses their ignorance as an excuse, that IMO is complete and utter bull and is unacceptable.

[b][color=#00ccff]The ONUS is completely on the buyer/n00b to research as much as they can on their own, doing so helps you learn faster and prevent avoidable mistakes.[/b][/color] There is a wealth of information on RS and nearly triple that amount stored in Animanga, but many people are so damn lazy they do not dedicate the requisite time and energy to learn! Instead these individuals want things handed to them on a silver platter aka shortcuts and that is something that really ticks me off.

[quote]There is a wealth of information on RS and nearly triple that amount stored in Animanga, but many people are so damn lazy they do not dedicate the requisite time and energy to learn! Instead these individuals want things handed to them on a silver platter aka shortcuts and that is something that really ticks me off.[/quote]

Mahoro,

I really agree with this part of the statement. We all had to begin somewhere, but unfortunately because so many people are lazy and want the "easy way" approach, they just want the information handed to them. Get out there, do the research, find the sites, and do the work!

It is really displeasing to see how lazy so many people are. And not just with searching for cel mentionables either. Taking and posting whatever they please (i.e. copying and pasting text) is another resort of sheer laziness and discredits those that actually went out of their way to research. It really shows when you can see that people just cannot take the time to do a bit of research on their own. Yea, we're all busy...that's not an excuse.

Just thought I'd share my 2 cents. ^_^

When I think of the help I've received frm many kind cel collectors & the mistakes they have prevented me frm making, I'm more than happy to help a newbie. As an excited newbie, I'm sure many of us have overpaid for a cel or *gasp* bought a repro/ fan cel thinking it was a production cel.

Like many of you have highlighted, there are times I may not give out a source to respect the seller's privacy and most certainly do not disclose the exact price I paid for it. But that doesn't mean I can't point him/her in the right direction, e.g. do a search on past completed ebay auctions to get a feel of the price, what to do to weed out undesirable sellers, refer him/her to helpful forums etc.

Having said that, I've not been asked about my source or prices paid. On rare occasions, I'll juz get questions abt my collection. ^^

[quote]But that doesn't mean I can't point him/her in the right direction, e.g. do a search on past completed ebay auctions to get a feel of the price, what to do to weed out undesirable sellers, refer him/her to helpful forums etc. [/quote]

That's completely understandable too. Don't get this confused with my last post. I'm more than willing to point people in the right direction and let them know "hey, you might wanna be careful, not too many people have had good dealings with this person..." but merely my point was the "where did you get this and that and that and that and etc."

We all had to have started somewhere. Doing research and probably learning from experience on your own is the best thing to understanding what a hobby like this is like. But helping and just giving advice is a different story...there's nothing wrong with helping someone out so that they steer clear of possible misfortunes/mistrust that seems to have run amok out there.