Awhile back, we posted about censorship on the eBay message boards (http://blogs.ebay.com/rainmanesq/entry/eBay-Tightens-Up-Its-Discussion-Boards/_W0QQidZ77745012).  There has been speculation that eBay has been tightening up its message boards since 2002 and that such censorship (or "management"?) has increased in 2006.  Personally we have seen users banned without explanation, threads pulled without explanation, certain users/behaviors tolerated on one board yet not tolerated on another, some users being suspended for certain behavior while other users are not suspended for the SAME behavior, and other things.  eBay (and any company) certainly has a right to "police" their message boards against NON-FACTUAL information, offensive speech, illegal conduct, and the like.    However, should the desire to protect a company's reputation and prevent erroneous information and/or rumors from being published outweigh eBay users' desire and need for FACTUAL information relating to their experience on eBay?

Today someone posted a thread on an eBay board about a class action lawsuit involving eBay that had settled.  Essentially the suit claimed that eBay's automated bidding system can pit bidders against themselves leading to eBay buyers paying inflated prices for their goods, eBay receiving larger transaction fees and eBay's financial subsidiary PayPal getting extra revenues.  The suit accuses eBay of "shilling," the practice of bidding on an item with no intention of buying it, merely to raise the price. It hinges on eBay's practice of encouraging high bidders to raise their maximum bids.

In response to the post on the eBay board concerning the lawsuit, a few people posted asking whether the notice (which was in their ‘My Messages’ box and entitled "Legal Notice" on eBay) was legitimate.  At first glance, the message appeared legitimate- it had our first and last name and was in our "My Messages" box.  Upon further investigation at the Santa Clara Superior Court website, we were able to confirm that there is such a case.  eBay’s response to the message being posted on an eBay board regarding the lawsuit?  The thread was pulled within less than 20 minutes of being posted.  Was eBay's action a wise "management" decision or was it censorship?

Information on the class action lawsuit: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/3485301

eBay board threads where the information IS apparently allowed to be posted (at least as of 5:30 PM PST):

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000288865&tstart=0&mod=1167182697690

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000408032&tstart=0&mod=1167179609659

The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, like the T206 Honus Wagner, is often heralded as one of the Holy Grails of baseball (and sports cards in general).  It is extremely difficult to find this card in decent condition as most collectors back then did not put cards in pennysleeves and toploaders right out of the pack like they do today and since grading companies did not exist.  What makes this sale even more remarkable is that there are only 9-10 Mint (PSA 9/10) 1952 Topps Mickey Mantles in existence.

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/latest/holy-grail-trio-brings-635-639.html

Two baseball cards sold for over a quarter million dollars each in a major sale of vintage memorabilia.

One of less than ten 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle cards professionally graded mint drew a winning bid well into six figures in an auction closing this weekend.

The Mantle card had been part of a collection owned by entertainment lawyer John Branca and was graded "9" by Professional Sports Authenticator. It's winning bid was $240,500, but with a 17.5% buyer's premium added by the auctioneer, Memory Lane Inc. of Newport Beach, California, the unidentified winner will pay $282,587. Only nine '52 Mantle cards have ever been graded unqualfied 9 or 10 by PSA.

A PSA 2 T206 Honus Wagner tobacco card drew a winning bid of $250,500. With the premium tacked on, it sold for over $294,000. It's estimated less than 75 Wagner cards exist in any condition.

The third card in what was advertised as a "Holy Grail trio auction" was a 1935 National Chicle Bronko Nagurski rookie which sold for $58,417 with the buyer's premium. The Nagurski is considered one of the most rare and popular football cards.

The auction also included an autographed 1927 Yankees team photo obtained from the family of player George Pipgras. It went for $206, 212.

Vintage cards, as usual, drew tremendous interest. 1948 Leaf proved a hot commodity with a Bob Feller PSA 8 reaching $24,611 and a Harry Brecheen $13,101. A 1933 Goudey Sport Kings Babe Ruth graded PSA 8 drew a winning bid of $28,200 while a '33 Goudey #53 Ruth (PSA 7) brought $16,742. One of the hobby's rare cards, a 1933 Goudey Nap Lajoie brought $13,767 even in PSA 2. A 1915 Cracker Jack Joe Jackson graded 7.5 by GAI was hammered down at $17,879.

A 1958 Topps PSA 8 Sandy Koufax drew a winning bid of $4958. In addition to the Nagurski, a '35 Chicle Turk Edwards went for $5540.

Other items sold included:

• Christy Mathewson signed check $19,642
• 1978 Topps set, all graded and including several PSA 10 $21,086
• 1956 Topps set, all graded PSA 7 $18,505
• 1957-58 Topps basketball unopened pack $4353
• 1961-1962 Fleer Oscar Robertson $4157

eBay Toughens Up on Discussion Boards

Came across this article from 2002..seems like things are getting even tighter on the eBay Discussion Boards in 2006.  While I think moderation is necessary (in moderation..no bad pun intended), I think eBay needs to be more clear about its policies or should at least explain to community members why a post/thread was deleted, ensure policies are uniformly enforced, and perhaps give examples of what is and is not allowed.  Excerpt below- click the link for the full article:

Want to get cash back every time you shop on eBay and other online merchants?  Click here: http://www.bigcrumbs.com/crumbs/frontpage.jsp?r=rainmanesq

http://news.com.com/2100-1017-885574.html

eBay is tightening up the rules for its community discussion boards, sparking complaints that the rules are choking off the free flow of information among members.

Under the new rules, eBay community members can't use the boards to warn others if they were ripped off by a buyer or a seller, they can't ask each other where to find a particular item to buy, they can't share private e-mail, and--if eBay decides to delete an offending post--the members aren't allowed to even discuss the post.

Members who violate the rules can be banned from buying and selling on the site, and if that happens the millions of other eBay members are barred from even discussing that person on the boards--or they too are at risk of being kicked out of the community.

"They're just trying to stop any criticism at all," said Joe, an eBay seller from Greenville, S.C., who asked that his last name not be used.

eBay, like other sites with discussion boards, has always had certain commonsense regulations: no pornography, hate speech or threats of violence, no using JavaScript or other coding that could interfere with the site operations, no making repetitive posts or sending abusive messages.

And eBay has the legal right to restrict discussion on its boards, since it owns and operates them. Any charges of censorship would fall on deaf ears in the courts, because the First Amendment only prohibits the government from restricting speech.

"The law has endorsed in general the idea that it's eBay's forum and they get to write the rules," said Cindy Cohn, legal director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "If people don't like what eBay's doing, they should look for other places to do business."

Bowman Chrome Draft is one of baseball’s hottest products, offering excitement for prospectors hoping to stockpile their favorite rookie/minor league player as well as offering relatively low cost packs/boxes for kids and other collectors who love opening packs just for the fun of it.  As always, this year’s Bowman Chrome Draft Baseball is loaded with rookies, autographs, blue refractors, gold refractors, orange refractors, red refractors, printing plates, refractors, superfractors, xfractors, and more.  Currently 2006 Bowman Chrome Draft Baseball is set to release on December 7, 2006.

Box/Case Breakdown: 24 packs/box, 7 cards/pack, 10 boxes/case.  1 autograph/box and 1 relic/box

Pack Breakdown: Each pack of 2006 Bowman Chrome Draft Baseball has 2 Bowman rookie cards, 1 Bowman Chrome rookie card, 2 Bowman prospect/1st year cards, 1 Bowman Chrome prospect/1st year cards, and 1 parallel (blue refractors, gold refractors, orange refractors, red refractors, refractors, superfractors, xfractors)

Hobby Exclusive Parallels: Red Bowman Parallels #/1, Superfractors #/1, Printing plates (autographed and non-autographed) #/1, Red Refractors (#/5) Signs of the Future Head of the Class Dual Autographs #/174, and Bowman Scouting Report (Box Loader).

Product Highlights:

Red Bowman Parallels #/1
Printing Plates #/1
Superfractors #/1
Red Refractors #/5
Orange Refractors #/25
Gold Refractors #/50
Signs of the Future Head of the Class Dual Autographs #/174
Blue Refractors #/199
White Bowman Parallels #/225
Xfractors #/299
Exclusive Bowman Futures Game Prospect Relic Cards

Changes in Bowman Chrome Draft From Prior Years:

There have been several changes in 2006 Bowman Chrome Draft Baseball over the years, and this year is no exception.  One of the biggest changes this year is the new Major League Baseball Players’ Association new Rookie rules which essentially means that instead of just having rookie cards inserted into packs and boxes, Topps has inserted both rookie cards (players who have made a team’s 40 man roster) and prospect cards (players who were drafted but have not yet made a team’s 40 man roster).  As it specifically relates to Bowman Chrome Draft, the numbering on blue refractors has changed to 199 (used to be #/150), the numbering on xfractors has changed to 225 (used to be #/150, /225, or /250 depending on the year), and refractors are no longer numbered (used to be #/300 or /500 depending on the year).