Of all the things I enjoy most with respect to working with MEARS is the editorial content we provide. I can say without a doubt that no similar organization or entity has produced and published as much information as we have. I am not talking about “reporting” events and answering board posts, but actual content. We have provided information for collectors, addressed critical hobby/industry issues, and been very open and transparent about the workings and dealing of our own personnel and organization.

Over the past 2 ½ years we have also held to ensuring that at least two new features appeared each week. In recent weeks we have added a Sunday News Feature that folks have expressed a strong liking for. For 2008, we will stay with at least three features each week with the possibility of adding more items as well. We have also decided to keep these open to the collecting public. We will do a few things different in 2008 with writers and what they will cover.

Dave Bushing: Most people have known Dave as both a dealer and someone who will answer their collecting questions. Seems like an odd combination as Dave has actually been helping collectors find items that he could have bought and made money on. Dave has agreed to write two new monthly columns; Bushing’s Best Buys and Notes in Bushing’s Basket. The Bushing’s Best Buy’s will be a monthly feature talking about items that have been bought in the hobby recently and why Dave feels they are solid buys or undervalued items. The Note’s in Bushing’s Basket will be a role up of the questions collectors have asked Dave and the responses he has provided. Dave figures that if one person has asked the question, others might want to know as well. By doing this in an article vs the previous board response, Dave has the ability to add images that can be searched and referenced at a later date. The search function also works better on the News Archive Section than the message board. Dave will also be providing feature articles on topics of interest over time as well.

Dave Miedema: Dave is going to take over the Sunday News Extra. Many folks like the way Dave covers a large number of topics in small easy to digest bites. We have asked Dave to provide a weekly role up on events and points of interest.

MEARS Staff Members: MEARS Staff Members are also going to begin providing articles, largely focused on things they do on a day to day basis that offer unique insights into process and items they help research and document.

In studying and doing “data mining” for the reasons people come to our site, two things are clear…People are coming to look through the Bushing and Kinunen For Sales Site and the Current News Section. Number or hits or page views are higher for these because they are open to the general collecting public. Our editorial content should focus on what people are looking for and why. In the month of December alone, there were 7,745 new visitors to the MEARS On Line Web Site. We are always interested in hearing from members and non-members alike about what you are interested in or what you are looking for.

As always, collect what you enjoy and enjoy what you collect.

Dave Grob

For questions or comments about this article, please feel free to contact me at DaveGrob1@aol.com.

Of all the things I enjoy most with respect to working with MEARS is the editorial content we provide. I can say without a doubt that no similar organization or entity has produced and published as much information as we have. I am not talking about “reporting” events and answering board posts, but actual content. We have provided information for collectors, addressed critical hobby/industry issues, and been very open and transparent about the workings and dealing of our own personnel and organization.

Over the past 2 ½ years we have also held to ensuring that at least two new features appeared each week. In recent weeks we have added a Sunday News Feature that folks have expressed a strong liking for. For 2008, we will stay with at least three features each week with the possibility of adding more items as well. We have also decided to keep these open to the collecting public. We will do a few things different in 2008 with writers and what they will cover.

Dave Bushing: Most people have known Dave as both a dealer and someone who will answer their collecting questions. Seems like an odd combination as Dave has actually been helping collectors find items that he could have bought and made money on. Dave has agreed to write two new monthly columns; Bushing’s Best Buys and Notes in Bushing’s Basket. The Bushing’s Best Buy’s will be a monthly feature talking about items that have been bought in the hobby recently and why Dave feels they are solid buys or undervalued items. The Note’s in Bushing’s Basket will be a role up of the questions collectors have asked Dave and the responses he has provided. Dave figures that if one person has asked the question, others might want to know as well. By doing this in an article vs the previous board response, Dave has the ability to add images that can be searched and referenced at a later date. The search function also works better on the News Archive Section than the message board. Dave will also be providing feature articles on topics of interest over time as well.

Dave Miedema: Dave is going to take over the Sunday News Extra. Many folks like the way Dave covers a large number of topics in small easy to digest bites. We have asked Dave to provide a weekly role up on events and points of interest.

MEARS Staff Members: MEARS Staff Members are also going to begin providing articles, largely focused on things they do on a day to day basis that offer unique insights into process and items they help research and document.

In studying and doing “data mining” for the reasons people come to our site, two things are clear…People are coming to look through the Bushing and Kinunen For Sales Site and the Current News Section. Number or hits or page views are higher for these because they are open to the general collecting public. Our editorial content should focus on what people are looking for and why. In the month of December alone, there were 7,745 new visitors to the MEARS On Line Web Site. We are always interested in hearing from members and non-members alike about what you are interested in or what you are looking for.

As always, collect what you enjoy and enjoy what you collect.

Dave Grob

For questions or comments about this article, please feel free to contact me at DaveGrob1@aol.com.

Many people have asked if this policy is in direct response to the personal position I took with respect to my work with Mastro Auctions recently, I can assure you it is not. It is part of a much larger process I have been working towards for a number of years. If this was personal and directed at any one auction house, then that or any auction house would have likely been excluded from doing any business with MEARS in 2008 from the outset.

Others have asked if the timing of this is also related to recent events. It is not. I have just reached the point where I have lost patience in waiting for change. In order to effect change in 2008, I had to establish a time line that permitted auction houses to consider this proposal and give collectors and consigners and chance to consider those responses.
Change in large organizations or complex operating environments takes time.

The other thing about change is that intellectual change must preceded physical change and I think we have finally reached that point. By this I mean, the hobby/industry has been talking about what needs to be addressed for years, but not much has changed. Truth be told, I look at what I have proposed as hopefully a forcing function in this industry with respect to creating some sort of National Association that ultimately would include authenticators, auction houses and dealers.

This policy represents a chance for an entire segment of this industry to take part in what I feel is much needed and long overdue change and reform. There are some auction houses that have never used MEARS and are likely not to in the future and I am just fine with that. My hope for them is that they would make these policies internal to their own operating procedures as well. This has nothing to do with trying to drum up business for MEARS. Each year, MEARS has done less and less auction work for a number of reasons. If MEARS was focused on catering to this segment of the industry, then we would more likely have been more accommodating as opposed to less.

Sports memorabilia is a commodity…and like all other commodity markets, it is influenced by trust and confidence on the part of the investor in the process. My goal is to strengthen the belief in the process and environment on the part of collectors by effecting change with respect to issues of openness and transparency. In the end, I think collectors will end up being able to make more informed purchase decisions and get a better product and service…a better product and service will command a better market price, or in this parlance, higher prices realized.

To those that say you can’t make money by doing this the right way…a way that includes things like:

-Mandatory and Public Disclosure of Ownership.

-Use of Worksheets.

-Requirement to Purchase Reference Material.

-Requirement to Provide Educational Content.

-Disclosure of Revenues and Sales.

-A Buyer Protection Program.

-Code of Conduct for Buying and Selling.

I would invite them to look at the archived sales section of Bushing and Kinunen MEARS For Sale Section (WWW.MEARSONLINE.COM). You will notice a couple of things here. Solid prices realized and an assortment of items that are typically found at auction.

What I am proposing is not focused at 2008…but 2018. By that I mean the industry needs to look hard at what collectors in their early to mid 20’s and 30’s are seeing and how there perceptions are being shaped by current events. What will a collector’s thoughts on the process be by the time they reach a point in their lives when they have more disposable income to spend in this hobby or industry? This will also likely be the point in time when some of the more impressive collections that have been built over the past 10-15 years are likely to re-enter the market place. I think that some in the auction house segment of the industry have falsely assumed that these collections will be brought back as consignments to the houses that sold them. I think it is more likely that these items will be consigned to the auction house that will get them the highest price realized. This ties directly back to what I said about the issue of trust and confidence effecting bidder confidence.

I have spent a great deal of time in this piece talking about why change makes sense from a business sense, especially with respect to the long term viability of this industry. This does not mean that I am only looking at the dollars and cents aspects, but am trying to highlight why doing the right thing does not have to come at the cost of profit. An auction house is a business and my policies are not likely to well received at first blush so I am attempting to portray what I propose against the backdrop of a long term strategic view as opposed to a focus on a single year’s auction cycle.

People have asked why I have been focused on a segment of the industry that I am not apart of…The answer is simple. I am a collector who has always felt I was entitled to something better. I have worked hard at MEARS to help shape our organization along the lines of what collectors have said they wanted. I could not have done any of this with the trust and support of Dave Bushing and Troy Kinunen. Both of these men have been associated with this hobby and industry for far longer than I have. They both have placed their livelihoods and personal and professional reputations in my hands and that is a responsibility I have taken very seriously. They have done everything I have asked of them and appear to be being rewarded by the market place for making the voluntary changes they have.

Some have been skeptical looking for how all of this is designed to just make MEARS more money. I would ask them to consider:

-MEARS is actually doing less auction house work and this could possibly reduce that even further.

-MEARS is absorbing the costs to ensure compliance.

-Bushing and Kinunen MEARS for Sale Items would no longer have the strength of position with respect to offering the product, services, and operating environment that collector’s desire.

Then why do it? Because we at MEARS, who are all collectors at heart, feel strongly that we are simply entitled to something better and are willing to work to ensure we and others get it.

Dave Grob

POST SCRIPT: This article was originally written for publication in Sports Collectors Digest. The article was to have been provided at no charge. The only provision was that the text not be edited in any manner. SCD declined stating that they “would not relinquish any of our editorial discretion. We do not, as a matter of course with all freelancers, accept any restrictions on how we edit pages that will appear in SCD.”

Many people have asked if this policy is in direct response to the personal position I took with respect to my work with Mastro Auctions recently, I can assure you it is not. It is part of a much larger process I have been working towards for a number of years. If this was personal and directed at any one auction house, then that or any auction house would have likely been excluded from doing any business with MEARS in 2008 from the outset.

Others have asked if the timing of this is also related to recent events. It is not. I have just reached the point where I have lost patience in waiting for change. In order to effect change in 2008, I had to establish a time line that permitted auction houses to consider this proposal and give collectors and consigners and chance to consider those responses.
Change in large organizations or complex operating environments takes time.

The other thing about change is that intellectual change must preceded physical change and I think we have finally reached that point. By this I mean, the hobby/industry has been talking about what needs to be addressed for years, but not much has changed. Truth be told, I look at what I have proposed as hopefully a forcing function in this industry with respect to creating some sort of National Association that ultimately would include authenticators, auction houses and dealers.

This policy represents a chance for an entire segment of this industry to take part in what I feel is much needed and long overdue change and reform. There are some auction houses that have never used MEARS and are likely not to in the future and I am just fine with that. My hope for them is that they would make these policies internal to their own operating procedures as well. This has nothing to do with trying to drum up business for MEARS. Each year, MEARS has done less and less auction work for a number of reasons. If MEARS was focused on catering to this segment of the industry, then we would more likely have been more accommodating as opposed to less.

Sports memorabilia is a commodity…and like all other commodity markets, it is influenced by trust and confidence on the part of the investor in the process. My goal is to strengthen the belief in the process and environment on the part of collectors by effecting change with respect to issues of openness and transparency. In the end, I think collectors will end up being able to make more informed purchase decisions and get a better product and service…a better product and service will command a better market price, or in this parlance, higher prices realized.

To those that say you can’t make money by doing this the right way…a way that includes things like:

-Mandatory and Public Disclosure of Ownership.

-Use of Worksheets.

-Requirement to Purchase Reference Material.

-Requirement to Provide Educational Content.

-Disclosure of Revenues and Sales.

-A Buyer Protection Program.

-Code of Conduct for Buying and Selling.

I would invite them to look at the archived sales section of Bushing and Kinunen MEARS For Sale Section (WWW.MEARSONLINE.COM). You will notice a couple of things here. Solid prices realized and an assortment of items that are typically found at auction.

What I am proposing is not focused at 2008…but 2018. By that I mean the industry needs to look hard at what collectors in their early to mid 20’s and 30’s are seeing and how there perceptions are being shaped by current events. What will a collector’s thoughts on the process be by the time they reach a point in their lives when they have more disposable income to spend in this hobby or industry? This will also likely be the point in time when some of the more impressive collections that have been built over the past 10-15 years are likely to re-enter the market place. I think that some in the auction house segment of the industry have falsely assumed that these collections will be brought back as consignments to the houses that sold them. I think it is more likely that these items will be consigned to the auction house that will get them the highest price realized. This ties directly back to what I said about the issue of trust and confidence effecting bidder confidence.

I have spent a great deal of time in this piece talking about why change makes sense from a business sense, especially with respect to the long term viability of this industry. This does not mean that I am only looking at the dollars and cents aspects, but am trying to highlight why doing the right thing does not have to come at the cost of profit. An auction house is a business and my policies are not likely to well received at first blush so I am attempting to portray what I propose against the backdrop of a long term strategic view as opposed to a focus on a single year’s auction cycle.

People have asked why I have been focused on a segment of the industry that I am not apart of…The answer is simple. I am a collector who has always felt I was entitled to something better. I have worked hard at MEARS to help shape our organization along the lines of what collectors have said they wanted. I could not have done any of this with the trust and support of Dave Bushing and Troy Kinunen. Both of these men have been associated with this hobby and industry for far longer than I have. They both have placed their livelihoods and personal and professional reputations in my hands and that is a responsibility I have taken very seriously. They have done everything I have asked of them and appear to be being rewarded by the market place for making the voluntary changes they have.

Some have been skeptical looking for how all of this is designed to just make MEARS more money. I would ask them to consider:

-MEARS is actually doing less auction house work and this could possibly reduce that even further.

-MEARS is absorbing the costs to ensure compliance.

-Bushing and Kinunen MEARS for Sale Items would no longer have the strength of position with respect to offering the product, services, and operating environment that collector’s desire.

Then why do it? Because we at MEARS, who are all collectors at heart, feel strongly that we are simply entitled to something better and are willing to work to ensure we and others get it.

Dave Grob

POST SCRIPT: This article was originally written for publication in Sports Collectors Digest. The article was to have been provided at no charge. The only provision was that the text not be edited in any manner. SCD declined stating that they “would not relinquish any of our editorial discretion. We do not, as a matter of course with all freelancers, accept any restrictions on how we edit pages that will appear in SCD.”

I have been working towards reforming this hobby/industry for a few years now. I have only been able to influence MEARS because of the great leeway, trust and confidence that Troy Kinunen and Dave Bushing have extended to me with respect to developing the internal and external policies for MEARS. Both Troy and Dave have agreed to conditions that are self-imposed and exist for the betterment of the industry as a whole. They include:

-Mandatory and Public Disclosure of Ownership.

-Use of Worksheets.

-Requirement to Purchase Reference Material.

-Requirement to Provide Educational Content for MEARS On Line.

-Disclosure of Revenues and Sales.

-MEARS Buyer Protection Program.

-Code of Conduct for Buying and Selling.

2007 was a somewhat difficult year for MEARS on an internal level because of what I saw as a problematic set of circumstances with a contract holder. I have been asked to develop a policy for the work that MEARS does with auction houses in 2008 that is designed to do a number of things:

– Offer all auction houses, regardless of previous issues, a chance to fully participate with MEARS.

– Move towards creating standards within the industry.

– Establish a framework that I am willing to be a part of.

With that being said, this is what MEARS will demand from any and all auction houses that wish to have ANY items evaluated by MEARS in 2008. One of the problems with the 2007 auction house contract is that there was very little in the way of penalties or mechanisms for assessing compliance. This will no longer be the case for 2008. The pricing structure will be left to Troy to work out with the respective auction house.

ANY auction house that fail to provide a signed agreement to the following conditions by 10 November 2007, will not be able to submit ANY items to MEARS for 2008. These conditions apply to ALL auction house work regardless of the volume or number of items an auction house wishes to submit. In years past their have been auction houses not under contract with MEARS that would submit select items at the retail rate. Once again, these provisions apply to any and all auction house work.

The concept is simple as far as MEARS is concerned…we only wish to do business with organizations who have like minded ideas with respect to what we consider acceptable business practices. These conditions are non-negotiable and serve as the basis for my agreement to work with MEARS in 2008.

The following will be listed in the MEARS contract for 2008 under the heading of Standards of Conduct and Ethical Business Practices:

1. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree to disclosure ownership or financial interest in any lot that is consigned by any employee or family member as well as anyone offering an opinion on an item they or anyone they have a business relationship with consigns. This is not limited to game used items. This disclosure must be made in item description via a catalog or on-line description. This will require that bidder sheets/records for all auctions be maintained for the year. To ensure compliance, the auction house agrees to subject itself to an audit by the Policy Director of MEARS at least once a year. These will be short notice audits and the auction house will be required to provide a copy of the catalog and the consigner listings for the auction in question. Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less than 3 years.

2. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree that no bids will be placed on lots owned by any employee or family member by any employee or family member. No consigner will be permitted to bid on their own items. This will require that bidder sheets/records for all auctions be maintained for the year. To ensure compliance, the auction house agrees to subject itself to an audit by the Policy Director of MEARS at least once a year. These will be short notice audits and the auction house will be required to provide a copy of the catalog and the consigner listings, and the bidding history for the auction in question. Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less than 3 years.

3. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree that all our grades, which sometimes are low and not favorable, are printed in the lot description of their catalogs. Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less 3 years. The Policy Director has the final say in determining whether or not an omission of this information was an administrative oversight or an attempt to mask problematic information.

4. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree to identify within the title of the offering the phrase “Team Index Bat or Index Bat” if this is how the bat has been referenced or evaluated. Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less than 3 years. The Policy Director has the final say in determining whether or not an omission of this information was an administrative oversight or an attempt to mask problematic information.

5. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree to identify within the auction description any and all modifications or changes made to an item that they list in their auction. This is not limited to game used items. Examples of these issues include, but are not limited to:

-Removal of autographs or other writing of any kind.

-Repairs or modifications to an item that are designed to improve the appeal of an item or return it an improved state.

– With respect to cards and similar items, trimming, pressing, or the removal of stains, glue, gum, etc… or writing that are designed to improve the appeal of an item or return it an improved state.

Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less than 3 years.

6. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree to provide an inventory of items to be evaluated NLT 14 days prior to any onsite work. They further agree that in the case of items that are to be mailed in, they will contact MEARS prior to sending items in and that all items will be accompanied with a submission form. Item not handled in this manner will either be returned or not subject to being evaluated. In no instance, will any item be evaluated at a show where MEARS does not have access to the proper research and reference information. Enforcement of these provisions will be at the discretion of the Operations Manager, but it is the expectation of the Policy Director that no exceptions will be made in these areas that directly impact the quality of the work that MEARS performs.

7. In all cases and with all provisions, the Policy Director for MEARS has the final say in determining whether or not he feels an omission of this information or violation of these provisions was an administrative oversight or an attempt to mask problematic information.

It must be understood and clear that MEARS expects that both the spirit and intent of these provisions be honored. If we come to suspect that auction houses are attempting to subvert these provisions by having potential consigners submit items to us directly in order to mask their involvement, MEARS is also prepared to severely curtail portions of our retail operations as well.

One of the things we will not be in a position to control is what happens with items that MEARS has previously evaluated that then come to auction. This is were we hope collectors will continue to use the information found within the archive of Letters of Opinion as well as the jersey/bat census.

I am sure there will be some who might say that this is a bit heavy handed or even Draconian. I am a realist and I don’t doubt that this will not be embraced by many auction houses. If for nothing else, there is likely to be resentment because an outside force is dictating internal operating procedures. All I can offer is that right now I know for a fact there are other “outside forces” looking into this industry in a very serious manner. My only hope this that the industry/hobby can reform itself and on its own.

Please know this is not some sort of PR stunt on the part of MEARS. If there are no signed contacts acknowledging the acceptance of these Standards of Conduct and Ethical Business Practices on hand at MEARS in Milwaukee at the close of business on 10 November 2007, then MEARS will not do any auction house work in 2008. The 10th of November is not an approximate date. MEARS will publish the list of those auction houses we will do work for in 2008 on the 11th on November.

Dave Grob

I have been working towards reforming this hobby/industry for a few years now. I have only been able to influence MEARS because of the great leeway, trust and confidence that Troy Kinunen and Dave Bushing have extended to me with respect to developing the internal and external policies for MEARS. Both Troy and Dave have agreed to conditions that are self-imposed and exist for the betterment of the industry as a whole. They include:

-Mandatory and Public Disclosure of Ownership.

-Use of Worksheets.

-Requirement to Purchase Reference Material.

-Requirement to Provide Educational Content for MEARS On Line.

-Disclosure of Revenues and Sales.

-MEARS Buyer Protection Program.

-Code of Conduct for Buying and Selling.

2007 was a somewhat difficult year for MEARS on an internal level because of what I saw as a problematic set of circumstances with a contract holder. I have been asked to develop a policy for the work that MEARS does with auction houses in 2008 that is designed to do a number of things:

– Offer all auction houses, regardless of previous issues, a chance to fully participate with MEARS.

– Move towards creating standards within the industry.

– Establish a framework that I am willing to be a part of.

With that being said, this is what MEARS will demand from any and all auction houses that wish to have ANY items evaluated by MEARS in 2008. One of the problems with the 2007 auction house contract is that there was very little in the way of penalties or mechanisms for assessing compliance. This will no longer be the case for 2008. The pricing structure will be left to Troy to work out with the respective auction house.

ANY auction house that fail to provide a signed agreement to the following conditions by 10 November 2007, will not be able to submit ANY items to MEARS for 2008. These conditions apply to ALL auction house work regardless of the volume or number of items an auction house wishes to submit. In years past their have been auction houses not under contract with MEARS that would submit select items at the retail rate. Once again, these provisions apply to any and all auction house work.

The concept is simple as far as MEARS is concerned…we only wish to do business with organizations who have like minded ideas with respect to what we consider acceptable business practices. These conditions are non-negotiable and serve as the basis for my agreement to work with MEARS in 2008.

The following will be listed in the MEARS contract for 2008 under the heading of Standards of Conduct and Ethical Business Practices:

1. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree to disclosure ownership or financial interest in any lot that is consigned by any employee or family member as well as anyone offering an opinion on an item they or anyone they have a business relationship with consigns. This is not limited to game used items. This disclosure must be made in item description via a catalog or on-line description. This will require that bidder sheets/records for all auctions be maintained for the year. To ensure compliance, the auction house agrees to subject itself to an audit by the Policy Director of MEARS at least once a year. These will be short notice audits and the auction house will be required to provide a copy of the catalog and the consigner listings for the auction in question. Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less than 3 years.

2. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree that no bids will be placed on lots owned by any employee or family member by any employee or family member. No consigner will be permitted to bid on their own items. This will require that bidder sheets/records for all auctions be maintained for the year. To ensure compliance, the auction house agrees to subject itself to an audit by the Policy Director of MEARS at least once a year. These will be short notice audits and the auction house will be required to provide a copy of the catalog and the consigner listings, and the bidding history for the auction in question. Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less than 3 years.

3. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree that all our grades, which sometimes are low and not favorable, are printed in the lot description of their catalogs. Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less 3 years. The Policy Director has the final say in determining whether or not an omission of this information was an administrative oversight or an attempt to mask problematic information.

4. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree to identify within the title of the offering the phrase “Team Index Bat or Index Bat” if this is how the bat has been referenced or evaluated. Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less than 3 years. The Policy Director has the final say in determining whether or not an omission of this information was an administrative oversight or an attempt to mask problematic information.

5. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree to identify within the auction description any and all modifications or changes made to an item that they list in their auction. This is not limited to game used items. Examples of these issues include, but are not limited to:

-Removal of autographs or other writing of any kind.

-Repairs or modifications to an item that are designed to improve the appeal of an item or return it an improved state.

– With respect to cards and similar items, trimming, pressing, or the removal of stains, glue, gum, etc… or writing that are designed to improve the appeal of an item or return it an improved state.

Failure to comply with this provision will result in the inability to submit items to MEARS for a period of not less than 3 years.

6. All auction houses wishing to use MEARS will agree to provide an inventory of items to be evaluated NLT 14 days prior to any onsite work. They further agree that in the case of items that are to be mailed in, they will contact MEARS prior to sending items in and that all items will be accompanied with a submission form. Item not handled in this manner will either be returned or not subject to being evaluated. In no instance, will any item be evaluated at a show where MEARS does not have access to the proper research and reference information. Enforcement of these provisions will be at the discretion of the Operations Manager, but it is the expectation of the Policy Director that no exceptions will be made in these areas that directly impact the quality of the work that MEARS performs.

7. In all cases and with all provisions, the Policy Director for MEARS has the final say in determining whether or not he feels an omission of this information or violation of these provisions was an administrative oversight or an attempt to mask problematic information.

It must be understood and clear that MEARS expects that both the spirit and intent of these provisions be honored. If we come to suspect that auction houses are attempting to subvert these provisions by having potential consigners submit items to us directly in order to mask their involvement, MEARS is also prepared to severely curtail portions of our retail operations as well.

One of the things we will not be in a position to control is what happens with items that MEARS has previously evaluated that then come to auction. This is were we hope collectors will continue to use the information found within the archive of Letters of Opinion as well as the jersey/bat census.

I am sure there will be some who might say that this is a bit heavy handed or even Draconian. I am a realist and I don’t doubt that this will not be embraced by many auction houses. If for nothing else, there is likely to be resentment because an outside force is dictating internal operating procedures. All I can offer is that right now I know for a fact there are other “outside forces” looking into this industry in a very serious manner. My only hope this that the industry/hobby can reform itself and on its own.

Please know this is not some sort of PR stunt on the part of MEARS. If there are no signed contacts acknowledging the acceptance of these Standards of Conduct and Ethical Business Practices on hand at MEARS in Milwaukee at the close of business on 10 November 2007, then MEARS will not do any auction house work in 2008. The 10th of November is not an approximate date. MEARS will publish the list of those auction houses we will do work for in 2008 on the 11th on November.

Dave Grob