Expertise comes in many forms, and is not just limited to buying, selling, and owning. As Gaspare mentioned, I also have seen some monster collections in multiple areas with the good mixed in with the bad. Owned by guys who were otherwise clueless - that had accepted somebody�s word that the item was good because he (the seller) said that he was an �expert�. For some of them, if a forum such as this one had existed back then, it could have helped them avoid some very, very, costly mistakes.
But the 800 pound gorilla that�s in the room. That does not seem to have been addressed directly, is the fact that a lot of new or potentially new collectors are getting turned off by all of the fakes (which includes altered items). Face to face, that is one of the very serious concerns of these new guys who will be the ones that are carrying on the collecting tradition. And they don�t necessarily trust all of the dealers (or old timers) either, with some of them having very strong feelings.
Then, when you add in a bad economy, I�m not surprised that things have slowed down. In the near term I don�t expect much change, as even more fakes are coming into the marketplace, and the economy is still unsettled. But once things really do get turned around, I would hope that those who are now staying away return. And that they can continue to come to the forums for the best possible opinions in whatever area that they are collecting. FP
