I moderate all comments that come into the Coxrail Blog. That means I decide which comments to publish and which to reject. If you sent comments that never appeared, then they probably failed one of my filters. Here is my basic philosophy.

Auction and Price List Promotion

I frequently promote price lists and upcoming auctions in my blog. I do not have a stake in a single sale. Instead, I promote lists and sales simply to inform collectors. Sadly, there is no good way for dealers and auction houses to reach all stock and bond collectors who might be interested. To be sure, there are many numismatic and philatelic publications and they reach huge numbers of people. However, I consider stock and bond collecting to be only loosely related to either of those venerable hobbies.

In other words, advertising in coin and stamp publications is not always terribly effective.

Every time I promote lists and auctions on my blog, I receive comments from collectors who want to complain either about business practices or prices. While I understand, with rare exception, I do NOT publish negative comments. Here's why.

Complaints about pricing.

I do not have proof, but I feel that many complaints about price come from people who form their collections by buying strictly from eBay. Don't get me wrong; eBay is a wonderful place to put together low-value collections. But, be realistic about expectations. If you only paid a few dollars for common items, how can you possibly expect someone in the near future to pay significantly more? That is not the way collectible hobbies work. It is just simple reality that low-priced common items will always be low-priced and common.

Auction houses and professional dealers specialize in selling scarce and rare certificates. It should be obvious that those kinds of exotic collectibles don't sell for bargain-basement prices and they don't sell on eBay.

Yes, a few genuinely rare certificates do appear on eBay from time to time. If you can buy those for low prices on eBay, congratulations! But I warn you not to delude yourself into thinking that eBay prices represent current prices for rarities elsewhere. REAL market prices for scarce and rare certificates are two to several times higher than eBay.

Comparing eBay and high-ticket auctions is understandable, but not realistic.

Yes, I agree that some dealers and auction houses publish outlandish prices for some certificates. No argument here, except to say that many of those certificates actually sell for those high prices. If you restrict yourself to buying only from eBay, you won't be able to buy many of the certificates that appear in professional auctions.

Complaints about business practices.

If they stick around long enough, virtually every dealer of collectibles create hard feelings and ill will with someone. Even the best of dealers have detractors.

I say this not to belittle objection you may have to a particular dealer. Believe me, I have dealt with many, many dealers in one way or another, sometimes anonymously. I do not agree with every dealer's way of doing business. I do not always agree with their prices. Some dealers just plain irritate me on a personal level. That is fair because I know my opinions certainly irritate some of them.

But, remember, if a dealer has been around for more than a few years, he has a loyal following. He must be doing something right. He must be satisfying customers.

If you have a specific complaint about a dealer, then you must take it up with him. I do not personally know all certificate dealers, but of the ones I do know, every one will work with you to resolve problems.

If your problem is more severe, and the dealer is not helping you, then I suggest you contact the Professional Scripophily Traders Association and seek their recommendations.

The difference between building up and tearing down.

I tend to view criticism in a black and white way: ordinary criticism and constructive criticism.

I believe – I FIRMLY BELIEVE – that ordinary criticism is the single easiest thing in the world to do. And I mean this in the most serious way possible. To me, criticism is as easy as breathing; sometimes easier. Even a person on life support at the edge of death can criticize, so how hard can criticism be? If I wanted ordinary, destructive, bitchy, whiny criticism, I can get that from anybody, anywhere, at any time.

Ordinary criticism has no value to me whatsoever. I do not intend to use my blog to spread vitriol. Period.

Constructive criticism is vastly different and almost infinitely more difficult. That is why forming constructive criticism is such a rare, rare talent. If you offer constructive criticism to improve the enjoyment of my readers, and hopefully the whole hobby, then I applaud your effort and I will freely publish your comments.