"Buyer Beware"--Collectors Do!!--Players Don't!!

[Mr. Checkers]

"You can never ask enough questions". This is one of the most important lessons that one soon learns from dealings made on "Ebay". If you don't learn that lesson early then its "Buyer Beware"--(I can tell you that from my own experiences there). Write down and ask all of the questions that you can possibly think of concerning the item before you place a bid in on it--if you don't then expect to "get burnt". I have found that most sellers are basically honest, but very few have extensive expertise on all the items that they are selling--and they don't claim to have that kind of knowledge. Therefore you need to ask questions--you can never ask to many I will assure you. Recently one of my close checker friends made me aware of a listing of checkers books that are presently forsale. After perusing it several times I knew that these books were being sold by someone who has only a very limited knowledge concerning the books that they are selling. Numerous flaws concerning the information given about the books can be found throughout this extensive listing. Knowledgeable collectors would easily pick up on these errors, but checker players may not or just may not care one way or another. So my advice to all would be to ask as many questions about the books as you can possibly think of; plus get a guarantee thats allows you to return any and all books if they were not as advertised or were not what you expected them to be. Also you may want to seek out advice from knowledgeable people before you buy. If you don't then you may find yourself purchasing misrepresented checker materials for your library that were not what they appeared to be. So "Buyer Beware" if you don't take the time to ask enough questions; and hopefully for those that do they will be the right ones, which will shed light on the books that you wanting to acquire. I should emphasize that the above suggestions should be applied to any and all checker book listings that you may encounter--ours included.

[Mr. Checkers]

One day about 25 years ago I received a postcard in the mails from an antiquarian book dealer, which advertised a first edition original 1872 Patterson's--"Game of Draughts" for only $8.75. Boy was I excited because that was not only a bargain to be sure, but it was also a book that I did not have in our collection of fine checker literature. So I immediately sent out our check for it; neglecting to ask any questions of any kind. I could hardly wait to receive this treasure in the mails and it seemed like a coons age before it finally arrived. Upon opening the package a beautiful paperback book was revealed before my eyes. I sat down and started browsing through it--page by page. Upon reaching the back of the book (where the ads appear) I discovered to my surprise an ad for a dog training manual dated 1890. Disappointment soon overcame me, for I had thought that I purchased an original, which was not the case. I wrote to the seller about my disappointment and he kindly said that I could return the book and receive my money back. After a lot of thought I declined his offer because this transaction was a lesson well learned for me in that from that time forward I knew that I had to "ask more questions" before purchasing any more checker books in the future. I placed this book in our library where it could be clearly seen at all times, being a constant and present reminder of a past purchase where I should have but forgot to ask any questions of any kind.

[Mr. Checkers]

I brought this question back up for our newest member Jay to read. "Mr. Checkers"