Ethics and Policies

[JeffS]

I'm not a frequent poster here but I greatly enjoy the site and am the "new collector" type discussed above. I am also a moderator on another forum so know well how difficult it is to enforce sweeping policies, particularly if there is a time component to them. I really appreciate the easy going helpful atmosphere of EAA and strongly support your desire to keep shills and exploitative activity away.

It occurs to me that the member base fanatically watches all of the internet accessible sources for ethnographic weapons and little goes on in that arena that members here won't observe. You could simply set a policy that members are not authorized to use EAA for appraisals for items slated for sale and that such activity will result in a ban. The member base will take care of monitoring and reporting suspected abuse. At least on the forum I moderate on, members are more than happy to report rule violations.

I would caution against setting up a policy with time limits. As others mentioned it is usually pretty easy to tell the difference between a dealer using the EAA as an appraisal resource from collector deciding to flip a piece. Suspected violators could be contacted via PM with a warning. If their behavior continues, then the ban is applied. Problem solved.