Based on clicks and traffic it seems like once a post is published it doesn’t get heavy revisits. That makes total sense to me. Readers read it and move on – very logical for a, hopefully, daily blog. Brian DeMars seems to think it is more of a message board and I imagine most people didn’t see his posts. You don’t need to bother with them. He’s just being a turd-burger again.
His behavior reminds me of a client I had not too long ago and I think it is kind of interesting to share. The client had an employee that was technically invaluable but way too combative with their clients and coworkers. The employee’s problem, let’s call him Mark, was difficult to pinpoint because they were correct about too much stuff. It made Mark very resistant.
At one point I needed to read all of his work emails. I needed to use data to illustrate the challenge he was facing. One of the trends I pointed out to him was his propensity to use the Argument from Ignorance. The basic idea of this fallacy is that:
- Something is true because you can’t prove it false.
- Something is false because you can’t prove it true.
An example could be, “Chad Perry is made of peanuts. Sure he looks human, but it’s a skin suit over peanuts. We just need to see it. We’ll trick him somehow. And, of course, he’s going to say he’s not made of peanuts. That’s exactly what someone made of peanuts would say.”
Well, Mark would routinely make these Argument from Ignorance claims (not about peanuts, it was mostly business related) and it made people crazy. When I explained it to him he absolutely resisted. He genuinely couldn’t see it.
I share that story because I think we see this behavior more than ever in the world – especially on social media. Take the “recent” (it gets less recent everyday) desire to eliminate certain figures from the Master Set. Collectors saw the Red #131 as not real because they didn’t see it (and they didn’t believe Alex’s picture). The problem is that the best data we actually had (the Color Code) suggested it existed. And it does; I own it.
That’s why I am always surprised when Brian, or someone like him, suggests something stupid about me. Maybe it’s that I’m trying to control M.U.S.C.L.E. prices. Maybe it’s that my actions have nefarious ulterior motives. Whatever the claim, it is always an Argument from Ignorance.
For example, let’s say I’m lying about something – anything. I started this website as a semi-antidote to all the lying and misinformation that could be yield by unscrupulous sellers. It’s why the website’s writing started in third-person. The first time I wanted to bid on a listing I was fully transparent. I have been brutally honest on this site since 2009. My brutal honesty got me kicked out of a Facebook group. It caused me to potentially lose out on the SGS, because I valued everybody getting the truth instead. It got me timed-out (?) at LRG. I literally don’t care because I value honesty and the truth more.
And the truth has yielded far more positive results than negative for me.
With all of that said, I hope other collectors people start to see when people use the Argument from Ignorance. In Mark’s case (along with a few other things) it changed his life, saved his job, and made his wife thank me for making Mark a better person. I think just being familiar with the concept could make lots of peoples’ lives better.
Do you know what isn’t better? eBay. Oh man. There are so many terrible listings. That sucks for the Epilogue, but really is a win for collectors. You can just skip over all the bullshit and focus on the M.U.S.C.L.E. fans trying to help the community. I really hope the trend continues.
– viver_28 keeps turning out the $0.99 hits.
– mapaul78 is, at least, trying with his four lots starting at $1.
– Nice little lot from horible_cards.
– you_will_be_assimilated has a 14 figure mixed lot starting at $0.99.
– This might be my favorite $0.99 listing. I doubt captainsullys knows why. Do you?
– brmb-r-v7esgy has a solid Flesh lot of 55 figures starting at $0.99.
The above listings were the only lists that weren’t totally outrageous. In fact, the listings are become so outrageous that pick AOTW combatants is getting more difficult. With the steady stream of bullshit it becomes harder to standout.
Before we get to those four AOTW combatants that managed to standout, there were two other listings I wanted to mention. First, is this listing. I immediately recognized it and couldn’t believe it was listed again. It originally showed up in an Epilogue from May of 2020 and then again as an AOTW in January of 2021. Sadly, for him, he lost to the scalped #20 figure. Can you believe he’s still trying to sell a Flesh #49 for $30? Wow.
The second thing that caught my eye was that the new “M.U.S.C.L.E.” figure blowout is officially underway. Guys like this are going to be super bummed.
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This is the most amazing group of unsold shit. I’ve done this type of thing a couple times, but this group is simply on another level. Wow.
Two rings in two weeks?!?! Could the AOTW #1 make it three? It will have a little bit of an uphill battle, but this one makes up some ground by being in worse condition.
The AOTW #2 saw a 28-pack, in acceptable condition, without the correct figures and said, “This is going to be wildly popular. I can see it selling for $600 or $700. I think starting the bidding at $225 is the best thing I can do.”
I really hated the Ultimate Muscle minifigures. That’s why I see this lot as 24 figures even though there are 32 toys. Whether you count 32 or 24 the $199.99 BIN is shocking. The AOTW #3 wanted to be noticed and they certainly accomplished it.
The AOTW #4 saw the previous combatant and said, “I agree. There are only 24 M.U.S.C.L.E. figures in that lot – which works out to $8.33 per figure. I have these 10 figures that seem much better. I’ll price mine at $9.50 per figure.” Then he listed the lot with a $95 BIN.
Cast your vote (below) and crown the next AOTW Winner. Here are the four combatants:
Remember to cast your vote and crown this week’s AOTW Winner:
There used to be a long write-up about the first and second ULTIMATE AOTW Battle of the Champions Winners. The 3rd winner has a tiny backstory, which made me think we don’t need the full saga anymore.
