I would like to welcome everyone to the first entry of my blog, "Gavel Chat."

My name is Chris Nerat, an associate editor for Sports Collectors Digest, and as an active participant in the hobby for nearly 20 years I have seen it all. I was a full-time employee for SCD Authentic as a card grader, worked as a writer for the auction house American Memorabilia and also worked for the Upper Deck card company in Las Vegas.

This year I started back at Sports Collectors Digest and couldn't be happier. The staff here is very knowledgeable and a joy to work with.

A lot of changes to our online coverage will be taking place in 2007 and I am very excited about them. You are seeing the first major part of our changes with the addition of this blog. We also will be adding much more video and audio content, in addition to editorial content exclusive to sportscollectorsdigest.com.

I will be using my blog to bring many of the hobby's current topics to light with a main focus on eBay and major auctions.

As you will soon find out I am very opinionated and I urge our readers to chime in with their thoughts as well. For the most part my blog will be fairly informal and updated regularly.
Thank you for taking the time to read my introduction to Gavel Chat. Please, don't be a stranger.

-Chris