For those of you who aren't too big on football history, you may not think this is that cool of a story. But if you know a decent amount about the members of Canton, or are a Packers buff like myself, you know the name Johnny Blood McNally.

Blood was probably just as famous for his off-the-field antics as he was for his extraordinary play on the field. One thing's for sure, however, you never see game-worn McNally stuff ... Never.

Until now that is... I just pulled this article from the Packers website CLICK HERE. Now, these shoulder pads aren't the same as a helmet or jersey, but still pretty darn cool.

If you've never made it to the Packers Hall of Fame at Lambeau, you're really missing out. There's so much great history in that place, and archivist Tom Murphy has done a great job with the PHOF.

According to Wikipedia, in 1997, the first item that ever sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer for $14.83. After the winning bidder was contacted to make sure he understood that the laser pointer was broken. The buyer’s response: “I’m a collector of broken laser pointers.”

From that point on, we should have known that this new idea in the world of selling in an auction format over the Internet would be one of the most talked about concepts, and one of the most popular.

And just as I remember where I was when the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI, where I was sitting during the 9/11 tragedy, as crazy as it may sound, I actually remember what I was doing when I was first introduced to eBay.

I also remember eBay being basically the same as I view it today. Don’t get me wrong, however, there have been some subtle changes. During eBay’s infancy, you would have a better chance of finding an auction selling 10 broken laser pointers than a listing that accompanied an image of the item being sold. Of course, that has all changed now. I would have to think that the advent of small, user-friendly and affordable digital cameras and scanners has had a lot to do with that.

The idea of fraud was much more prevalent 10 years ago on eBay than it is now. To my knowledge, eBay did very little to prevent criminal acts, such as selling fake designer clothes and jewelry. Sellers who took part in shill bidding were rampant in the late 1990s, and although fake autographs are still a problem, eBay is now actively pursuing ways to educate collectors on how to help ensure that potential buyers are purchasing authentic items.

Then came Paypal. I remember someone who bought an item from me on eBay actually sending me three one hundred dollar bills in an envelope about seven years ago. Paypal is just a bit more secure than that – actually, it is probably the most secure form of purchasing an item over the Internet.

I’m so sick of hearing all the Paypal haters out there. You come up with a better idea on how to accept payments on eBay and I will listen. Just because eBay now owns Paypal and it takes about a 3-percent cut out of the final price shouldn’t give haters a legit reason to be up in arms.

Paypal’s rules are fair, and the percentage it takes is really no different than what credit card companies take from merchants who receive those types of payments. Also, by accepting Paypal, the seller is enabling a buyer to feel secure about a potential eBay purchase. Sellers very well might make more than that 3-percent charge on the final realized price because they take the safe Paypal method.

OK, now that you’re all warm and fuzzy after reading until this point, there are still a few things I still have a beef with eBay about, and have for years.

eBay has become labeled as a “wholesale market.” Those are the last two words a seller wants to hear about a sales venue they are thinking about selling their items through.

It wasn’t always this way, however. Five to 10 years ago, eBay wasn’t only not a wholesale-type outfit. In general you could get more money for collectibles than anywhere else.

Not anymore. Major auction houses have taken over, and if you are willing to wait a few months to get paid for an item, major auction houses are usually the best place to go.

For a year or two now, I’ve heard eBay is trying to go with more of a “fixed-price” setup for listings, kind of like Amazon.com. I really like the auction format that eBay has lived by for so many years. If I want to buy an electronic device at a fixed price, I will go to Amazon. If I want the thrill of an online auction, I’ll go to eBay. Period.

Also, I still am getting about 10 eBay phishing e-mails every week. I actually fell for one of these scams when hackers first started doing this a few years ago. Obviously, I learned my lesson after my entire eBay and Paypal accounts were compromised, but if I still get that many, people must still be falling for these.

Unfortunately, these scams deter many people from diving into the world of online commerce. These people may be our buyers and sellers of quality material.

Let me stress, no matter how much eBay bashing I hear, I still feel the positives far outweigh he negatives.

Where else can you buy an item at a garage sale for a dollar, list it that night and have the profit in your bank account four days later?

I’ve learned a lot about business since eBay started more than 10 years ago. I’ve become pretty darn savvy with a digital camera, know the ins and outs of the U.S. Postal system and can type about 40 words a minute, despite never taking a keyboarding class.

I attribute all of this to my time spent on eBay. One thing I will never figure out is why that guy collects broken laser pointers.
That’s eBay for you, I guess.

If you're in the market for an X-ray from Pete Rose, picture of your baseball idol with a circus elephant, a Napoleon Death Mask or a set of Civil War-era slave shackles, then look no further than Lelands.com's latest catalog auction.

Somehow those east coast boys always seem to come up with the most obscure items in the hobby, and definitely some of the most interesting. The cool thing about its sale is Lelands.com also has some of the coolest and most significant mainstream pieces out there as well.

They have a Roberto Clemente game-worn San Juan jersey, 1934 Tour of Japan signed ball and lots of amazing original photos as well.

I just wanted to throw some pictures from its current auction on the blog.

As you know, I'm very close to what goes on in the world of the Green Bay Packers. Being a collector and a person who buys and sells Packers stuff, how wouldn't I be?

That brings me to today's blog topic: Why on earth would someone sell their Super Bowl ring? From what I can remember there have been at least a few players from the Packers Super Bowl XXXI team who have now sold their Super Bowl rings.

I just got done browsing through Lelands' awesome new auction, and it appears another Packer player has done the unthinkable. Packers D lineman, Bob Kuberski is another guy who doesn't need his bling bling from 1997.

Now, I'm not sure what financial problems Bob might be having, and I assume that he might not be having any at all, but why would you sell a SB ring?

I just Wikipedia'd Bob and it appears he is a VP at INVESCO AIM Investments... Sounds like a solid gig to me.'

From what I can remember, SB XXXI Packers members that have sold their rings: Ron Cox, Lamont Hollingquest, Kuberski and I heard Andre Rison threw his in a lake or something (although I don't believe it).

By being very involved in the sports memorabilia industry I have a different perspective on things than average people who don't buy collectibles that often. For instance, several days ago I went to a charity event in my area and was treated to a nice spaghetti dinner.

The dinner was great, the beer was even better, but what wasn't up to snuff were the autographed pieces of sports memorabilia that were featured in its silent auction. Now, this isn't an isolated instance. I can't even begin to count how many times I've attended a similar event, such as the one I am referring only to see a horrendous Brett Favre signed jersey, pathetic Michael Jordan autographed ball or even an unlicensed piece of some other variety.

Don't get me wrong, charities are holding these events for a great reason most of the time, but if the people in charge are acting irresponsibly by accepting donations with fraudulent characteristics, aren't they defeating the very purpose of their charity in the first place?

Are the "good Samaritans" who are making these "donations" getting tax relief money, or a cut from the charities? And is the charity venue just a way for them to get rid of their "bad" stuff in the process? Hmm...

Well, at least the spaghetti was good.

This isn't going to be a traditional blog, but I thought it was important to post this story I snagged from Trade Fax today, as Gavel Chat Nation needs to be in touch with any and all eBay news I am able to dig up:

eBay announced this week it will cut approximately 1,600 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force, in its largest round of dismissals ever. About 1,000 full-time employees will be gone, while eBay will achieve the rest of the cuts by letting temporary and part-time workers go and by leaving open positions unfilled.
Company CEO John Donahoe said the cuts will make eBay “more responsive and nimble,” and give it an opportunity to reinvest in growth areas like its online payments service PayPal and its classified-ads business. The company said the cuts will result in $150 million in annual cost savings.
eBay has struggled to match competition from other areas of e-commerce, with many consumers increasingly using more online retailers like Amazon.com. In the second quarter, eBay’s count of “active users” rose just 1.4 percent.
Already this year, eBay has altered its seller’s fees, search results and feedback system in an effort to attract more users. But the changes have also angered a number of sellers, some of whom have left the site.

I've been getting tons of feedback about my interview yesterday that I had with Jason Perash. A lot of you guys asked me what J.D. Salinger autographs actually sell for. Well, I pulled some data from R & R Auctions database and here is what it shows. Keep in mind, a "TLS" is a typed signed letter.

Sold In Auction	Item	Price
337 (Sep 2008)	J. D. Salinger -- TLS	$1655.00
336 (Aug 2008)	J. D. Salinger -- TLS	$5729.00
331 (Mar 2008)	J. D. Salinger -- TLS	$2938.00
330 (Feb 2008)	J. D. Salinger -- TLS	$5729.00
329 (Jan 2008)	J. D. Salinger -- TLS	$2749.00
328 (Dec 2007)	J. D. Salinger -- TLS	$7627.00
325 (Sep 2007)	J. D. Salinger -- TLS	$7299.00
323 (Jul 2007)	J. D. Salinger -- TLS	$3327.00
316 (Dec 2006)	J. D. Salinger -- DS	$833.00
313 (Sep 2006)	J. D. Salinger -- TLS	$9718.00
312 (Aug 2006)	J. D. Salinger -- TLS	$5362.00
280 (Dec 2003)	J. D. Salinger -- TLS	$3510.00
274 (Jun 2003)	J. D. Salinger -- TLS	$4356.00
270 (Feb 2003)	J. D. Salinger -- TLS	$4356.00
245 (Jan 2000)	J. D. Salinger -- DS	$5405.00
230 (Oct 1999)	J. D. Salinger -- Signature	$1454.00
221 (Jan 1999)	J. D. Salinger -- Signature	$1091.00