09 February 2023

Of Grammar, Silver Spoons, and eBay Prices

My latest eBay post, A New Category of Chess Collectable (February 2023), needs a second look. A small question has been bothering me since I posted it : is the title correct? When I wrote the post, I first used the word 'collectible', then wondered if that was correct. After a little research, I determined that the right word was 'collectable', and changed it. Here's what Collectible or Collectable (grammarbook.com; 'The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation') has to say about it.

A Matter of Noun vs. Adjective [...] A collectible is a noun meaning specific item that is acquired for a hobby, a display, or a potential investment that may increase in value. [...] A collectable is an adjective that refers to things that can be collected. [...] In British English, both words (noun and adjective) are spelled with an "a" (collectable).

Since the title refers to a noun, 'collectible' is the right word for Americans, therefore correctable. Since the Brits invented the language, 'collectable' is acceptable. I'll leave it alone.

Although the word 'spoon' was a new word for this blog, the category is known to chess collectors. From The Fischer Chess Spoon Story (ascasonline.org; 'An article on ASCAS: Association of Small Collectors of Antique Silver website'), a story from the '2001 National Spoon Convention in Colorado Springs':-

The pictured spoon is a heavy 5.75" art deco style sterling spoon made about 1972. Sterling spoons were not hot collectibles during that time period so it is rather unusual to have a sterling spoon commemorating any event.

My 'Chess Collectable' post also reported,

BREAKING NEWS: The [eBay] item page I'm looking at does *not* list a price. In the past, items that sold 'Best offer accepted' showed the asking price with a bar through the price. [...]

Of the 12 items on my short list for the post, seven were 'Best offer accepted'; all seven showed no price. The other five -- 'Best offer', '11 bids', 'Buy it now', etc. -- showed a price. Was this a glitch -or- has eBay hidden another important piece of info from its public? We should be able to answer by the time of the next eBay post.

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