Rich; Guess I didn't make my point too clearly. I just searched ebay again using your topic "hummels". I found over 3,000 entries spread over 60+ pages. I didn't review every single page... but I did a cursory look at the first half dozen pages or so. Found quite a few hummels priced at $10 and $20 dollars, many priced over $100 and quite a few at several hundred bucks each.

What else I found interesting while looking through Hummels, was exactly the same thing I described in my original post about Herends.... the use of the word "rare" is practically non-existant in the hummels category as it is in the "Herends" category. I don't believe that it is a matter of retail price as you have suggested. Surely there are "rarities" in both categories.

My question is; How come, chippers are content to let go descriptions in their hobby which tout $5 & $10 chips as being "rare", with very little outcry from their peers about this obvious deception? Why don't other hobbies, such as the two mentioned above as examples, suffer from similar ebay abuse?