Okay, it's not very often that an antiques-related article will make me laugh out loud, but this one has been making the rounds of a lot of a lot of daily newspapers in the last few days and I can't help myself. It's funny on so many levels... One Mark Albino, the owner of C&M Antiques in Waterbury, Conn., has been barred from selling his high-end American flags on eBay because Albino refuses to sell to anyone in the Middle East, France or California. California? The Golden State?

Now, I actually believe that an antiques dealer should be able to sell – or not sell – to whomever they wish, so my beef with Albino has nothing to do his refusal to sell. It’s just who he chooses, specifically, not to sell to. In his own words, Albino said “"I refuse to be a party to anyone desecrating or burning the U.S. flag," he said. "Too many good people have died defending that flag."

A noble sentiment from the man, to be sure, and he's an eight-year veteran of the Navy, but… California?

I have a hard time understanding a mindset like this. Albino deals in good flags, some of them costing tens of thousands of dollars. You can call me naïve if you like, but I have a hard time believing that anyone would spend thousands of dollars, even a few hundred, to buy an old flag just so they can burn it, even if they’re in California. Your typical flag burner, I should imagine, would go to Wal-Mart or Target and buy a $5 flag for such a thing. Flag burning is a political statement, yes? Buying an antique flag is a statement of taste, even in California or France…

I’m sorry, but I’m having a hard time taking Albino seriously. I want to respect him as a dealer, but to make broad, weird blanket statements about states and countries, or regions of the world, is a tad ludicrous. Haven’t a lot of good people in California served in the military with honor? I’m going to go out on a limb and say yes. Albino is making a political statement of his own with this, out loud and upfront. It was even listed on his Web site, and that’s basically what got him kicked off eBay. Some might say there's no room for this kind of thing in antiques, while others would argue that it is his absolute right within a democracy to make such a statement and that he should not be penalized for doing so.

I do want to note that eBay has only barred Albino from selling flags on their site, not any other types of antiques.

Here’s a link to New York Newsday and its article on the subject...