Changing collecting habits or thinking about getting out altogether?

[Throttlesteer]

Yes, we've seen bad actors and scandals before. The recent issues appear to be much more widespread and difficult to assess the overall impact. I'm curious whether anyone has considered changing their collecting habits or have considered getting out altogether? I know most of us don't look at our collections as "assets" or "investments". However, we also are willing to pay high prices to have nice examples of the cards we collect and don't want to see their value erode due to this kind of nonsense.

I am definitely considering changes to what I buy, who I buy from, and which TPG (if any) I plan to use. While it doesn't appear any of my cards have been identified on any of the known lists, and I haven't been able to spot any alterations of my cars, there are no guarantees. The value or cost of replacement for everything we own is now in question. Population reports (including numbers and distribution of quality) are even further clouded, if not worthless.

Yes, I'm toyed around with the idea of not buying online anymore, only buying from certain auction houses, or even holding on to what I have and getting out altogether.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I changed my habits years ago because I knew then what was going on. I definitely recommend making changes if you are just buying indiscriminately.

[Fballguy]

I buy very few cards. Every time I get the itch, I go on ebay and remind myself how many illegal reprints there are...and how realistic they have become...and lose interest.

[barrysloate]

Nothing wrong with continuing to collect, but use a little caution and common sense when buying. No reason to let the card doctors control the narrative.

[GaryPassamonte]

I changed my collecting focus in 1995. I never developed a grading addiction to kick.

[ullmandds]

Like peter...I changed my collecting habits years ago and very rarely do I spend significant money on cards.

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

This all just makes me feel even better about buying raw T206s off our B/S/T from guys like Scott.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Johnny630]

Buy when the panic hits full force.....should be plenty of deals or during the next US recession

Mayor Of Chicago “Never Let a Good Crisis Go To Waste”
Rahm Emmanuel

[drcy]

As I do work for museums, I quit collecting a while ago, except for little trinkets and items that will look good on my wall.

Believe it or not, I've owned perhaps 7 graded cards in my life, and have never submitted a card for grading. I used to buy expensive cards, but they were graded and before the "everything has to be graded" phase. Though I did have game used and autographs with LOAs.

[SMPEP]

I don't have to change collecting habits.

I have never seen a single PSA 10 I wished to own.

But I see a beater and say - "Ahhh, there's the card I want!"

Why? Money. Nope.

Because the beaters were played with, admired and loved. They were actually used. They are part of the history of the country. They are real.

A PSA 10 can never accomplish that.

I'm very happy to leave the PSA 10s (and the associated profits) to the card trimmers, shillers and hucksters - as long as they agree not to venture into my beater space. I think we have gotten alone pretty well to date.

[judsonhamlin]

I'm more likely to get an SGC 10 than a PSA 10, so I am clearly not the target audience for PWCC, Moser, et al. That being said, this scandal has taken some of the wind out of the hobby for me.

[x2drich2000]

This is the first Cobb I ever got and the most recent Wagner I picked up. I think that pretty much answer the question on what I have collected in the past and what I will continue to collect going forward.

http://www.net54baseball.com/picture.php?albumid=611&pictureid=16568https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47978483066_0d9baa7e20_z.jpg

[Scott L.]

That being said, this scandal has taken some of the wind out of the hobby for me.

Agreed Judson. This hobby give me just as much pause as it does enjoyment these days. I'm not going to completely stop but I think I'll slow down a bit.

[KingFisk]

The scandal has got me putting my vintage collection on hold and I have begun hoarding Alec Bohm cards. I wish I was kidding.

[joshuanip]

As in the markets, I think the initial reaction would be overreaction, and perhaps some reflexive momentum down in general prices. But I do believe we will recover longer term and we would look back and regret not buying during the bargain period we are about to suffer.

Over the last year I narrowed my want list as I refocused my collection on certain players. So if I find the card I want, and get a good deal on it, I'm staying the course...

[Johnny630]

As in the markets, I think the initial reaction would be overreaction, and perhaps some reflexive momentum down in general prices. But I do believe we will recover longer term and we would look back and regret not buying during the bargain period we are about to suffer.

Over the last year I narrowed my want list as I refocused my collection on certain players. So if I find the card I want, and get a good deal on it, I'm staying the course...

Second Sentence I believe to be 100% true :)

[yanksfan09]

I buy very few cards. Every time I get the itch, I go on ebay and remind myself how many illegal reprints there are...and how realistic they have become...and lose interest.

I haven’t seen many convincing outright fakes of pre war cards. Modern is a different story though.

As for changing buying habits. I don’t see it effecting me at all really. I never bought high grade vintage for the most part. Maybe a little more leery of modern but don’t buy too much of that anyway compared to vintage.

May possibly buy more if prices were more drop, time will tell. However I think higher grade will see more effect which I don’t do anyway with pre war.

[yanksfan09]

It will be interesting to see if really great looking authentic slabbed altered cards see a bump in value. People might say why spend 10x on a graded on of equal eye appeal that may be altered anyways.

[Stampsfan]

I hope I'm not out forever, but this has changed how I look at my collection and collection habits.

http://net54baseball.com/showpost.php?p=1888173&postcount=450

Frankly I'm disgusted by the whole thing. Not sure where I'm going next, TBH.

[Touch'EmAll]

My 12 yr. old son has this popular video basketball game where you collect "cards" of current and historical greats. You then assemble a team and play games to win and gain points to buy better cards. There is a trading component of cards in hopes to improve your team. I thought how cool, collect cards like we did when kids, but also get to truly play games with them - the added new era video game angle.

Anyways, my son is getting to know players past and present, learning about them, playing with them. Has got me into now collecting current NBA cards ungraded in that $1. - $20. range. Fun!

[perezfan]

My 12 yr. old son has this popular video basketball game where you collect "cards" of current and historical greats. You then assemble a team and play games to win and gain points to buy better cards. There is a trading component of cards in hopes to improve your team. I thought how cool, collect cards like we did when kids, but also get to truly play games with them - the added new era video game angle.

Anyways, my son is getting to know players past and present, learning about them, playing with them. Has got me into now collecting current NBA cards ungraded in that $1. - $20. range. Fun!

That’s what it’s all about! :)

[Fuddjcal]

I'm not selling but I will not buy another card either until people are in JAIL.
I always try to stand for something and I'm not buying another THING PERIOD I have a very bad taste in my mouth for Brent Mastro's relationship with known card trimmers and PSA. The triangle of Jackmehoffs. It really isn't funny or fun anymore.

I'll continue to rail on them both of course as it's so rightfully earned by all of them. You guys don't have to worry:D:D:D

I'll also continue to collect Ben Franklin's instead and add to my castle wall. That's fun. I'll keep my eye out for all the fake bills that try to filter down.

[Leon]

Most wil stay in the hobby and some (probably a very few) will leave.

I like what has been said about just being smarter with purchases. Maybe eyeing those really high grade cards will get a bit more scrutiny by all of us. That is a good thing. My highest grade collected is around a 7 and I prefer eye appeal over technical TPG grade. To each their own, do what makes ya' happy.

[T_Hamilton]

The scandal has got me putting my vintage collection on hold and I have begun hoarding Alec Bohm cards. I wish I was kidding.

This is the boat I am in... All my vintage purchases are turning into Jarred Kelenic cards. and some Heritage Trouts.

[Chris Counts]

I suspect it's the investors and not the collectors who will cut their losses and get out. Aside from all this monkey business about graders and auction houses, I find the hobby more interesting each day. I made the decision about 15 years ago to avoid high graded slabbed cards because I didn't trust the industry. I recall there was a lot of talk back then on Net54 about the many trimmed cards that made it into high grade holders. Now, I simply collect cards that are authentic and look presentable. I look for cards that have low technical grades, have bad backs or are trimmed. I prefer SGC to PSA because it's way easier to bust them out their slabs, and display them in albums.

[MULLINS5]

I have a PSA/DNA set that I will continue working on, but all my sets will be raw from now on.

[Rhotchkiss]

I am very interested in assisting/lending a hand to anyone with rare Cobbs, wagners, or rare t206 backs who wants to get out of the hobby. Happy to buy you out so you can start the next chapter of your collecting life.

I am long on cardboard, through good times and bad. Forward! Just be smart

[ls7plus]

I am very interested in assisting/lending a hand to anyone with rare Cobbs, wagners, or rare t206 backs who wants to get out of the hobby. Happy to buy you out so you can start the next chapter of your collecting life.

I am long on cardboard, through good times and bad. Forward! Just be smart

I've take a bit of a leave of absence from collecting for the purpose of acquiring a winter home in Florida--accomplished!--and a suitable pleasure vehicle to leave down there. As it is just intended to be a temporary lull in the action, I think I'll keep my own tough Cobbs and Wagners!

I will hate to miss Fred's Post Canadian Cereal meeting/dinner at the National, though. Would have liked to have been there! Great, challenging set.

With high regard,

Larry

[Kenny Cole]

I won't quit because I've been doing it too long, but I am certainly revising some of my collecting habits. To the extent that I am aware who they are, I will not buy from fraudsters, even when they have a card I really want.

You really have to draw the line somewhere. That will likely slow me down a lot, but that's OK too. I would rather by from someone like Al (LOTG), Brian (REA), or Lee (Sterling), each of whom I absolutely trust, than ever throw money at a place like PWCC. I can live with slow. I can't do what I perceive as fraud.

[Peter_Spaeth]

As Baloo the Bear sings,

When you find out you can live without it
And go along not thinkin' about it

[Exhibitman]

Just accelerating a trend i was already on: replacing the graded cards with raw instead.

[pokerplyr80]

I am very interested in assisting/lending a hand to anyone with rare Cobbs, wagners, or rare t206 backs who wants to get out of the hobby. Happy to buy you out so you can start the next chapter of your collecting life.

I am long on cardboard, through good times and bad. Forward! Just be smart

I was thinking the same thing. I will add Jackson, Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, and since people seem especially worried about them 48 Robinsons to the list.

[drcy]

I was thinking the same thing. I will add Jackson, Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, and since people seem especially worried about them 48 Robinsons to the list.

I'm sure you be able to find them from PWCC

[OldEnglishD]

I'm more likely to get an SGC 10 than a PSA 10, so I am clearly not the target audience for PWCC, Moser, et al. That being said, this scandal has taken some of the wind out of the hobby for me.

This.

[swarmee]

I have stopped buying for my personal collection, and will sell most of it through COMC. This includes: 200 cards in the Mantle master set, half the 1952 Topps set, 100 1952 Topps autos, a bunch of Bobby Jones, and 95% of the 1959 Fleer Ted William's set. Haven't decided if I will sell or keep the #1 T51 colleges master set.

[robkas68]

I am going to draw the line and refuse to buy the altered t206 Gretzky Wagner card. : )

[Yankees1964]

I have never gone for high grade cards. For me it is more about collecting that investing, though I still tell my wife that she will have something when I am gone. I have kept my pre-war cards to mostly 3's and 4's, my 50's to 5's and the 60's to 6's. I am not looking for super high grade. I want cards that someone loved and "used" not ones that were just squirreled away for 75+ years. I like my CJ's with some caramel stains on them. I am not going to ever stop collecting at this point. I have made all big purchases at either the Philly or White Plains shows or from LOTG or Sterling and from trusted people on this board. I am actually hoping that this gets back to being a hobby and not like a business. I get enough of that in my daily life.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I was thinking the same thing. I will add Jackson, Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, and since people seem especially worried about them 48 Robinsons to the list.

On the BO list of outed and potentially bad cards there are more 48 Leaf Jackies than anything else. Be careful.

[dabigyankeeman]

I am continuing to buy, but if I see basically a similar card in PSA and SGC and its priced similar, I am more into buying the SGC card now.

[Exhibitman]

Not sure that much of the evolution of my collecting has to do with PWCC or other scandals at the higher end of things as I rarely buy cards of the sort that seem to draw the attention of the cheaters. I think I bought exactly one PSA 9 or 10 in the last two years and it was an impulse buy at the National last year. It may have more to do with a desire to have my cards in albums I can comfortably flip through at leisure. I built up a considerable slabbed collection, mostly with my own submissions, before realizing that slabs are too much work to store and look through. So I'd been replacing slabs with raw cards for most postwar mainstream issues over the last two years anyway.

As I get more time in the hobby under my belt I find that I'm also drawn more to rare issues than to the so-called condition rarities. Something that has a handful of known examples in any grade, yes please! Something that has 8,000 slabbed examples, not so much. And 8-9-10, who gives a damn? I would rather have a really nice looking card with a technical flaw like a wrinkle. The TPG thing is really just a useful tool for resale items as far as I am concerned because in eBay sales it seems to be needed to realize top dollar.

[rats60]

I've take a bit of a leave of absence from collecting for the purpose of acquiring a winter home in Florida--accomplished!--and a suitable pleasure vehicle to leave down there. As it is just intended to be a temporary lull in the action, I think I'll keep my own tough Cobbs and Wagners!

I will hate to miss Fred's Post Canadian Cereal meeting/dinner at the National, though. Would have liked to have been there! Great, challenging set.

With high regard,

Larry

Agree. I fund most of my collecting by selling off cards that I no longer want to buy "better cards," downsizing the collection while maintaining its value. I will be holding onto my Wagners, Cobbs and key RCs like the 49 Leaf Jackie Robinson and slowing way down to see how this all shakes out. I have no interest in trading up my "real" cards for altered ones with large numbers on the slabs.

[pokerplyr80]

On the BO list of outed and potentially bad cards there are more 48 Leaf Jackies than anything else. Be careful.

I don't really expect my inbox to be flooded with net54 members looking to dump pwcc or 48 Robinson purchases. And yes I would verify what I could and take precautions as necessary as I try to do with any purchase. But the offer is genuine if anyone wants out of those cards.

[dabigyankeeman]

It may have more to do with a desire to have my cards in albums I can comfortably flip through at leisure. I built up a considerable slabbed collection, mostly with my own submissions, before realizing that slabs are too much work to store and look through. So I'd been replacing slabs with raw cards for most postwar mainstream issues over the last two years anyway.


I feel the same way about loving cards in albums and not in slabs. I used to break open the slabs, but now do something different. I make a lifesize copy of the card in its slab on my printer/copier/scanner on top quality photo paper, and then i carefully cut out the card. I put this cutout card into the sheet in my album where the card should be. It looks great, and its an actual copy of my card, flaws and all, as opposed to a reprint which I would have nothing to do with, I hate reprints. This works great on all size cards, I have done everything from tobacco cards thru a big Butterfinger, and looks super whether its a black and white card or a color one. Its totally realistic, you can hardly tell a good copy from a real card in a plastic sheet.

[bnorth]

I changed from collecting insane amounts of Billy Ripken(The original F*ck Face) to this small hoard of new F*ck Face cards.:)

[perezfan]

Somebody should submit one of those to PSA, to be graded and slabbed.

Even though they won’t slab it, it would be cool just to submit it. Perhaps discreetly buried within a stack of legit cards. :D

[bnorth]

Somebody should submit one of those to PSA, to be graded and slabbed.

Even though they won’t slab it, it would be cool just to submit it. Perhaps discreetly buried within a stack of legit cards. :D

I will mail you one if you want to do it.:) Do they still slab custom cards, I know they did for a while.

[Exhibitman]

I feel the same way about loving cards in albums and not in slabs. I used to break open the slabs, but now do something different. I make a lifesize copy of the card in its slab on my printer/copier/scanner on top quality photo paper, and then i carefully cut out the card. I put this cutout card into the sheet in my album where the card should be. It looks great, and its an actual copy of my card, flaws and all, as opposed to a reprint which I would have nothing to do with, I hate reprints. This works great on all size cards, I have done everything from tobacco cards thru a big Butterfinger, and looks super whether its a black and white card or a color one. Its totally realistic, you can hardly tell a good copy from a real card in a plastic sheet.

I do that too, except I print it with the slab flip included.

[bnorth]

Somebody should submit one of those to PSA, to be graded and slabbed.

Even though they won’t slab it, it would be cool just to submit it. Perhaps discreetly buried within a stack of legit cards. :D

Looks like someone might have done a super fast submission. It even has a PWCC HE sticker.:D

[KCRfan1]

Nobody or anything will rob me of my joy to collect.

I am a mid-grade collector, and in prewar I am a solid 1 or 2 grade. Graded or ungraded, if I like the card I'll buy it.

My budget is around 1k per year, if that. I am hardly the market or high end collector that has been targeted by the dishonest parties.

[Frank A]

I really would like to buy a few of those cards. What's the deal?

[jchcollins]

Compared to most on this board, I would imagine I'm pretty small-time, and mostly postwar. The cards I do have slabbed (only a couple dozen probably) are mostly PSA 3 - 6 range cards for 1950's and 60's - and I have serious doubts that anything was trimmed or otherwise altered. If so, I'll just say that someone has way too much time on their hands for cards that are generally considered to be worth somewhere between $50 and $500 apiece on the open market.

I plan to continue to plug along, mainly because for me it's more about the history of the game and nostalgia evoked by the cards than it is condition, but I can tell you that I will certainly give more consideration to raw and SGC graded cards now above PSA as a first choice. I do still like the idea of buying some form of graded off of eBay to ensure that an "EX" card doesn't have a big fat hidden crease, but if you buy from reputable sources with good return policies, I think raw is again an option as well.

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Got out of buying PSA graded cards 11 years ago when it was obvious and confirmed that PSA could not detect altered cards.

[aconte]

Got out of buying PSA graded cards 11 years ago when it was obvious and confirmed that PSA could not detect altered cards.

And that's the sad part, when the hobby loses a true collector. Dan was
a passionate and knowledgeable collector. No need to wonder what happens
to the graded set collector when grading companies can't get the job done.
Most younger collectors already don't do sets. Now those running the hobby
can't even keep the hardcore people.

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Hey Tony! Great hearing from you! I trust all is well!

As you mentioned, it was a tragic thing to bail out of the hobby - but given the circumstances I had no choice. The sight of a PSA holder actually made me sick to my stomach.

[bnorth]

:)