Thinking about calling it a day on collecting.
 

No, guys this is not a boy who cried wolf post. I have been collecting since September 1972 and almost exclusively pre-WWII since 1989. I don't know if it is because I am getting a little older or that I have seen just about every kind of card-except a few in Olbermann's collection-but the high has dulled a little. I also just don't like the way the hobby is going. A newer, smaller in number generation is coming in and although I do not have anything against new blood which is essential for this hobby, it is the smaller number that concerns me. Fame is fleeting would be the best analogy.

It also just the prices are out of alignment with reality. I include myself in this observation. If you look at eBay, the same cards are constantly on there, but every now and then a card will pique my interest. Of course, it also piques the interest of auction groups who then sell it in there auctions plus buyer's premium of anywhere from 12.5% to 20+%. Not whining, but even if you beat the auction groups in the bid, you pay an inflated value.

Part of collecting is enjoying what you have and part of it, frankly is investing. The investing part for me is overshadowing the collecting and I am a collector and I have always known that if it got to that point, it may be time to get out.

Admittedly, I haven't decided, but the excitement has waned.

A buyer's premium is meaningless from a buyer's perspective.

I would tend to contradict that especially if you are a new person breaking into the hobby. It would sort out now the men from the boys, but the addicts from neophytes.

I don't follow you. If you know X percent is going to be added to your bid, you bid accordingly. It doesn't take experience to figure that out. It has meaning only to a consignor.

I would never buy a baseball card (or related item) as an investment unless I absolutely loved it - I'm going to be seeing it for a long time so I need to really like it.

Sent from my SM-G730V using Tapatalk

Brian- Not to sound like your shrink...
 

but, I do understand. I have gone through that stage many times. I have been very lucky to have disposable income to feed my hobby. I try not to pin my feelings about my collection to 1.) pricing 2.) modern products & 3.) today's ML game.

Don't get me wrong, I still have many modern players I like and that along with my never-ending love of the game, keeps the fire burning.

My key is finding 'niches' like players born on my birthday; local players, which, thanks to the draft always has new blood. I found out only a few days ago that a 1952 Columbus Cardinals set exists.

My interest in Baseball and in the BBC hobby is far more emotional than financial and always will be.

I urge you to find a way to 'tie yourself back into it' - attempting very hard not to sound like Al Pacino in Godfather III.

Loosing someone like Tony Gwynn reaches all of us, though I don't know if that entered into your thinking...stay involved if your heart says so...

I agree Scott. You actually have a piece on your site I am waiting for you to get tired of so I can take it off your hands :)

If it is the Wagner portrait, I came close to making a deal once, but the potential buyer luckily balked at my price. I slapped myself twice and took it off the market.

Sent from my SM-G730V using Tapatalk

Brian...I agree with many of your concerns as well...aside from the fact that it's just not as exciting as it used to be...there are so few cards I desire that just never come up for sale...throw in the corruption and I may be close to calling it a day too!!

Pete,

I was trying to leave corruption out of my reasons, but I can't ignore the elephant in the room.

Unfortunately it seems most collectors can.

I think it helps to add related hobbies such as autographs, memorabilia, photos - you know, the stuff I sell :)

Sent from my SM-G730V using Tapatalk

...and fedoras

Sent from my SM-G730V using Tapatalk

You can't do the same thing forever.

You sure?;)

The toploaders are supposed to be plastic, not the stuff you store in them :D.

Brian, one of the things that is still great about the hobby is meeting people, the good people, that are involved. Someone like me, who isn't buying/selling a lot of cards kind of take things in stride, but those who are immersed in the "business" I think are more apt to burn out at some point.

With that said, I have always thought you come up with a grand variety of cards and I enjoy looking at what you have available even though you and I know my interests are a bit more narrowly focused.

Personally, I hope you stay involved at some level but ultimately it is up to you!

RC

I've gone through that funk a few times myself Brian but I always pull back, shift gears (maybe switch for a while to completing late 50's Topps sets) and come back to pre-war. I hope you hang in there.
As far as the investment angle, most all of my cards are worth more than I paid for them over the years, even though some sets have slipped lately, so I'm good.
Take a deep breath, put together an Ex-Mt 1959 Topps set card by card and then come back to pre-war;)

Thank you, Richard.

Buyer's Premium
 

100% accurate Peter which is a concept, for whatever reason, some people still tend to debate. The Buyer's Premium solely picks the pocket of the consignor with the buyer bidding accordingly to "x" %.

Joe

Brian - When it stops being fun walk away and find something new. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Yup, that's the one :)

I have been collecting for close to 30 yrs and corruption has been around and doing quite well the entire time. Any time there is money to make(steal) there is corruption.

Like several other have said I to have had the same feelings you are having. I have taken several breaks from collecting over the years.

The Glass is STILL half-FULL
 

Don't drink so much or read the label

Brian - I can fully relate. I've been collecting vintage cards since the early 80's and have gone through phases of disinterest. There are many trends (like fraud and some of the auction house practices) that make me cringe or even wax nostalgic for the days of the Willow Grove shows, SCD and actual catalogs from Doubleheaders, Howards and Fritsch. I have re-charged by finding new challenges (Batter Ups, odd T206 back stamps, some post war set building) but if that doesn't reset your clock, then take a break, play golf, go hiking or some other hobby to fill the time. Then come back refreshed and see if there isn't some angle of this hobby that grabs your interest and gets you excited again.

I'm with those who walk the investing/collecting line by, yes, considering the investment angle--but only buying beautiful cards that I love.

Maybe you just need a break. Stop reading net54 and scavenging ebay and the auction houses for a while, and see where that leads you. I remember last year, Steven was thinking that the hobby was becoming stale for him: Link. However, after a little while, I believe he's come back and still collecting. Maybe it will be similar for you.

Actually, I think you just made his point......seen pics lately?

I knew there was something you could do forever.

I am surprised at the number of people that are considering "getting out". Brian, I hope you can get the love back and continue on. In the short time I have been on Net54 I have learned an immense amount about vintage cards from everyone here.

I am a 40-something white guy, and every February I am in my local schools giving talks and presentations on the Negro Leagues. I noticed that all anyone ever knew about was Jackie Robinson. The only books in the library were on Jackie Robinson. I had to take to the classes to talk about Paige, and Cool Papa Bell, and Gibson and so on. I do it because it is a passion of mine, but also if I do not do it, who will?

When collectors as knowledgable as the guys on this site want to get out, it is really a shame. I hope you can not only find your passion again, but view yourselves as mavens or curators for the vintage card and vintage baseball world. You guys help the newbies out and without that knowledge being passed on the bad aspects will just continue to grow.

Kudos to you on teaching more obscure negro league stuff...do many of the kids seem interested?

Getting out of the hobby to me...if I were to ever leave would mean mainly liquidating the majority of my collection...but I would still frequent this board and be somewhat active in the hobby still...just not a collector.

My advice would be to take a break and not sell anything that's really special or hard to replace just yet. Take a long break and see if you start to get the itch again. Maybe wait up to a year or so even before you part with any of your favorite stuff. You may regret it later. If you have no interest still after a long break then do as you see fit.
Best of luck.

I agree. Take a break and come back.....then decide if you want to get out. I have seen a lot of collectors get out only to come back in. And amassing a nice collection takes time so it's not so easy once you liquidate your good stuff. I am 100% sure I could never replace my collection completely if I got out. I just need to figure out a way to pay for my daughters college and still have most of my collection. Where there is a will.......

The kids love it. Who ever knew there was a Black Babe Ruth, or a guy as fast as Cool Papa Bell. Heck, the teachers in the schools did not even realize a man from our town was a negro league all star. I had to print out a wiki page for them which the kids loved.

Nice memory Gary.

Someone told me to pack all my cards up and put them away for awhile. I think they were gone 2 months and in that time I really shifted gears in my collection. It actually led to where I am today as I am selling or finishing all projects, every last one of them by the holidays this year.

Super-huge +1 on not selling some things. I took a 6-year break and sold everything except my favorite piece and a few that I was too lazy to sell. I'm really wish I had saved a few more things.

I guess that's the difference between cards and photos. I used to mainly collect signed HOF RC , but it got a little boring seeing the same cards.When the rare HOF signed RC finally surface, prices go up,I can't afford it, since everyone else is waiting for those rares ones as well to surface. I got bored of just waiting waiting and then praying I could afford it when that one rare card surfaced.

I got my first Pre WW2 snapshot photo and just so happen to be HOFer Joe Cronin, and I was hook! Mainly because no two snapshot photos are really the same, they tell a story, and they are generally affordable. So I collect HOF snapshot photo, and when that hits a dry spell...I switch back over to signed HOF RC. It's like a rotation within your collection. Helps keeps the interested going so you don't hit the dry spells.

Point. Take a break from cards and try somethings new or try a new challenge with your collection.

Please dont leave the hobby.

Maybe take a break and maybe step back your collecting to Topps Set building or something. Right now you are collecting the highest of high in our hobby, maybe go back to some basics.

I know what you are saying about kids and our hobby, but there are children that are in our hobby. My 12 year old is the youngest at all the card shows we go to, by 10-12 years. But he needs good, honest collectors like yourself to help him.

Speaking about the Negro Leagues, I picked up this book and Ralph Kiner's biography on the way home from the post office on Saturday:

Similar Funk
 

Hi Brian,

I have been going through a "down phase" recently myself.

Sometimes it's good just to take a break from the hobby. The hardest thing to do in this hobby is to be patient especially when it seems that all of the items on your want list have vanished. Sometimes it's good to take a break and sit back and enjoy your current collection.


Be well,


Patrick

This is good advice. Sometimes even a week or two completely away can really help.

brian
 

I would sure hate to see you go, ole buddy.
all the best,
barry

Things that fit my baseball collection come up so rarely any more that I had to switch gears to feed my need to collect so I switched to collecting postcards of my hometown. I still search for the local minor league and Nebraska Indians items that I love, but I found that finding an obscure postcard for a couple of bucks gives me just as big a thrill as finding items for my baseball collection. Maybe you just need to switch to a new (cheaper) hobby for a while?

Brian--if you've been a collector for a long time it's tough to get out of collecting entirely. I suggest finding something new to collect. An area with some historical significance where things are not expensive, so there is less of an incentive for sleaze bags to try to rip you off. Also, avoid areas with registry sets where people feel the need to have someone who knows little what they are grading tell them indirectly what their things are worth. Another prime example below:

Jay- I remember many years back having an Old Judge portrait card (the player escapes me) with the most perfect deep rich photo quality you could ever find on an N172. But because of a tiny bit of paper loss on the back, maybe the size of the tip of a pencil eraser, it was graded Poor. And the card you posted is a NR MT+. No matter how many times you tell them they've got it wrong, they keep repeating their mistakes. What a shame.

it's in your blood....
 

no matter how hard you try, your in:)

take a break for a little while

If you ever want to do something that will re-ignite your passion make a trip to 18th and Vine in Downtown Kansas City. The Negro League Baseball Museum is awesome - plan on spending the whole day. It doesn't get much better than this...

http://nlbm.com/

I AGREE 100%!
A wonderful place to immerse yourself in a very rich part of baseball history.
My first visit to the nlbm I got the privilege to meet Buck O'Neil just before he passed. I feel pretty lucky.

Sell some stuff and buy a surfboard. The sharks aren't as ferocious and it's a healthier hobby.

Wonderful Memories:
 

Jeff- Thanks for sharing Buck with us! I wanted to meet him ever since Ken Burns Baseball first aired...but never got the opportunity...but, in his spirit, I will not complain about not getting an opportunity - we were all blessed to have 'gotten to know' that great man! And, yes, you should feel very lucky!