Quote:
Originally Posted by ibuysportsephemera
In my opinion Stephen, your post sums up the problem. You admit to not wanting to do the heavy lifting. You want to just sit in front of the computer and benefit from the hard work and knowledge of other Board members.
If you think that I am not your competition on eBay and other auction sites, you are kidding yourself. I still drag my 52 year old body out the door and visit antique stores, flea markets and shows. I find the real deals that are out there. I also learn something (or lots of things) every time I do this.
You think that you are protected on ebay or by using a credit card but that is just a financial thing. You have the dollars to make purchases but that doesn't make you a collector, it just makes you a consumer (IMO).
Jeff
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I am not competing with anyone on here. Never have, never will. Everyone has their own collections and motives. I just look for the best deal for me. I don't buy a wide array of players or items... I stick to for the most part programs, stubs, and jackie cards. Once in a while I will see something pop up that I am not familiar with that looks like it would be a great addition and I take a chance (not being a consumer). I am sure you are a nice guy and won't make assumptions about you so would appreciate you calling me lazy. It's not laziness... it's practicality. People don't take horse and buggies anymore because a car or plane cuts the time down to milliseconds comparatively speaking. I'm not saying your way is right or wrong and not saying my way is either. I just do not have many friends who collect or share the same passion so it's a lot easier to buy online for me. Plus every time I have gone to an event (jersey last year) very few dealers are actually nice. They don't give a crap about me, they are just there to make a dollar. ( I did meet 3-4 really cool guys) but for the most part, they are older guys looking to buy really low and not budge off their items. (The cooler guys were actually willing to listen to some ideas I had as far as marketing their items and had an open mind). I don't claim to know much yet or think I do which is why I am here. I have a passion for collecting etc. You go out there still because it's how you were brought up. In "Your day" you had to go to these places to find items. "my day" has introduced different means to buying so I have never really gone out to find things (aside from my parents taking me to buy a box of cards from the card store as a kid). I dare you to only buy online and only search using online resources. You probably would not survive, much like I wouldn't if I used your method, because everyone's methods work for them. If we all did the same thing it simply wouldn't work. I'm the type of person that if I know a lot about something, I want to help people that ask. I don't feel like my time is worth money or like I want to keep an advantage over someone or make them put in the leg work if they don't need to. If you read through most posts here asking for help by anyone, that is simply what happens here. People want other people to put in the work that they have already put in which isn't feasible in this day of age. You can't make up 30 years of experience with a simple internet search.
I know a whole lot more today than I did last year when I joined, so this is definitely a great forum, however we can't all be set in our ways. I purchased book after book to learn, but there is no substitute for time. So of us younger guys need the "dad we never had" kinda guys here to help us a long the way. Otherwise you risk us losing interest, and you selling off your collections for pennies on the dollar because there is simply no longer a demand.