Posted By:
Bruce Dorskind
We have read the earlier posts with considerable interest.
Whilst we agree that the nature of collecting will change. That axiom is true for any
area of collectibles. Certain items go in and out of favor over time. Prices rise
and fall accordingly. That is true for pottery, stamps, coins, furniture and certainly baseball
memorabilia.
Whilst there may be millions of people who have collected baseball memories, in certain areas
of this hobby, as in all hobbies, selected sub-collecting areas are thinly populated. The exit of
two or more major collectors can quickly drive down prices. By the same token the entrance of
a few major players can dramatically increase prices.
In baseball, books and sheet music are considerably less expensive than they were in the late 1980's.
Pre 1900 cabinet cards are relatively far more expensive than they were during the Copeland Auction.
At said auction we bought a NY Kalamazoo Bats for under $5000 and Joe Jackson Texas Tommy
for about $8000- said cards are now worth 5 to 9 times as much. However, there are many items from the Copeland
sale which reached their zenith at Sotheby's March of 1991.
As for the comments that today's fan will lose his/her attachment to baseball and no longer be interested in
collecting rare historical memorabilia, we disagree. Those young professionals who grow up to be multi-millionaires
and billionaires (perhaps with the way the US government is printing money- trillionaires) will develop sophisticated
tastes, an interest in history and will collect the most interesting and valuable items in the hobby. As people mature,
their interest and tastes change. Very few people who were wild about a 70's rock n roll group like The Grateful Dead
collect its memorabilia. In fact a number of dead heads collect Impressionist Art.
Finally, our comment that there are probably only hundred collectors who are consistent buyers of pre-war high condition
cards that sell for $2500 is far more accurate that the "drunken estimate" of 1000 such collectors.
Our comment referred to those regularly spend $2500 or more on rare pre-war cards. If there were anywhere near 1000
such collectors- prices would be far higher- and the number of bidders on individual cards would be far greater.
By regularly spend - we don't mean one or two purchases of $2500+ a card a year. We would suggest a minimum of 10 or purchases
of cards at that level per year.
We would be happy to wager $10,000 with JIM who assured us that there were a 1000 collectors
who spent regularly spent $2500 each or more on 10+ cards per annum. To win all he has to do is supply us with a verified list of 500 people
(and cancelled checks and auction records) of 10 or more purchases of pre WWII baseball cards during 2008. We are giving him a
margin of 500 collectors. It is time to put up or shut up.
Bruce Dorskind
America's Toughest Want List