Quote:
Originally Posted by orly57
I don't think that guys collect nicely centered cards because it is the "it" thing, as you say. Personally, I can't live with an off-centered card. It drives me nuts. Call it OCD or whatever, but I love symmetry. It is just more pleasant to look at. I know that there are many more out there like me.
I collect rare Cobb postcards that have populations FAR lower than the T206 Wagner, and while I may be forced to buy an off-centered copy because it may be the last time I will see one for 10 years, I would hate the card. It would irk me into madness. On more common cards, it isn't a matter of how much more I would pay for the centered one, because the off-centered one isn't even a consideration. I doubt that the bidders on the two Play Ball cards were even the same guys. We collectors are a special kind of crazy.
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I think that the rarer and more significant the card, Orly, the more tolerant the buyer will be of centering and even condition in general. With the Cobbs you (and I) are talking about, if you don't see one for ten years, it is IMHO quite likely that the price will be significantly higher by that time. A good collectible, measured by such standards, will generally appreciate at around 12% compounded annually, meaning it will double in value every six years. Key cards such as you are speaking of may well do significantly better than that--perhaps 14 or 18% compounded annually, meaning they will double, respectively, every 5 or 4 years. After all, one can always upgrade, provided the funds to do so are available.
Highest regards,
Larry