Thanks Chris
Your comments and suggestions really do help. Two of your observations really ring true for me, if I understand you correctly. Avoid "forced buys." This happens all the time to me when I buy a card, just to buy a card. I can't find what I'm looking for so I feel forced to buy something, just because it is a good buy. Later I find myself flipping it, or just hanging on to the card because it wasn't as good a buy as I thought it was. In addition, when bigger money is involved the need to find value becomes more important. Recently, I sent a large lot (over eighty cards) of my T-206s to SGC for grading. These were the "jewels" that I bought ungraded off eBay and at shows in my first couple of years collecting. Although, I have no beefs about the grades they received it did humble me a bit that not one of the cards made it to an EX. I've since become skeptical about buying any ungraded cards on eBay because I don't have the skill to determine value from a picture. This has also made me, perhaps too concerned with the economics of collecting cards. If I buy this card for my collection will I ever get my money out of it. Always thinking about the value of a purchase kind of ruins it. One of the cards that I sent in was a very sharp Polar Bear, Dark-cap Matty. I paid a little over $300.00 on eBay and I was hoping to get between a 40-60 from SGC. I started a thread on it here on Net 54 and while everyone who posted said I should get it graded, several members said that it looked trimmed on the bottom. They were right and it came back authentic. Now, even though it looks better in the holder than another SGC 50 Matty that I own, I find myself hanging on to the card, because I don't want to lose money on it. I realize this silly, but I have a whole shoebox full of silliness in my closet that I probably should sell.
I also think that you are right on the mark when you say that "we've seen them all." This reminds me of something Brian Dwyer told me when I asked him what he collected. His response was when "you've held two Wagners in your hand at the same time nothing else seems very interesting." (I'm paraphrasing Brian here, but the gist of the idea is correct.) Now, I never have held a Wagner in my hand, but most of the cards that I could afford, I have purchased and they no longer awe me. I find myself asking, do I have to spend $1,000 on a Cobb to get the excitement back? If so, how much will the next fix cost?
As depressing as this sounds I really do feel better knowing that other collectors have the same concerns and have made the same mistakes. I'm sure that I will regain the excitement if I can focus in on the aspects that make me happy. If this means for the time being flipping cards and building up a huge war chest for later purchases, when I know what I want to collect than so much the better.
Thanks again Chris for your help.
Best regards,
Joe
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