Posted By:
bruce Dorskind
Jay;
The comment we made is that Board Members represent 2% of the
total card market.
We have no way of knowing who is lurking and how often. One never sees posts
from the "big three" high grade collectors. Our sense from speaking with major
auctioneers is that a number of their biggest customers are private investors
and are not involved in any social networking site.
While there are certainly people like yourself and countless others who spend
considerable money on the acquisition of cards, it would be difficult to believe,
given Board traffic and the number of catalogs sent out by Mastro and Lifson,
as well as the number of bidders on E Bay that active board members (those
who post) account for a large percentage of the market.
Leon's remark with regard to the live Mastro Auction at the National relates
to one event which had less than 40 baseball card lots and the most expensive
lot was acquired by a Board Member. Nice to know but small in the scope of
things.
Our point is that the rare baseball card market is changing rapidly, subject to
outside influences and could be significantly affected by a major influx of
capital.
Jay, as someone who works in the financial services industry, you also recognize
that if a professional investment firm entered the market with $25-50 million
they would not have to subject themselves to auction fees. They could simply
contact a large group of collectors. There are many, many dealers out there
who would be all too happy, for a fee, to serve as a source of introduction.
If one wants to understand the power of marketing, go no further than Mr. Mint.
While many don't agree with his style, he has managed to acquire several hundred
millions in cards...all of it without a single auction acquisition.
There is not a single correct answer here. Rather, the point is that the market will
evolve and when and if a hedge fund or like organization enters the market, the old
rules and channels will go away.
Bruce Dorskind
Ameerica's Toughest Want List