John Titus-Itus

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by teetwoohsix

So, it boils down to simple innocent hoarding then. I see. Got it.



Sincerely, Clayton

Are you the hoarder?

[teetwoohsix]

Originally Posted by I Only Smoke 4 the Cards

Are you the hoarder?

No, are you?

[phlflyer1]

After posting that Titus collage above (along with the poor internet meme/joke) I realized that I'd better come back on here to say that, no, I am not the Titus hoarder either.

I bought that piece mainly for the E270 Red Border Titus and 1906 Phillies team picture. Most of the rest of the cards, including the T206, are now long gone.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by teetwoohsix

No, are you?

My hoard of Titus cards is stuck at 0.

[Jantz]

What I find interesting though is the fact that most of the Titus cards listed on Ebay came from one seller (board member) with most being sold to one buyer.

So one person built a quantity of them to sell on Ebay and now another person is building a large quantity of the same cards.



Jantz

[4815162342]

I'm thinking about hoarding 1988 Donruss Mike LaValliere cards.

[GoldenAge50s]

Originally Posted by 4815162342

I'm thinking about hoarding 1988 Donruss Mike LaValliere cards.

I KNOW I can help you out w/ that!

[teetwoohsix]

Originally Posted by Jantz

What I find interesting though is the fact that most of the Titus cards listed on Ebay came from one seller (board member) with most being sold to one buyer.

So one person built a quantity of them to sell on Ebay and now another person is building a large quantity of the same cards.



Jantz

Interesting observation Jantz, and thanks for posting!

But apparently there is nothing to be alarmed of, it's been determined that all of the "Titus-oddness" is just a matter of hoarding. Nothing more than a paranoid conspiracy theory. Common T206's, with a little ingenuity, can become "tough commons" before you even realize it.

Alex- you and I have the same Titus count, I guess that rules us out

Daryl- wonderful start, keep up the great work!

Sincerely, Clayton

[pgellis]

It's getting crazy expensive to hoard this card.

The Titus SGC50 in Goodwin last night ended at $ 618.80

YIKES!

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by pgellis

It's getting crazy expensive to hoard this card.



The Titus SGC50 in Goodwin last night ended at $ 618.80



YIKES!

This thread most likely contributed to that hammer price.

[frankbmd]

I had two Titi and sold one for a nice profit.

Note also: The title of this thread should be John Titus-Itis, not John Titus-Itus, with the flu reference in the original post.

[MVSNYC]

Originally Posted by 4815162342

This thread most likely contributed to that hammer price.

+1

[GregMitch34]

Even higher prices for two cards at Goodwin last night...$618 for a regular Piedmont SGC 50...

Stache or stash?

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by GregMitch34

Even higher prices for two cards at Goodwin last night...$618 for a regular Piedmont SGC 50...

Stache or stash?

I mustache you one question: are you trying to say that someone is shaving up a stash of stache?

[MyGuyTy]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Note also: The title of this thread should be John Titus-Itis, not John Titus-Itus, with the flu reference in the original post.

Scary to think collecting the Stache is leading to inflammatory diseases.....

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by MyGuyTy

Scary to think collecting the Stache is leading to inflammatory diseases.....

There is no known treatment for Titus-itis either.

If you don't bring the cash, you don't get the stache.

Do wop , Do wop, Do wop

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by 4815162342

I mustache you one question: are you trying to say that someone is shaving up a stash of stache?

Nice job with the word tomfoolery.

Brian

[JohnP0621]

I am amazed that this common card now sells for more than most H.O.F in the same grade and as much or more than known tough Short Print T206 Like Lundgren Chi, Dahlen Brklyn, Smith Boston-Chi etc.. Maybe I will send my PSA 4 -Hoard of 1 to the next auction.

John P

[MJ]

Longtime lurker, first time poster...

I noticed the Titus price jump as well. Was lucky enough to get a PSA 5 for about $290 late last year and just noticed a PSA 4 sell for $535 on eBay a few days ago. Very strange.

I do love the card and it's one of my favorites of the set. It has a very unique aesthetic appeal.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by MJ

Longtime lurker, first time poster...

I noticed the Titus price jump as well. Was lucky enough to get a PSA 5 for about $290 late last year and just noticed a PSA 4 sell for $535 on eBay a few days ago. Very strange.

I do love the card and it's one of my favorites of the set. It has a very unique aesthetic appeal.

Hi MJ. Welcome to the board. What else do you collect?

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by JohnP0621

I am amazed that this common card now sells for more than most H.O.F in the same grade and as much or more than known tough Short Print T206 Like Lundgren Chi, Dahlen Brklyn, Smith Boston-Chi etc.. Maybe I will send my PSA 4 -Hoard of 1 to the next auction.

John P

I will take Lundgren and Dahlen in the same grade every time over Titus, not even close....

[CMIZ5290]

I have a PSA 6 Titus. If anyone has the same grade in either Lundgren (Chi.), Dahlen (Brook.), or even F. Smith (Chi. & Bost.), please let me know. I would be more than delighted to do a trade...Thanks

[MJ]

Hi Sean... Thanks for the welcome. I am mostly focused on t206. Bought my first card when I was eleven or twelve back in the late 1980s, but recently got serious.


MJ

[the 'stache]

Since it's pouring outside this morning, and I've unplugged all my electronics because of the severe storms we're having in the Dallas area, I decided to do some research on the John Titus card prices.

There is only one for sale on the bay right now, a PSA 2.5 with a Sweet Cap 350 subjects for $300. Looking further at the recently sold ones, we see a really nice PSA 4 that was sold by PWCC at auction for $535. And another sold by Dean's Cards.

I just couldn't believe what I saw. So, I sent them a message with my e-mail on the "contact us" page. Here's what I wrote:

Why do you mark your card prices up so much? Here's an example of what I'm seeing. I'm looking at a John Titus T206 you sold on Ebay in VG/EX condition on February 27th of this year. The ungraded card with a common back (Sweet Cap 350 subjects, factory 30 2nd district NY) sold for $262.49. A month later, on March 25th, you have listed another ungraded John Titus in VG/EX condition with another common back (in fact, perhaps the most common of all backs, a Piedmont 350 subjects, factory 25 2nd dist VA) for $550! Even after your 15% discount to $468, you're still selling it for $200 more than the identical card sold less than 30 days before. And you don't have to give 10% to Ebay on your site.

This is a common card that is being hoarded by a few people, but it's still available to buy. So, how do you justify not only overcharging for the card in the first sale (SMR lists the card at $85 in VG-EX condition), but then marking the same card up by $200 a month later? You're listing this card for sale at 550% of SMR! That's downright obscene. How in good conscience can you do this? That goes way beyond making a fair profit.

I can't wait to hear how they spin this, if they write back at all.

[ullmandds]

but Bill...the card sold...so it couldn't have been that much of a "ripoff?"

[the 'stache]

Yes, Pete, the first card sold. It was a little overpriced, but not terribly out of bounds given where the market has been. It's the one on their site now, marked up two extra c notes that has me steamed.

[ullmandds]

I still don't get it...this whole thread is a discussion on why the titus card is selling for a major premium...and you're just siting an example of this?

Are you mad because you want this card but find it too expensive? Because if this is the case...welcome to the world of vintage card collecting. Deans isn't unique in marking up cards that are in demand...almost every dealer does it?

[the 'stache]

$262 is marked up at a huge premium.
$468 is marking up an additional $200+ on top of the huge premium realized in the first card's sale.

Sorry, Pete, I might not be making a lot of sense this morning. Or, I may be overreacting to something that's not that big of a deal. I'm having another surgery Wednesday morning, so I'm on more pain meds/muscle relaxers than usual.

[ullmandds]

it's ok Bill...I do it all the time!

I hope your sx goes well.

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

it's ok Bill...I do it all the time!

I hope your sx goes well.

Thanks, Pete.

[teetwoohsix]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

$262 is marked up at a huge premium.
$468 is marking up an additional $200+ on top of the huge premium realized in the first card's sale.

Sorry, Pete, I might not be making a lot of sense this morning. Or, I may be overreacting to something that's not that big of a deal. I'm having another surgery Wednesday morning, so I'm on more pain meds/muscle relaxers than usual.

Hey Bill,

Wish you the best on your upcoming surgery!!

You are making sense-what you are seeing is the "domino effect" I talked about earlier in this thread. How creating a manufactured scarcity in turn creates inflated prices all the way down the line.

Sincerely, Clayton

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by teetwoohsix

Hey Bill,

Wish you the best on your upcoming surgery!!

You are making sense-what you are seeing is the "domino effect" I talked about earlier in this thread. How creating a manufactured scarcity in turn creates inflated prices all the way down the line.

Sincerely, Clayton

Thanks, buddy!

Well, it looks like the Titus will be one of the last cards in the set that I buy. Maybe the price will have normalized by then.

[T206.org]

I've been taking a break from collecting for a while now, but I do still have this SGC40 Old Mill (back damage, bah!). I'm sure you've seen it before, haha.

Pretty shocked to hear about the Titus craze now - these prices are wild!

[ullmandds]

beauty Trae...you may be set for retirement with that one!

[calvindog]

SWEET, MY CARD IS RARE!

[refz]

I enjoyed this topic and man...this card situation is out hand for what it is. I even find hard to cough up $100+ for a 1 grade or equivalent joe doyle.

[sreader3]

Titus is not scarce. He is tied for 366 out of 524 on the difficulty spectrum in my study of over 100K Internet sales of T206s from 2008-13.

Titus is all about hoarding and hype.

Sorry for those who bought in.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by calvindog

SWEET, MY CARD IS RARE!

Jeff, I love that Donlin.

[sreader3]

Collectors over time have been remarkably astute in figuring out the relative scarcity of T206s. So, for example, Dahlen (Brooklyn), Elberfeld (Washington) and the Southern Leaguers (and a few other toughies) command solid premiums because they are REALLY difficult.

Then there is Mr. Titus. Cool mustache, but the card is a 350-only subject THAT IS NOT MUCH TOUGHER THAN THE MOST PEDESTRIAN CARDS IN THE SET SUCH AS MADDOX, DOWNEY (FIELDING), MILLER (PITTSBURG), GANZEL, DYGERT, LENNOX, and I could go on.

Titus is all about hoarding and hype. He is not "scarce" if one's view of scarcity is the number of examples extant. He is only "scarce" if one takes into account hoarding and hype.

[Pat R]

Titus is all about hoarding and hype. He is not "scarce" if one's view of scarcity is the number of examples extant. He is only "scarce" if one takes into account hoarding and hype.[/QUOTE]

+1 and a little research shows who the main hoarder is.

[philliesphan]

I purchased it ~a decade ago, but I have a really nice Carolina Brights John Titus card. Since then, both rare backs and John Titus have exploded. Wonder if that would mean a spectacularly crazy price for the card?

[wonkaticket]

Originally Posted by Pat R

+1 and a little research shows who the main hoarder is.

I hope its Tom Selleck.



I agree the card is neat just glad I don't have to buy it today...because the prices are a bit silly on this one.

[bobbyw8469]

reminds me of the dot.com bust. What is going to happen when this one person stops collecting the Titus card?? lol.....

[VoodooChild]

My only issue with this whole thing (and the reason I overpaid by 4X for one) is that we do not know what the reason is for the "hoarder" to be doing this. Just a quick ebay sold search shows that he's won like 90% of the recent sales and was underbidder on the others. At this point, he knows what is going on and just doesn't care. He continues to spend thousands of dollars and drive the market up on himself.

I said this in my inital post to this thread a while back, but I rememer reading from someone that knows him that he has some "special project" going on. We don't know what that is and he obviously doesn't care how much it costs. I like to imagine him in a dark basement creating some sort of mosaic wall display out of the cards like a mad scientist. What if he is busting them out of slabs and pasting them to a canvas or something or even worse cutting them up in some sort of way. I doubt it but again we just don't know.

Yes, I am "educated" enough in the T206's to know that Titus is not really rare. But if he has some sort of lifelong project going on, his hoard my never see the marketplace in our lifetime. Maybe he'll will the project to his relatives, again who knows. So my question is still - without knowing the intent of the hoard (and at this point it doesn't appear to be financial or for profit) and if the cards will ever be available, doesn't that justify buyers treating the card as rare/tough and spending accordingly?

[clydepepper]

Maybe a short screen or two worth?

[4815162342]

This Helmar fantasy fake is hilarious. Without the 'stache, Titus just doesn't bring the cash.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/T206-Helmar-...-/400720471839

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by 4815162342

This Helmar fantasy fake is hilarious. Without the 'stache, Titus just doesn't bring the cash.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/T206-Helmar-...-/400720471839

The modern Helmar cards aren't my thing, but there is a Titus with 'stache version that apparently also carries a premium over the sans 'stache version of a Titus Helmar card.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/T206-Helmar-...p2047675.l2557

[The Nasty Nati]

What I find hilarious about the high prices for the Titus card is the fact that back in the day his nickname was "Tight Ass" because he was so frugal or "tight" with his money. Titus, if he was around today, would never pay $300+ for a PSA 2 common

...And I highly recommend you read his SABR bio, very interesting fellow.

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/edd1ff06

[bobbyw8469]

I was the underbidder on the Hunt lot. I got out around $300. It was 8 cards, with the Titus being one of them. If the bottom fell out before I had a chance to flip him, I would have felt really foolish!

http://www.huntauctions.com/phone/im...23&lot_num=432

[freakhappy]

Thanks for the bio, nati...I enjoyed reading about Titus!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk