I have been playing around the edges. I found a couple of good buys and was able to add a 1952 Bowman near set and 1957 Topps near set and I was able to get at what I perceived to be "old prices" and then filled them in pretty promptly without too much expense.

One of the best sayings I ever heard was "We plan, God laughs." That said my plan is to work until I am 70 so long as I am productive, enjoying it and making positive contributions to my clients. I would the like to spend the next ten years selling my collection. I will probably keep the 1970s stuff because I could stay in the hobby doing Hostess and Milk duds and such. It is also the stuff I collected as a boy so it's not high grade.

There are plenty of 1958 Mays cards out there that are affordable to you and nice looking.

Right off the bat, if you are blue collar, you shouldn't care about collecting flips, which are pretty much the opposite of blue collar.

Can't afford a high number opinion from the opinion sellers? Well boohoo.

Doug

I suspect it may be Antifa or the Oath Keepers, depending on your political persuasion.

If you're "blue collar" and you've been collecting for a long time, then you probably have a large war chest of cards/material to trade. If you're "blue collar" and you haven't been collecting for a long time, then this "hobby" is becoming a bit more challenging to navigate.

A lot of guys on this board probably wouldn't pay the prices being asked today, but they have the ability to trade/sell off material they don't care much about for something they would like to have. This makes the hobby somewhat sustainable for a "blue collar" old time collector. One collectors trash is another collector's treasure. Sometimes it's just finding the right trading partner.

Johnny630 is net54’s resident Chicken Little

That said, the original point is valid, but it applies to all cards and all “collars”. Shit is getting more and more expensive no matter what you collect and most everyone regardless of net worth is struggling to buy, or at least justify buying, the things we used to buy a year+ ago.

In late 2019, I started to fear this would happen. So I went out and bought many cards I wanted, fearing that I may get priced out soon. I spent a lot in 2020, and I am thankful I did that bc I am not sure I could, or would want to, buy those cards today. This is not a blue collar problem, it’s a card value problem, and we all feel it. But I don’t think it’s a “problem”- that’s looking at it wrong.

But let’s be honest, we should all rejoice in the price increases, as we have all made a lot of money relative to what our collections were worth in 2018. So rather than bitch about what you can’t get, be grateful that you can now sell some cards and pay for a child’s education

Haha, yeah right, that will happen. If we can't complain about how poor we are while we are selling $5,000 cards what's left for any of us?

I'll be honest. I do not rejoice at the price increases at all. I have not made a lot of money off my collection in the past few years, nor did I build it with that in mind. I will not fund any major purchase with the sale of a few cards.

Sorry Ryan, I find it a bit rich (pun intended) for someone who has a T206 Wagner, Ruth rookie, T210 Jackson and the others you listed to be telling others here how they should feel about pricing and handling their collections. We live in different collecting worlds--maybe different solar systems.

I would rejoice if the bottom fell out of the market and I could afford 2-3 times as many cards that I want than are available to me now. If that means my own collection takes a 75% hit than so be it. For me and others it has never been about the money. Nobody likes to lose it, for sure, but there is much to be said for the sheer joy of owning something you like, as opposed to being worried about how much you can make or stand to lose.

So Johnny, hang in there. As others have mentioned, you can pretty much always find something you like to scratch that itch.

Johnny, I too have the same '58 Mays PSA 8 in my watchlist. Can't drop that much coin on it nowadays, but used to be in my maybe affordable see a nice one jump on it list. I still have my '58 Aaron in PSA 8 I bought many years ago. Would love to get the Mays counterpart, but sigh. But on the flip side, yes, very thankful the overall market has increased holdings value.

Todd I respect your point of view and will not address it. However, I want to be very clear that I am 100% a collector and have been one (on and off) for almost 40 years. I do not feel that viewing my collection as an investment, or investing in what I like to collect, are inapposite/incompatible.

Regardless of the payment platform, anyone not accurately reporting their sales in previous years has been committing tax fraud. I have zero sympathy for anyone whining about changes to tax form policy - the existence of these forms and/or the monetary limits do not preclude the fact that you should have been reporting your sales all along. Your gravy train just ran out of steam. Boo Hoo

You and I have exactly the same plan except that I am shutting down the career the minute I have enough money to do it. My second act is going to be cards and stand-up comedy, cards to generate some cash flow and stand-up because I love it.

Lmao love it !! Well Said

Ray, Johnny, count me in too. I run a legit card business and have to report not only my income but also file sales tax returns too. Zero sympathy for people whining about having to pay their share. Taxes are the price we pay for civilization.

Aren't you the guy who bought a 52 Mantle on forgivin PPP money? You're welcome btw.

I have no problem with taxes as I realize what they mean to our civilization. What irks me to no end is Government spending and wasting money like a drunken sailor. If our Government could manage the tax revenue they do collect better, maybe they wouldn't be squeezing the blood from my turnip every turn of the corner.

In defense of drunken sailors, at least when I wasted money on port visits, I was only wasting my own.

LOL!! Touche. My apologies to drunken sailors. :)

While I'm not a "blue collar" guy per the definition, I'm unionized, and thus on a pay scale with few opportunities for OT. The exchange is the time off.

All that being said, I do have to plan out my card purchases, well the big ones at least. Putting a little bit aside for any card over $1000 is what I have to do. Expenses are as minimal as they can be right now, but I'm also trying to save for a house, which in this market seems nigh impossible.

Too bad I can't live in my cards.

No. I am the guy who spent the PPP money on payroll and rent as mandated. I then saved up for two years before I felt I had enough of a cushion to buy it. And I would bet I pay far more in taxes than you do, including use tax on my buys, so spare me the ignorant self-righteousness.

Ray,

You are 100% correct. I say the same thing all the time when people start complaining about these changes to tax compliance and reporting rules.

It is just like all the people who complain about the alleged "tax loopholes" that supposedly only benefit the rich and well-to-do in our country. These complainers/protesters in reality are mostly those who are pissed because they themselves can't take advantage of such tax-saving laws, rules, and nuances in place. What many people don't seem to realize is that most of these tax laws that are often viewed as giving special treatment or favor to some are likely in place to push people and the economy to go and move in a particular direction, not to just give "rich" people a break. Our government is not supposed to be telling all the people and businesses exactly what and how to do things, yet when the economy goes bad, inflation hits, and so on, everyone still seems to look at our government and blame them, and expect them to somehow fix it overnight. Writing favorable tax laws/rules to sort of steer people and businesses in a particular direction is a direct example of our government directing and leading by offering a carrot, as opposed to using a stick to get everyone to do what they want. And for those that don't like that way of doing things, maybe just move someplace else like North Korea. I believe they fully embrace the "stick method" over there.

Nearly half the people in this this country end up paying no income taxes every year, and many actually get money/credits from the government. Yet no one calls those people out on the "tax loopholes" they are able to use and take advantage of.

Truth is, there really are no such things as "tax loopholes". The tax law simply is what it is. If you don't like it, contact your congressperson and work to change things. Or figure out how to change your situation and circumstances so you can also supposedly take advantage of these so-called loopholes yourself, and quit your bitchin'. :)

Sounds like you have two hobbies.

I am somewhat sympathetic to the argument about not being able to afford cards that meet condition requirements. I am a post-war set builder and have been trying to build sets that are raw and EX or better. What I enjoy about set building is the hunt. It takes me 2-4 years to finish a set because it takes a while to find cards in my desired condition at my desired price. I had pretty much decided that I wouldn't build any of the 1952 to 1954* sets because they all have multiple cards that far exceed my willingness (and in many cases my ability) to pay.

But, the thought had occurred to me to go in the exact opposite direction and build a 1954 set of absolute beaters. Every card would need to look like it was used as a baby's pacifier. That way, condition still matters, as it were, and the hunt is still there.

* I would have added 1955 to the list because of that Clemente RC, but I am only 11 cards from finishing.

I hear what the OP is saying.
Most of the collectors on this site are phenomenal in terms of their attitude, sharing of knowledge, etc. However, there is one member who, for years, posts with an air of arrogance and condescension, especially when listing in the B/S/T.

Our God-given right as collectors (and Americans) is to complain about everything. It is definitely a case of non-problem problems, whining about not being able to buy baseball cards, but it is what it is. I'd like to own a Ruth RC, a 1925 Exhibit Gehrig, etc., but I know they are now out of my reach permanently. Really it is that many of us older (fart) collectors are just pissed at ourselves for thinking we'd have all the time in the world to add many cards to our collections that we now are completely unable to afford, so we bitch about the investors and anyone who can afford it. Nothing new there: I remember 20-30 years ago when card shows were everywhere and the whole PSA thing was just getting into gear, talking to people at shows derisively describing the dealers who were into that stuff as the "Rolex crew" because they all seemed to wear gaudy Rolexes and flash cash as obnoxiously as a drunk in a Las Vegas casino. We'd all just skip the Rolex tables and go for the back of the show. I mean, who is gonna pay a premium for a common Goudey Ruth just because it is in some clunky case? Guess we missed the boat on that one...