Reality
 

When I go to my man cave, I feel very content. Surrounded by a fine collection and proud of my home, career and the trappings I have accumulated. Then I go to heritage auction site and I realize I'm just a sharecropper and my collection sucks. If I could just win powerball...

These are the facts laid before us. I want my Magie Card, but I value my marriage far too much

HAHA...funny! I feel the same way...but I am quite happy with my collection...it makes me happy. And honestly the only reason I'd covet a big card...like a wags or high grade mantle would be knowing how happy i'd be when I sold it!!!!! And there's just something "wrong" about that to me.

Couldn't have said it better.........

Lustful content dirtfarmer here.

heh heh heh
 

did a site search for the word "sharecropper"...
...there was only ONE previous match!

what you dont have today you dont need tommorow mark ,enjoy your collection.

Very Good
 

Mark, You have a wonderful and insightful way with words...thank you for sharing!!!!
Sincerely, Dennis

It's all a matter of perspective.
This is just stuff and if you have any collection to speak of you are far from a sharecropper.

Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have!

Don't ask me. I suffer from perpetual card envy. :D

Obviously my post is meant to be humorous, but there is some truth there. our household earnings are substantial, yet many of the items offered are not even remotely possible to be purchased. The high quality items in this hobby are not for the middle class or even the upper middle class any longer. It is now definitely controlled by those with very deep pockets and they seem to have a voracious appetite. Not a pity post, merely an observation. I used to have dreams and goals of a world class collection but it appears that will not come to fruition. How much of this stuff can they (the wealthy) desire? Maybe one day a major reset will occur. I don't collect for value or resale, those days passed decades ago. But I do like to own nicer collectibles just appears I may have to shift my focus to something less expensive.

Mark

Mark, I get pretty much the same feeling when I receive a REA auction catalog. But, long ago, I learned to quickly get over this feeling and to continue to enjoy my sharecropper collection. However, if I were to win the lottery ... :D
Val

While our resources might be a bit different it's human nature to want the best we can get with what we have. And "best" is a very relative term. I think it's fun trying to find cards, I enjoy, that look great but might not be (and usually aren't) very high grade. And rare and scarcely seen cards aren't always expensive and are fun too. All that being said, some friends who have larger budgets have as much or more fun as the rest of us. Fun knows no financial boundaries. :)

If you search inside yourself you can identify a passionate collecting niche that will be one of a kind and hard to replicate with all of the money in the world.

I actually find I'm much more likely to buy a powerball ticket or two during a big Heritage or REA auction. It is fun to dream.

+1. Seems like my favorite grade range is 1-3 these days.

Saw in the NY Times today that some of these hedge fund dudes cleared a BILLION dollars personally last year. I guess if your of that ilk an expensive Mantle is a goof or chump change. A great country. Some people make a billion dollars and other people complain about how much teachers make.

I will keep my collection any day. Fits my personality.

can't compete
 

So true. Most of us can't compete with someone who has the means and a win at any cost attitude. That;s why I have to be very careful to keep emotions in check when bidding so I don't go crazy on a card. That is also nearly an impossible thing to do...

That is the perfect quote!! Hard to do sometimes, as I also get sick when I see some of the stuff in the big auctions, but damn, I do love my collection.

The difference between "Want" and "Need" can seem imperceptible sometimes.

Read a story once about a group of old guys hanging out, playing cards, chatting and such, when their attention turned to the lone old bachelor in the gathering. When they asked him why he never married, he said "I'd rather want something I don't have than have something I don't want."

"You don't miss nothin' you never had
But you miss so much you wish you could get."

James Brown - People Get Up And Drive Your Funky Soul