Forum Newbie
 

Thank you for the opportunity to join and I look forward to following the discussions and maybe even doing some business with some of you. Like so many others I grew during the late 70s & 80s and had a number of cards as a kid. Starting in the early 90s I started more seriously collecting (at least in the mind of an 18-19 year old) *gasp* basketball cards. Mind you, not vintage stuff, but contemporary stuff. Had (and still have) binders of every set, went to tons of shows and spent endless hours and $$ at card shops. Needless to say the only thing that has virtually any value left was my effort to collect every Jordan card at the time. Even my 86-87 Fleers are worth much less today. After the mid-90s I stepped away, like so many others.

Fast forward, well, a lot of years, and I have a son just starting baseball and I've started exposing him to some of the history of the game. And while baseball is not my favorite sport, as someone with a keen interest in history I decided to begin to start a collection focusing solely on "older" baseball cards - items that will make great conversation pieces and that hopefully will retain some value. A collection I can pass down to my son. That's how I came across this forum. While I've been finding my way a bit, I've narrowed by focus to pre-1960, PSA-graded HOFs (for older sets, non-HOF ok). Been able to win a few T206/T205s commons, an E95, some 33/34 of various flavors, in addition to a few late 40s/50s through eBay. Mostly lower to mid-grade, don't want to break the bank. No "major" stars (maybe a Churchman "no name" Ruth?). My favorite current thread is the $1000 thread -- actually taking close notes on that one from all the experts here. I truly value the opinions as I've learned a ton in a short time.

One question I do have is what is the proper protocol in soliciting advice from some of the experts on this forum on cards currently up for auction. While theoretically I could post a generic "thoughts?" thread, that isn't the most fiscally prudent way to avoid bidding wars if I've found something interesting. I've lost a ton of those already! Any guidance on that would be much appreciated.

Thank you all and looking forward to continuing to learn from all of you.

Welcome from another relative newbie and the starter of the $1000 thread! This is an awesome forum and Leon does a great job moderating.

One tip from me... if you don't want to tip your hand regarding auctions by posting a general thread, you could private message a couple of the really knowledgeable posters.

It's considered by some to be faux pas to "out" an ongoing auction on this board. However, you can private message people. And posting general questions and questions about completed auctions is not only okay but welcome.

Personally, if someone is wondering if an item in live auction is real and/or correctly identified, I have no issue with him asking publicly before bidding. In fact, asking for opinions about the authenticity of a live item is fairly common.

Also, if it's in a major auction house auction, where everyone got catalogs in the mail, I don't think there is anything to "out." I feel that you're free to talk about anything anytime in those.

In the beginning and end, this was designed as and is an open public discussion board, not a covert messaging or private email system to protect investments. That some say outing a current auction is board "sin," is their personal opinions. There's no Net54 or voted upon rule that says that. However, yes, some on the board would get mad at you if you "out" a current eBay auction.

If you want to private message to not draw widespread attention to an item you are considering bidding on, that's perfectly okay and understandable. It's no board faux pas or rule breaking to send a private message or email.

And if a new member makes a perceived board faux pas, such as posting in the wrong category or breaking some unwritten rule, they are quickly forgiven as they are new.

Welcome to the forum.
PM'ing someone is a good way to talk about an ongoing auction. Most members don't like them to be posted while live but there is no rule against it. You will just get hated on real quick. :)