Guys, I don't think of my cards as an investment that will make more money when I sell than what I paid for them.
Now that would be fantastic, except I don't really know when I am going to sell them. It may be in response to a financial emergency where I won't have the luxury of time to maximize the profits. It could be because I see the writing on the wall...the next generations of baseball fans aren't card collectors like my generation and if there is no demand, our supply is going to be worth significantly less. I might just want to sell and work on my bucket list of travel destinations.
Or I might die before I sell, which means I personally didn't get ANY money out of it
I guess I think of my cards as a "potential savings" account.
I already save a percentage of my income, but by spending another percentage of money on cards, I have this admittedly flawed idea that I could sell them at any time and recoup that spending. If I bought steak and lobster everynight I couldn't get anything back on that
. I guess I could just increase my percentage of savings but it seems that some guys just need to spend!! (guilty)
It's an interesting ,important topic to think about what to do with all of these cardboard gems looking forward. I know that many of us spend a pretty high percentage of our money on cards. We wouldn't be doing it solely for the joy of looking at pictures of deceased old athletes...these things are expensive and you can just look at the catalogues or websites if you just like seeing them. It's some instinctful bravado that makes us want to have and hold these items...I can't explain it very well, but I know I have it.
So if someday I am able to get back all the money I have spent on cards over the years, I'd be pretty pleased. If not...well I guess that's ok too. I'm not exactly counting on the former, but I have hope.