[MattyC]

Great post, Brian. A really fun and spirited read.

I suppose that sometimes what makes a collector's whale is not just sheer rarity, but rather a confluence of factors. In my case a big challenge was finding the right one for my taste, and fighting the occasional temptation to settle for an example that just didn't feel right.

For example, if one is a serious stickler for centering or image brightness, and shopping in a capped price range to boot, there is always the chance your perfect desired copy of a card does not exist. In this sense, when you finally lay eyes on your dream copy after years of searching, it can feel like a 1 of 1 so to speak.

I personally love older cards that look the part and exhibit charm and character, but there is a fine line between character and utter absence of eye appeal. Finding a specimen which strikes that delicate balance can be tough.

Then a card can feel like a whale eluding you, as its price increases-- perhaps at a pace faster than your income is increasing, lol. So it can be a whole host of things, along with there being relatively few copies in your price range/grade.

It is so true, though, that when buying to keep forever you never regret making that one last, big reach that grabs it.