Quote:
Originally Posted by kailes2872
Thanks for the feedback. This is some great advice. I think the most frustrating thing was just how stupid I was. This wasn't something where I got robbed (in the literal sense). My wife didn't want me to take the trip for this reason and I said "trust me". She did and I did this. This want something where I got conned with counterfeits. I saw the stuff. I knew it was light but despite that I still rolled out 146 100 dollar bills.
I said trust me, I've got this. And I was a total doofus. I was the guy that I have made fun of. I am an educated, pragmatic guy. I see downside and risk in everything and my risk meter broke. When I came to, it hit me hard. It was like I had a 5 day out of body experience. I didn't sleep. My adrenaline pumped and now I am crashing.
The guy was really nice. He thought he was giving me a great deal. I wish he would have taken one of the other calls and got a reality check but what is done is done. He had a wife and a small child and they were trying to get enough for a down payment. He didn't want to sell. His wife was forcing him to. He was somewhat of a simpleton. He had trouble with your/you're, to/too, there/their. In my head, I thought that he was just unaware of his value. I was going to capitalize on the fact that I had better information. God has a sense of humor as I sure look like the simpleton in the situation
In speaking with my wife, we came to am agreement. Perhaps this was God working through both of us. He was praying for a blessing and was willing to sacrifice his collection. God answered his prayers through me while reminding me to check my pride and arrogance at the door and to keep my day job. Coincidentally(?), the flight was almost cancelled on Wednesday morning. There was a mechanical issue and a 2 hour delay. At first they said that it was not going to leave until 11 which wouldn't allow me to make my return flight. He provided an out for me, but I was blinded by visions of this collection and the riches it would bring.
All I wanted was some 56 commons. Then I got this grand idea that I would sell off the rest and use the white. meat to build out the rest of the sets. I had been waiting on 54-56 and was fired up. Over the next 18 months, I was going to get my PSA 6 Clemente, Aaron, Banks, Koufax etcetera. Now, I get to tap the breaks. But, 14 grand would have bought nice mid grade sets of all three. Not very smart.
In the end, it is about 1% of net worth, 10% of liquid cash and half of my savings. It does not change the game but it is out of character and that is why I am kicking myself the most.
Take care and thanks - you have saved me the money on the therapy session and I need to save up 14,600 so I can start collecting again ��
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Thanks for your letter, Kevin! I have reached a point where I am pretty much content with my collection as it is. But your letter is a reminder of what CAN happen when you don't see the big picture.
I remember how it all started for me - how I listed a raw T206 Christy Mathewson White Cap on Yahoo! Auctions of all things! That was back in 1999. It was the last of my vintage cards at the time as I had sold off the rest thinking that my interest in the hobby was gone for good. The knuckleheads on Yahoo! thought it was a fake because it looked so nice, so it went for only $165 even though it probably would have graded as a 4-5 . . . it was that nice. Well that sale just ticked me off because I had originally paid $300 for the card and thought I would at least get my money back on it. I had already been ripped off a few times by some of the Yahoos and the $165 sale of that great Christy Mathewson was the last straw!
The anger I felt was, I'm afraid, passion buried deep down inside. And it spawned a new desire to get back into collecting - maybe just to get even and then some! So I began to collect again, although for the most part I took a different direction. Whereas my previous collection consisted of mostly '50s HOFers and that Matty, my focus shifted to mostly '60s HOFers and pre-war HOFers. I now have graded Hall of Fame players from every decade, 1900s-1970s. I do have a several vintage sets and subsets I've assembled as well.
Eric Liddell, the great Olympic runner said, "I feel God's pleasure when I run." In some sense I feel that way about my collection as well, that it is pleasing to God in one sense - that it validates what God reveals about the human condition. By that I mean that if we feel an insatiable ongoing desire to collect, it only validates the fact that we are all made of the same stuff - immortal stuff, that is. And that lack of complete satisfaction exists precisely because we have been created to be at least somewhat discontent and unfulfilled until we enter into God's eternal kingdom forever. In the mean time we need to maintain a healthy perspective and balance on collecting so that it does not dominate our lives and our time and our MONEY!
You obviously have a great wife; mine would have killed me over a huge deal going south like that. The only way I justify my collection is by telling her that it's an investment that is only going to appreciate. I'm in the minority, but I'll weigh in and say that your situation was probably a wake-up call from the Lord. Not that it's time for you to stop collecting all together, but perhaps it's time to restore some balance and perspective, and give this little hobby a much lower priority in your life.