[brian1961]

Yes.

We collectors are frequently a very quiet, sensitive, and immensely passionate bunch of people. We take our collecting very seriously, even if we try to be low-key about the whole thing. I am speaking of collectors in general, because I believe we all share the same passions, and sensitivity to certain attitudes found among assholes in whatever hobby interests us.

Maya Angelou was so right-on when she wrote of all the things we'll remember about a person, how they made us feel will be the main thing we'll always remember, and it will affect everything about how we feel towards that individual.

For better or for worse, how you got a treasured card or complete set--the circumstances, the price, and the whole experience from whom you got that meaningful piece from, will, as the years go by, come back to your mind. It won't just be the card or set. You wish you could separate the card from the jerk, but sometimes you cannot take "the jerk" out of the card, and have to just sell the thing and get another one, to get the asshole's stench removed from the association with the given item. Odious comment, but it's been true for me.

Forgive me for not getting too specific or naming names, much as I might feel the urge to now and then. There's two sides though, remember?

Dealers probably have their own lists of reprehensible buyers whom they feel a genuine headache coming upon them every time they see one those scumbags approach their table. Yep, it can go both ways. No, I've never been a dealer. Took out some ads in SCD back in the day with numerous frantic phone calls. I tried to treat everyone with dignity and respect, and let down the guys who called "too late" as tenderly as I could, 'cause I had been there numerous times before myself. I'm pleased to say that of well over 100 sales, a decent amount were repeat customers; I only had one returned item.

Good topic to cogitate about, but sometimes there's things you really don't want to remember.....

Cheers.

---Brian Powell