Quote:
Originally Posted by G1911
Misreads a post and uses that misreading to criticize people. Responds by cussing out the person who points this out and is factually correct.
What is it about this card that makes people go crazy? It’s a unique phenomenon.
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Some other random musings:
We often fall into the trap of binary thinking. Issues are complex. People are complex. I know people who are filthy rich but whose idea of a fine night out is a trip to In N Out for a burger and fries (hint: ask for animal fries with chopped chilis). I know people who will drop everything to help a friend but whose politics are of the "let them eat cake" variety. It isn't all one thing or all the opposite.
I agree that we are really still ramping up as a transition to an alternative asset class. Look at the money not only pouring into the hobby infrastructure but also professionalizing it. We're seeing vertical integration, scaling of operations, etc. Then there are the rising marketplaces like Whatnot that are democratizing the live auction experience. I would not be surprised to see a National moving closer to the Comicon model in the next decade. It all points to a cross-over from a low-brow to a high-brow vision of collecting.
The Mantle is a great example of the art-like transition of the market. You can own a work by Roy Lichtenstein on a budget, but it will be a print or serigraph, not an original canvas. Very few could piss in the tall weeds with the big dogs who chased down the 9.5, but lots of us could get into a low-grade 52 T Mantle with some savings and liquidating of existing cards.
Which brings me to my next point, why people react so strongly. It is frustration. I've been there too. I was so frustrated with card prices 15 years ago that I stopped buying mainstream baseball cards and moved to regionals and Exhibits. I wish I'd spent some of that money on a midgrade Mantle when it was still a middle-class card, but I was too butt-hurt about not being able to afford every card I wanted that I just pulled a Cartman: "screw you guys, I'm going home."
Seems to me being all bent out of shape over someone else's good fortune is a waste of time and only hurts you; the rich guy who bought the card doesn't care one iota that you are frustrated. Won't do anything except make you mad. It's all just stuff; what is real is how we react to it. We can control that. Like James Brown sang: "You don't miss nothing you never had but you miss so much you wish you could get, hah!"