[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

Excuse me but Phil didn't need to call for it. Perspective is always relevant. Basically it's almost impossible to function without it.

Again you are wrong. Phil defined a specific period of time and was not asking about 60 years ago or from now. One of us has a reading comprehension issue.

"Already"? The "Why are prices down? Will they soon recover?" topic has been all over collectible forums in the past two years.

Maybe that should tell you something about the perspectives of many collectors....from my understanding perspectives are always relevant. If you are on a forum long enough, you will find topics get repeated. I guess everyone needs to be careful of your wrath. Maybe Leon can put you in charge of thread topics.

Discussion forums are by nature precisely that. If a poster doesn't want the whole range of commentary on a subject he's raised, he's in the wrong place. And asking why a purchaser paid that much for a card if it wasn't worth that much to him is most certainly a fair question. It might therefore be best for you to skip these threads if you're offended by such "snarkiness".

Nah it might be better to just ignore you. Nobody else on this thread, most who have been here much longer than you, found it necessary to be snarky.

That is incorrect. I disagreed because we're not on the same page when it comes to our underlying thinking.

Thinking? Is that what you call it?

Oh? When I bought cards as a kid sixty+ years ago, I didn't do so with a view to subsequent profits. Neither do I do so today. Nor do many hardcore collectors. Quite simply we hardcore collectors like low prices because it enables us to buy more. Being both a collector and an "investor" actually requires a dollop of schizophrenia. These hobbyists of whom you speak must then be a "curious" lot.

When you bought cards 60 years ago as a child not only did you pay 5 or 10 cents for 10 or 12 cards but not sure how many kids in the 1960s were thinking of cards as a profit center. That concept did not arise until decades later. You might be living in a bubble because I know of many collectors and whether or not they buy cards with the hopes of them appreciating is not criteria for them to be considered hardcore. I feel it is quite black and white to characterize everyone as either being a collector or an investor. Your definitions are rigid, imo.

Nothing without the potential of an income stream somewhere down the line can be characterized as an investment. If nobody thought "Moose Pasture Resources" or "Technology Beyond Dreams" could turn into income producing enterprises at some point, there'd be no buyers. Even raw land has the potential to kick off an earning stream since it could be rented out for farmland or campsites or turned into a parking lot depending upon location.

If however a purchase has no potential to ever kick out an income stream, it's a straightforward rank speculation. And as a longtime stockbroker I can tell you that the operative phrase then becomes "Well sometimes they go up; sometimes they go down."

I am not a stockbroker but I do invest in many things...some of those things you would not consider investments. My definition (and I am sure most people would agree) is that an investment is anything that one spends capital on with the intent to produce a profit in the way of income or capital appreciation.

Only those who paid more than the card was worth to them. Because it's only those who are complaining about being underwater on their purchase today. The others are still perfectly happy with their card.

That is incorrect. I do not recall reading that Phil is not perfectly happy with his cards. Again, one can be happy with the cards but not happy with the fact they are worth less than you paid for them.

Compassion? The card buyers who paid what a card was worth to them aren't asking for it. The others can go to their dog for unconditional compassion. From me they'll get only tough love, i.e. "Well who forced you to pay so much for that little piece of cardboard in the first place?"

I get where you are coming from. I just do not agree. I think the world is already lacking enough compassion so anytime some can be afforded, I do not think it hurts to offer it.