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JohnScott, I in no way implied you were ignorant. We have a difference of opinion that’s all. I feel the reason ultra high-end cards are going down in value are not due more abundant amounts of high quality cards of the same type being found. But is due in large part to hype and the novelty of the purchase wearing off.
There was a mystique created around the Harris set and that affects buying habit’s. Just as there is a mystique around these CJ’s. However if you were to slap a PSA 9 or 10 Jackson in the next Mastro or Sportscards Plus auction I would be beside myself if you got 500k.
You bring up some good points about some cards (caramels, scrap tobacco etc.) being hard to find in mint compared to others. I agree, however I would say that most of the collectors today who are buying these ultra high-dollar cards, are not as educated as you. They are buying these cards at whatever prices they can just to have them. For every reason you can site about condition and rarity justifying the price, another 1952 Topps DP Mickey Mantle sells for over 100k. I feel many of these prices are set buy wealthy individuals who want a status symbol or bragging rights and have been lured in by colorful descriptions and misleading lot overviews.
If true rarity really dictated the value of baseball cards we all would have a new list of the big 10 to memorize. And several board members would be sitting pretty.
It also could have gone the other way Mastro may not have purchased the lot outright but just moved them for the owner for a fee (15%). That could explain why they were sold to a private collector and not broken up at auction. But for the record this was a huge deal and in no way a bargain. I don’t think this guy could flip these for an 800k or more gain, as you seem to think. No one leaves 700,000 to 1,000,000 or more in profit sitting on the table. That’s just my opinion.
Maybe I’m the ignorant one Scott please explain why anyone who is in the business of baseball cards for a living and arguably the one of the most successful. Would leave that kind of coin on the table just to make a quick buck on a once in a lifetime sale. That’s what I disagree with you and the others on. I think the price had to be well above fair in order for Mastro or who ever to not go forward with an auction. Why would any parties throw away that kind of cash if it really is a 2 million dollar set as you and the others have stated.
I also have to agree it would be a sin to break them up I hope they stay together; I felt the same way about the Harris collection.