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BlackSoxFan..What a fantastic topic this has become.... although I am relatively young ... I am begining to get to the age where i too can "recall the days of yester year" ... and as previously stated ... let's not be so foolish as to think that things before were always better simply because they came first and were not what they are now.
I can certainly be said to have "mercantile interests" with my presence in not only this hobby, but many others (lighters, fountain pens, watches ... etc...etc...). For me though, it's not about buying low and selling high, its about providing a service....since what i sell is other people's goods. The most valuable thing about my company is our time! There are far more people out there that do not have the time than people who do have the time. That's what I'm paid for and that's why I'm able to make money. I am the son of a collector, I am a collector, and I hope to pass on this bug to my younger brother, and maybe one day my own child. People like me have always existed in the hobby world. However, the crooks, snakes, and greedy money men (and women) have always been there as well.
I think what it comes down to, as with anything in life, is perspective. One interesting thing i have started to realize, but have not yet had the opportunity to explore is this idea of a flooded market. Now don't get me wrong, i certainly think that there is something far more interesting, and far more valuable (and not in the monetary sense) in a 90-year-old piece of card board than in a modern piece.... but how many hundereds of different issues of cards were published at the turn of the century. A TON!!!! Just count the number of issues available in one year back in the day! Now we all give the modern producers a hard time (myself included) because of the sheer number of products that they produce and because they are quick to chop up a priceless piece of memorabilia just to make a buck. But was it really that much different back then? Also, what is more appealing to you... the idea of a Tobacco company pushing their pack of cigarettes with the use of heroes from our national past-time ... or a card company pushing their pack of cards because it depicts the national past-time. Did you ever stop to think what the public would say if P&G purchased Topps and started to produce baseball cards? What would happen if they used one of their subsidiaries products (let's say a pack of cigarettes) as the sole method of distribution??? It's not going to happen, but i think it brings me back to my original point ... maybe the times that have pasted aren't as pure as we think they are. I'm acting more as devils advocate here as i have actually answered for myself many of the reasons why I feel the way I do about the products of today.
As for the advent of the internet and the creation of eCommerce .... it is what it is. As much as I despise certain people on the net for their sales tactics ... the benefits for me have far out weighed the negatives. I don't have time to go to the flea market on weekends, i don't have time go to a weekly card show... so in that respect alone, because I am almost always at a computer (sucks i know ... i really like the outdoors and activities and such), it is easy for me to check out ebay ... i have my field searches saved into a little app/web utility i built that allows me to search without having to go to my ebay every time i want ... also, I would find it hard to believe that someone such as myself would be able to gather such a diverse collection of rare cards if i did not have the internet ... even now... I only go to one card show a year (oh .. i'm going to two this year - YEAH!!!!). Of course, the funny thing is... i found my best card about 10 years ago at a card show. It is what it is, for better or worse, but i'm not so sure that anyone on here can really offer a true perspective on the cards we all love b/c any of use who were alive in 1910 sure as heck weren't old enough to have any perspective on the hobby at that time.
Regards,
Black Sox Fan
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