Posted By:
davidcyclebackWhenever any board member takes him or her herself too seriously (and we all do at times), go and tell someone on the street that you are a collector of baseball cards, and watch how seriously you are taken. ("Isn't that cute. My daughter collects Britany Spears cards. Maybe you can compare collections.") Realize that the general population considers collecting baseball cards on the significance level of collecting beanie babies and collector's plates. Good clean fun no doubt, but hardly anything to act snooty over.
If in your mind you exchange the word 'beanie baby' for 'baseball card' in the heated Net54 board debates debates, you can see how silly the arguments will appear to outsiders. Remember, that there are companies that grade and authenticate beanie babies too.
I've wondered what involves the bigger foolishness, an adult paying $100 but a AAA paperstock cutout or an adult paying $100,000 for a PSA 10 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle. My guess is that the average person on the street would pick the latter. If you explained that the Mantle purchase is not foolish financially as others will pay similarly for the card and the auction price required like-minded underbidders, this non-collector might say that this merely shows that there are more numerous fools.