Posted By:
JoannNot to hijack the other thread about this hobby being passive, but I have been wondering lately about the extent to which even true collectors end up with the dreaded "I" word (@tbob) as a positive side effect to the collecting focus.
Even if you don't set out at the start to consciously invest, at some point your cards increase in value so that you have an investment anyway. I stopped completely when I first started school 2 years ago, and was shocked when I got back into it to see how some of my cards had appreciated while they sat dormant and even unnoticed for 2 years.
So, even if you are really just a collector, does anyone want to comment on how well their cards have done as an investment? Adam W made a comment in the other thread about having fun and a great ROI besides. Can we really have it all?
Also, at what point can we officially call these investments and (even if we are not in the business) start taking Section 212 (?) deductions for the actual expenses of managing our collections, instead of only the capital losses upon sale?
Joann