Posted By:
Al C.risafulliI'm not sure how this became a discussion about grading companies and alterations, as I'm not sure that was Bruces's intent when they made their original post. Although I certainly do not speak for them.
My contention is that while the buyer of the card in question seems to have done well on resale, but there's no indication as to whether the consignor did well on the sale of that same card. How can a single card serve as an example of a good investment and a bad one, both at the same time? It seems to me that the market conditions for the sale of cards have as much to do with the current climate and the universe of potential bidders as they do with the item itself.
Clearly with any collectible item, there will always be interest in obtaining the "best" of something, whether it be best condition, best player, best manufacturer, or whatever. From an "investment" standpoint, if you're going to look at our hobby that way, I suppose there will always be a buyer. However, it's difficult to use the sale of one card in particular to make such blanket statements. It could be said, for example, that there have been plenty of recent instances of high-grade prewar cards selling for less money than anticipated - and that might represent a softening in the overall "market". Such a softening could be due to a softening in the greater economy, a weakining of confidence in the quality of the cards or holders they're in, or any number of other factors.
I'm not smart enough to identify what the best "investment" is in this hobby. I consider myself lucky to be so dumb, because it enables me to have a hobby I can enjoy without freaking out too much over the investments I make that backfire. I just spent $300 on three brandy-new boxes of 2007 Upper Deck Goudey cards, ripped them open and probably have about $20 worth of cards as a result. But damn, I had fun.
-Al