When will the Titus-Itus end?

[insccollectibles]

I've seen a lot of discussions about the card/price and have sold a few to the "hoarder" myself. I know a project is currently in progress but when do you think said project will end and the prices plummet? Also any idea what the project is I'm dying to know?

[drazz5]

Ya all the secrecy surrounding this "hoarder" and his "project" is killing me.

[Paul S]

The day after you really need one.

[z28jd]

The day I go to sell mine

[Jobu]

Possibilities for the hoarder's identity:

1) Tom Selleck.

2) The CEO of a mustache products company who wants to wallpaper his office in Titus T206 cards.

3) Alex Trebek because he wants to be the answer to the final Jeopardy question: Which gameshow host famously cornered the market in mustachioed T206 cards in the first quarter of the 21st century?

4) Someone affiliated with Movember.

Quite frankly I can't see how it is anyone other than Tom Selleck.

[Joem36]

My vote is Tom Selleck.

[wazoo]

Originally Posted by Jobu

Possibilities for the hoarder's identity:

1) Tom Selleck.

2) The CEO of a mustache products company who wants to wallpaper his office in Titus T206 cards.

3) Alex Trebek because he wants to be the answer to the final Jeopardy question: Which gameshow host famously cornered the market in mustachioed T206 cards in the first quarter of the 21st century?

4) Someone affiliated with Movember.

Quite frankly I can't see how it is anyone other than Tom Selleck.

No doubt!

[chernieto]

Anybody who has a Titus to sell on Ebay can find out real quick who the hoarder is. I sold one a month or two ago and it wasn't Tom Selleck or any other celebrity that placed the bid matching the Ebay ID that won many of the auctions.
Paul C.

[insccollectibles]

Originally Posted by chernieto

Anybody who has a Titus to sell on Ebay can find out real quick who the hoarder is. I sold one a month or two ago and it wasn't Tom Selleck or any other celebrity that placed the bid matching the Ebay ID that won many of the auctions.
Paul C.

+1

[drazz5]

I guess I just dont understand if people who have sold to him know who he is, why they've all been sworn to secrecy as well.

[wazoo]

I picked one up today....He's got another one that he's going to have to go after.

[ethicsprof]

only after the investigative trials are completed and the immunization is
approved.

all the best,
barry

[t206blogcom]

I am the walrus.

[chernieto]

Originally Posted by drazz5

I guess I just don't understand if people who have sold to him know who he is, why they've all been sworn to secrecy as well.

It just doesn't feel right to me to publicly share the individuals name. If one is in business deal, buying or selling it is a private transaction. Some people here take offense by a collector buying so many of the same card - all the more reason I wouldn't want to throw someone to wolf pack and open them up to criticism by sharing their name without consent.
& then there's the mystery and intrigue!

[frankbmd]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOWO--z1S8A

I'm in.

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by ins02

I've seen a lot of discussions about the card/price and have sold a few to the "hoarder" myself. I know a project is currently in progress but when do you think said project will end and the prices plummet? Also any idea what the project is I'm dying to know?

No, have a couple for sale though

[sebie43]

Well it could be Burt Reynolds. But my money is also on Tom Selleck.

[iwantitiwinit]

I sold one on ebay in June, didnt recognize the buyer or his address but I have a name.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOWO--z1S8A

I'm in.

If you saw that performance live you are dating yourself . I think it was a couple years before me....but not too much.

And the Titus bubble will pop when I line up a mega Titus card deal.

[jrlebert]

Pardon the uninitiated, but what is the backstory behind this?

[ullmandds]

Honestly...to me Titus-itis is the most ridiculous disease in the hobby...crazier than Halla-tosis...more insane than ten-millioneritis.

In the same vein...any OJ of a player WITHOUT a moustache...should be equally as desirable!!!!

I know we collectors are crazy freaks...but this is beyond!!!!!

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

Honestly...to me Titus-itis is the most ridiculous disease in the hobby...crazier than Halla-tosis...more insane than ten-millioneritis.

In the same vein...any OJ of a player WITHOUT a moustache...should be equally as desirable!!!!

I know we collectors are crazy freaks...but this is beyond!!!!!

+1, We don't agree often Pete, but I'm with you on this one....

[swarmee]

Would it be crazy if he was a descendant of Titus? He's probably not since he doesn't seem to be hoarding the non-moustached T205, but who knows?

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by CMIZ5290

+1, We don't agree often Pete, but I'm with you on this one....

To hell with T206 Titii...the world is coming to an end!!!!

[glchen]

I think this is just something that some collectors do. I have a customer who only collects 2 different issues of Babe Ruth cards. (They're relatively rare, but not particularly expensive like some Ruth cards.) Whenever he seems them for sale at a reasonable price, he buys them. When I asked him why only these two cards, he said that he really likes the images on the cards, and it makes it easier for him to focus on what to buy. That is, rather than searching and looking at hundreds of different types of Ruth cards, he just has a couple of search criteria on ebay that he uses, which he checks every now and then. This is practically all he collects.

[1880nonsports]

does it have an impact for the set collectors? I follow the sales of the N162 Beecher as there is someone with 17 or more examples. There are far fewer cards from this set than the T206 set. The market has clearly been impacted by the reduced availabilty of the card. I have followed this card for about 20 years. 17 cards is a LOT in a 19th century set. Seldom offered except at very high prices (out of line with similar status cards) - the "hoarding" has skewed the marketplace. Occasionally the owner offers the ENTIRE GROUP for an ever increasing amount in many multiples of early historically derived prices.
Given that there are probably many more Titus cards for the potential set collector - is this having a real impact on the prices for the card? I gave up the monster about half way complete so I don't follow these "newer" cards :-)
Personally I hate the guy standing between me and Beecher!

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by 1880nonsports

Given that there are probably many more Titus cards for the potential set collector - is this having a real impact on the prices for the card?

So the cards are definitely still out there. It's no longer as easy as searching for "T206 John Titus" on eBay. I found one browsing boxed lots on eBay and basically paid for 75% of the box I bought by just selling back the Titus. Sell a couple more lots of the modern relic cards I'm not a big fan of to break even, and I end up getting these for free:
1978 Topps Eddie Murray (NM)
1982 Topps Cal Ripken (NM)
1972 Topps Carl Yaz (NM)

As to the price, I started started watching, but he's considered a PSA 1 $20 common in Beckett's first ever "Graded Card Price Guide" which came out within the last year. I sold my SGC 10 for $155 and that's because the paper loss was near his wondrous moustache. So an 8x premium over last year.
But since Titus is a common for the series and there are literally thousands of them, I don't understand the griping from the guys that still need one. They'll get one. They just have to dig through the "collections" on ebay to find ones that others might not find.