Are True Collectors Taking Advantage Of This Hot Market?

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Posted By: DJ

Many of you are what I would consider "true collectors", but I have also seen a lot of VBC Forum Board members start to unload (so to speak) many items from a collection, if not most of the collection.

Is it because:
1) The iron is hot and prices are simply crazy
2) Financial crunch
3) It's tougher to finish something
4) Simply frustrated that it's so hard to win in the auction world
5) Buying other cards or other collectibles
6) Other priorities, loss of interest

Just curious...and as a collector, I have been tempted of late.

DJ

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Posted By: ramram

Feeding the habit.

Rob M.

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Posted By: Richard

I would consider myself a true collector as it is hard for me to sell anything pre-war. I am one of those who have always said that I would keep everything that I buy. However, I have sold a couple of items recently, only because of a

2) Financial crunch

from

5) Buying other cards or other collectibles

I know that I am going to regret selling those things in the future.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Although I no longer really collect, I think your question could be answered as "all of the above." Some people are aggressively buying, but when you consider all the lots in all the auctions, somebody has to be selling. It's a very fluid market with most people doing both.

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Posted By: Marc S.

I think a lot of people are refining their collections, too. Divesting either lower-condition examples when they upgrade, or selling off sets uncompleted to focus more resources on other higher-priority sets. You can't collect them all - and with the run up in prices, I've seen more and more people [especially younger folks like myself] focus on specific sets rather than a whole bunch.

~ms

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Posted By: warshawlaw

For cards that maybe someone isn't really that interested in to begin with, the high prices are too tempting to pass up.

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Posted By: Julie Vognar

Plain and simple. Broke at 70 is not such a hot condition.

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Posted By: identify7

It is very tempting to me to sell the coin, baseball and non-sport card assemblies which I have compiled and funnel the proceeds from each into one individual, or a small group of each catagory. And then focus my efforts in another collecting direction.

This would leave me with noteworthy (to me) examples of each of these collectibles. And a clean slate upon which to start to build.

I do not do this because:
1) I have not identified a more desireable avenue to direct my attention, and
2) It would be a major inconvenience to liquidate what I have assembled, and
3) Like all hoarders, I know that I would regret it.

Or maybe I wouldn't.

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Posted By: warshawlaw

I am actually downgrading a lot of my cards. I figure why not sell off high grade cards when a vg will do for my collection )because I cannot afford a mear mint collection) and use the extra money to buy more cards?

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Posted By: Darren J. Duet

I recently sold a few pre-war cards to help with the loss of rooves, shingles, walls, etc. in my area. The cards I sold did not put a dent into my collection and were for the most part duplicates. During Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, my physician's assistant, one of my nurses and myself took care of hundreds of patients, and for the first 3 days it was pro bono work. My PA got paid, my nurse got paid---I met payroll, despite a devastating toll on revenue.

Extra money at the time to help 3rd cousins and neighbors was short, so I pawned off a few cards in a Hot Market. The dirty feeling I got from SELLING was quickly washed away by the ability to help in any way I could. I will probably sell here again, for the purpose of furthering my collection.

True Collector,
Darren J. Duet MD

PS My home town was hit by 3 Hurricanes this year 1) Hurricane Cindy(reclassified as a catagory one)-direct hit 2)Hurricane Katrina (the eye hit 40 miles east of us) Category 4 upon landfall 3)Hurricane Rita (Category 3 that skirted us for 12hrs or so).

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Posted By: Jimi

Gotta keep the addiction alive and my interests are always changing!!!

Jimi

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Posted By: joe maples

I started out with cards 30 years ago and eventually got into memoribilia. Now back to cards, easier to store. I sent some vintage bobbers to Inside The Park Collectibles for there December auction and sent some rare memoribilia, which includes a Rare Ty Cobb game, vintage baseball card vending machine and some other stuff to Mastro for their February auction. I will use the cash for cards.

Joe

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Posted By: nbrazil

mainly doing it because of #5. My budget is also limited..and given my interests in the pre war market...i can really only afford a card here or there. I have my sights set on one last card...and that's it for card buying for the year.