Do You Own Your Cards, or Do They Own You?

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Posted By: Jamie

Or both?

It's something I've recently been considering... yes, I have cards that I own and love, but is the mere attachment to the cards themselves a type of dependence?

So, are you looking at the cards, or are they looking at YOU?

Of course, we think that we own the cards, and any other kind of perspective is incomprehensible to our so-called "rational world".

But if we are gripped by the fact that we are owning something, or gripped by the determination to complete a collection or set, then isn't it true that the cards are the ones that are doing the gripping?

If anyone on this board lost their entire collection, I can imagine they'd be quite depressed. But would the cards mind? Would the card know the difference?

No, the card is just an object. In fact, the card doesn't even think it is owned - it is purely a unilateral relationship.

So then, where lies the value of the card? The value of the card is simply that other people want it. Since you own the card and others want it, that gives you POWER - a pretty potent drug. Other people are envious of you. This inflates our EGO.

So what you think - do you own your cards, or do they own YOU?

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Posted By: leon

Very thought provoking. I need to give it some thought.

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Posted By: Anonymous

I think we've come to a peaceful coexistence.

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Posted By: Rick McQuillan

My cards own me. They purchased me on ebay. I am stored in a binder on a bookshelf. They take me out once in a while to look at me. If the price is right they will sell me and purchase someone else.

Rick

PS - No, I'm not drunk - just a little strange.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

I keep mine locked in a safe deposit box. They have no say in the matter.

draw from that what you will.

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Jamie, are you on acid presently?

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Posted By: stefan

Blotter and sugar cubes.....mmmmmmm....
Jamie now make sure you have enough for everyone.
Just joking

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Posted By: TFerg

I own my cards. Until they start talking behind my back or eat the last slice of pizza, then it's adios.

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Posted By: JohnnyH

Make sure they don't mix up the mushrooms on the pizza or your cards will be talking to you.

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Posted By: TFerg

Occasionally while sorting cards one or two has fallen into the kleenex boxes I wear for shoes, when this happens they must be cycled through the dishwasher for proper sanitization.

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Posted By: Eric Brehm

Most of the stuff I have is pretty classic (T206, 1933 Goudey, early Topps) and in my mind can be thought of as a piece of baseball history. I think of myself more as the custodian of these relics than as their owner. Eventually, they will be passed on to someone else but in the meantime I enjoy having them.

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Posted By: Peter_Spaeth

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

My cards own me, and when I misbehave they beat me senseless.

-Al

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Someone send an ambulance to Al's house ASAP.

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Posted By: Jim VB

"My cards own me, and when I misbehave they beat me senseless."


Al, next time that happens, just bust a haiku on them. They'll take off with their tail between their legs.

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Posted By: The ballcards associated with Frank Wakefield

The former...

Although I truly understand the question.



And from the collector's perspective, when the latter starts to seem likely it is then time for cards to move on to someone else.

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Posted By: John V

Extreme heaviosity!

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Posted By: Bob Pomilla

If they own me, I wish they'd start taking better care of me.

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Posted By: dynarl

My cards own me when they take me back in time and I feel like a kid again.

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Posted By: barry arnold

it's a symbiotic relationship, in the healthy biological sense, rather than
the psychological sense.

best,
barry

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Posted By: Paul Carek

My cards picked me up for cheap on ebay. They sent me in to be graded, but I was deemed Altered (Mole Removal). I'm now in their Sell/Trade pile with a bunch of other 1966 average shmoes.

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Posted By: Brian

Al is a haiku ninja. That's just about the most dangerous of all the ninja.

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Posted By: MVSNYC

"I don't read the script...the script reads me!"

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Posted By: davidcycleback

The 'cards owning the owner' is a psychological phenomenon, meaning it's a situation that exists in the person's mind. The cards don't own the owner. The owner owns himself. That another collector or non-collector has no interest in the cards, shows that the 'power' and 'hold' of the cards are a product of the personal mind not the cards.

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Posted By: Fred C

I'm not too sure about this. I'll have to ask my wife for my opinion on this matter...

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Posted By: Cat

One tiny atom in my fingernail could be...could be one little...tiny universe.

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Posted By: Jantz

I get the blame for my cards leaving the seat up.

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Posted By: Doug

My cards own me, but they keep me listed on ebay with a ridiculously high BIN so technically they know that I will never sell and we are stuck with each other.

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Posted By: J Levine

Let me just say that the cards were certainly jealous of my girlfriend moving in last month...now they are just being passive agressive. Just yesterday, I came home and two of my nicer T205s had bent themselves in half and blamed my girlfriend for making them bend over backwards to accomodate her new wardrobe in my closet located on the side that formerly housed the T205 binder.

Darn cards.

Joshua

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Posted By: Anthony S.

They don't own me, but I've caught them trying to use my Visa card on more than one occasion.

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Posted By: Jeff Prizner

Reject the basic assumption of civilization, especially the importance of material possessions!