Curious observation- cards that stick

[Leon]

As I am perusing the many different auctions this morning it sort of dawned on me (for the thousandth time) that there are a lot of cards that just don't stick in collections. They seem to bounce around quite a bit going from one sales venue to another. It seems the more interesting and collectible ones are the ones that "stick" in collections. (Yes, I know, Mr.Obvious here) There seems to be a supply, almost a sub-culture, of quite a few pre-war cards that have the characteristics of a hot potato. Ramblings on a Wednesday morning. If you care to comment or elaborate I would love to hear it. Or if you care to have your own rambling concerning this sort of topic please do so.

[AndyG09]

I have often thought it would be cool if you could "LoJack" a card to see just where it goes over time. Maybe some 3rd party grader could come up with this technology.

[Cat]

How many times has that E107 Plank sold in the last few years?

[carrigansghost]

I have a card that I believe is about to be transfered for the 4th time in 2 years. True to my nature, no monitary gain on my part. Some cards are like the hot girl in town, really, really want them, then find out they get stale.

Rawn

[abothebear]

Perhaps it isn't the cards' fault. Maybe it is a symptom of the collective collector psychosis. In my own case I have noticed that many of the cards I pick up I feel like I need to have or need to save from floating off into oblivion. Once I possess them my control over the uncontrolled world has been established and I feel comfortable re-selling the item. I feel like if I was successful getting it once, I could be successful getting it again if I needed to. The initial purchase turns out to be an exercise of proving myself by asserting power or control over my environment. This is an extreme simplification of it, and takes the fun out of it, but I framed it that way on purpose to illustrate the point. If this is a common issue, and it pretty much describes almost all coping methods and addictive behavior, then it makes sense that there would be lots of one-night-stand cards around (and set-breaks for set collectors). Use 'em and lose 'em.

The sticky ones being the ones you can't let get away, or ones that have a personal connection.

[ctownboy]

Since we are probably talking about "big name" cards here, my guess is that wealthy collectors want to say they have owned certain cards and, once they have attained them, just pass them along to somebody else.

No need to buy the card to finish a set.
No emotional attachment.
No real reason to own a card (or cards) other than to be able to name drop at a future date so as to inflate their ego.

Just like with art or most other things.

For example, a wealthy person buys a Picasso; not because they like it or knwo anything about it but just because they can and to show off for other peopel at parties.

Or a person buys a Ferrari but they either have no driver's license or they can't drive a stick shift.

Same with some of these cards.

"Why, yes, I have owned an E107 Plank".

Now compare THAT to people on this board, true collectors, who are happy to share the news about the beater T206 no name that completes their team set. Or the person who once owned a certain card but had to sell it for some reason and who are now ecstatic because they were able to buy a similiar card.

My two cents,

David Smith

[ctownboy]

abothebear,

Using what you are syaing, you think it is the chase and not the conquest that cause people to sell their cards soon after they have acquired them? That sounds like a friend of mine with cars.

He will go out and find a rust bucket or junker that he just "HAS" to have. He will then take some time (and money) and fix the thing up (some times not all the way) and then decide there is another car he just HAS to have. He never buys a car to fix up to keep for himself.

I always thought to myself if I had the money he has put into these clunkers, I could have a few nice cars that would mean something to me and that I would keep and enjoy. They would be cars that I would keep for 20 or 30 years and be able to tell stories about WHY I wanted them and WHY I have kept them.

David

[ullmandds]

this is one of the things that pisses me off about the hobby these days...1st you see a card on the bst...or more commonly on ebay...then u see it for sale somewhere on the auction circuit. Most of the auction houses are just trying to resell cards that were recently on the market.

[E93]

Originally Posted by ctownboy

Since we are probably talking about "big name" cards here, my guess is that wealthy collectors want to say they have owned certain cards and, once they have attained them, just pass them along to somebody else.

No need to buy the card to finish a set.
No emotional attachment.
No real reason to own a card (or cards) other than to be able to name drop at a future date so as to inflate their ego.

Just like with art or most other things.

For example, a wealthy person buys a Picasso; not because they like it or knwo anything about it but just because they can and to show off for other peopel at parties.

Or a person buys a Ferrari but they either have no driver's license or they can't drive a stick shift.

Same with some of these cards.

"Why, yes, I have owned an E107 Plank".

Now compare THAT to people on this board, true collectors, who are happy to share the news about the beater T206 no name that completes their team set. Or the person who once owned a certain card but had to sell it for some reason and who are now ecstatic because they were able to buy a similiar card.

My two cents,

David Smith

I never realized all wealthy collectors were so shallow and dumb. I think you hit the nail on the head. Thanks.
JimB

[fkw]

Funny
I thought this thread was going to be about showing all your sticker album cards and stamps