The final straw(s)

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by brooklynbaseball

It's been close to 30 years and over six figures in "investments" in this cesspool of a hobby. I have not "seen it all", but I have seen enough to convince me that there is no joy left in it. I and my family have been attacked by a forger who I exposed, I have been the victim of fraud (luckily I found the piece of shit) and I have been the purchaser of goods that were not authentic. I have used ebay, and a few different auction houses to sell off my duplicate goods, but now ebay does not seem to care about the plethora of obvious fakes that pollute their listings. And as I write this, I am in the midst of dealing with an auction house that is trying to charge me over fifteen dollars to ship a single postcard, that is valued at less than $100, after collecting a 20% commission for allowing me to bid on their item. I used to enjoy the thrill of the auction process, the nervous feeling in my gut as the clock was winding down, the anticipation of returning home to find the delivery of my newest treasure. Now however, the blatant greed of this "industry" has soured me to the point that I rarely look at my collection anymore. What makes it even worse, I have two sons, and I had always looked forward to gifting each of them with an equal share of my signed collection, now I feel as if I would be subjecting them to a nightmare of greed and fraud. I am a proud NYer, it takes a lot to make me "give up", but the white flag is going up, I've had it...

You make all valid points. However, many have said this and say 'they are done with hobby' then in a short while they are back. It happens so often I have talked about starting a list. I wonder what the draw to come back to hobby is after all those true things you have said.

[brooklynbaseball]

I am sure that others have stated what I have, the difference with me is simple. I find no joy in being taken advantage of, I find no joy in watching people lose their money to forgers, I find no joy in watching auction houses with no conscience gouge their customers, and most important to me, I just find no joy in this den of thieves and greedy scumbags. I have nothing but respect for those who choose to continue to try to clean up this hobby, but at some point you need to realize it's a losing battle. I'm at the age where I don't need anything else to make me frustrated, angry, or disappointed. I have the nightly news for that... This community on Net54 was (is) one of the only worthwhile parts of the collecting community, I wish you all the best in your pursuits...

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by brooklynbaseball

I am sure that others have stated what I have, the difference with me is simple. I find no joy in being taken advantage of, I find no joy in watching people lose their money to forgers, I find no joy in watching auction houses with no conscience gouge their customers, and most important to me, I just find no joy in this den of thieves and greedy scumbags. I have nothing but respect for those who choose to continue to try to clean up this hobby, but at some point you need to realize it's a losing battle. I'm at the age where I don't need anything else to make me frustrated, angry, or disappointed. I have the nightly news for that... This community on Net54 was (is) one of the only worthwhile parts of the collecting community, I wish you all the best in your pursuits...

Most of the hobby is at that age Anyway good luck to you. If you change your mind and you are back that would be great for the hobby

[Hankphenom]

Wow, you must have had a lot of really bad luck in your hobby endeavors! As someone else commented, yes, there are bad guys, but in what area of your life is that not the case? And we've all had bad experiences, but I would put my ratio of good experiences to bad at a minimum of 10 to 1, and I would say the same about the people involved. You have to be smart and and you have to be careful, sure, but a "cesspool" of "thieves and scumbags?"--no. It's not perfect, but it's hardly that.

[brooklynbaseball]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Wow, you must have had a lot of really bad luck in your hobby endeavors! As someone else commented, yes, there are bad guys, but in what area of your life is that not the case? And we've all had bad experiences, but I would put my ratio of good experiences to bad at a minimum of 10 to 1, and I would say the same about the people involved. You have to be smart and and you have to be careful, sure, but a "cesspool" of "thieves and scumbags?"--no. It's not perfect, but it's hardly that.

Wow- "bad luck" is not a relative term here. I don't know what world you live in, but in mine, almost all areas of my life are devoid of "bad guys" because I am smart enough to keep them out of my life. If you disagree with my analogy, fine, but if you think this hobby is not polluted, you are blind.

[tazdmb]

Well if you are start selling, please hit me up with a PM with what is available.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by tazdmb

Well if you are start selling, please hit me up with a PM with what is available.

Issue will be if selling at 'get out of the hobby prices' or 'make me get out of the hobby prices'

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by brooklynbaseball

Wow- "bad luck" is not a relative term here. I don't know what world you live in, but in mine, almost all areas of my life are devoid of "bad guys" because I am smart enough to keep them out of my life. If you disagree with my analogy, fine, but if you think this hobby is not polluted, you are blind.

I've been in the hobby for a long time and from all angles. I know the good and the bad, and there's a lot of both. I just disagree with your general assessment and your adjectives, that's all. Maybe you haven't been as smart as you think.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by brooklynbaseball

I am sure that others have stated what I have, the difference with me is simple. I find no joy in being taken advantage of, I find no joy in watching people lose their money to forgers, I find no joy in watching auction houses with no conscience gouge their customers, and most important to me, I just find no joy in this den of thieves and greedy scumbags. I have nothing but respect for those who choose to continue to try to clean up this hobby, but at some point you need to realize it's a losing battle. I'm at the age where I don't need anything else to make me frustrated, angry, or disappointed. I have the nightly news for that... This community on Net54 was (is) one of the only worthwhile parts of the collecting community, I wish you all the best in your pursuits...

Before you unload your collection try taking a break. Put all you stuff away in a safe place and just forget about it.

I felt the same way several years ago and took a few year break and now enjoy collecting a lot more. I am mainly a card collector but it is just as bad as the auto/memorabilia side of collecting.

If you do decide to return make a list of the people you will not do business with for whatever reason(s) you have. Stick to that list and do not buy from them because buying from the scum just enables them to keep on going. At this time my list of scum is about as big as the list of people I will buy from.