Collectors vs money hungry people?

[deweyinthehall]

Originally Posted by gonefishin

The sports card market is interesting. It draws in all types from all walks of life. Regardless of how one compartmentalizes themselves, and others, i.e. "collector", "investor", "flipper", etc. the market welcomes all. The market doesn't care what you do with your card; sell it, burn it, lose it, collect it, etc. The market only cares about selling cards both now and in the future.

I enjoy listening to anyone that collects, buys, sells, trades or has anything to do with cards. The only exception is that what they do is legal and ethical. I try not to criticize anyone for what they do with their cards - the cards belong to them. Simply because I have collected cards for 60+ years doesn't mean that people who are new to collecting are doing anything wrong or bad. Maybe they're just doing things different than me. Maybe their interest and methods of selling cards are why my 1957 common is now worth $10 rather than $1. Or, maybe they're the reason my 1957 common is now worth $1 rather than $10.

I do fail to understand how some people (not all) seem to be happy when an "Investor" "Flipper" loses thousands of dollars when they sell a modern card that they purchased hoping to resell later and make a little money. I personally see no enjoyment in that. I also don't understand when some people (not all) are absolutely elated when they see a 52 Mantle sell for 5M+. I personally see no enjoyment in that. However, to each his/her own.

I do think that we would all be better off if we simply exchanged information with one another on what we collect, why we collect, and enjoy the fellowship of collecting. I look through the different categories of this site just to get a feel of how a particular category is doing and what is new.

If there was an INVESTOR section or a FLIPPER section on this site, I would check it out also! When no one else was looking - I bet you would too!

I will freely admit that I do find it amusing to see huge modern breaks that don't yield any big money cards. Jabs did one not too long ago that was a 2011 Topps Update, looking for the Trout. From opening Topps boxes of that era, I knew he'd get one because a box gets you a complete series. But they went down to mid-way in the final pack before pulling the Trout, and I was really rooting for it to not be there.

Why? It isn't a personal thing, I just feel that some very bad influences are damaging this hobby and any chance to burst some bubbles is appreciated.

Does it make me mean or immature? I don't think so. Just the way I feel.