Cleaning up the "Hobby"

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Posted By: John

I agree 100%. I have watched my beloved hobby go down hill very fast over the past years. Due in large fact to many of the factors you have just stated. We live in a hobby that has become a big business, and many of us including myself would like to turn our heads and pretend it’s the same old fun collecting hobby we once participated in. The sad but true point as you said is that this is a huge industry. Many of the daily practices that these large “captains of industry” practice would be found as illegal and dishonest in any other business setting. Unfortunately because of the mindset by most of the collectors, these people continue to get away with murder. These practices that you described to ones I have seen with my own eyes, such as preferential treatment by grading companies to certain clients, are at a pace to have a huge negative impact on this hobby.

As I said earlier if these practices were put in place at any other business such as real estate, stocks/bonds right down to consumer goods sales. These companies would be before a board of review or held on legal issues.

The really sad thing as these people continue to find ways to milk huge amounts of money from the select few. Prices continue to go up and drive out the masses in which have kept and will continue to keep our hobby intact.

With that said anything that I can do to help as a collector please feel free to let me know. Best of luck with you endeavors and thank for your time in trying to keep our great hobby clean and honest.