Hey Big Spender

Sterling Sports Auctions · #1 06-25-2011, 11:20 PM

The rest of "we" is going to be pissed when they find out everything is in Bruce's name and they are not in the will.

novakjr · #2 06-26-2011, 12:07 AM

Hi Bruce.

I think Leon pretty much summed it up in post #3. I'm honestly at the exact opposite of the spectrum as you when it comes to collecting. I honestly probably have one of the junkiest collections out there. Sure there's some great stuff, but I've been able to amass a pretty diverse and satisfying collection on a budget due to my lack of care for perfection. However, I do understand and appreciate exactly what you were getting at with your initial post.

To address that, I believe what you were looking to discuss is that the very top of the high end, collector-wise has seemed to remain somewhat steady at about 10 collectors. And that you feel that the market for that high end material will continue to be safe while the lower and middle ends of the market have slowly dwindled, and will probably continue to do so, with collectors dropping like flies due to financial issues.

To that extent, I can agree. However, the collectors in the market for that high end stuff will eventually dwindle and (to put it in simple terms) die(no offense), with no one to step in once one leaves. Eventually the safe 10 that you're referring to, will be 7, 5, 3 and at some point maybe zero. It's not like the last big spending collector left will be king. At some point financially, all that will be left to sell to are the middle-grounders, and I guarantee once you're selling down into a different collecting bracket, money will be lost.

Now the low end of this market is where the most growth and contraction will take place. Honestly, if you were to look at this from an investment standpoint, that volatility should make it potentially the most profitable area of the collecting market. At the same time it could make it the most costly, with some mistakes. All that aside, most of us at the low-end of the spectrum aren't actually any different than you high-enders, despite our obvious differences in financial ability, as our collections seem to be more for the enjoyment of collecting, as opposed to investing. Nobody's here competing with each other to see who has the best collection. Honestly if we were to handi-cap it golf style based on financial ability, I'd sure as hell have to say I'm about as happy as I could be to have my collection where it currently is. I guess that would make me the winner. YAY!!!

Anyways, now that that's out of the way. We're all just here to collect and share knowledge, information and ideas about the hobby. Despite the fact that what you shared here is completely irrelevant to me, and I'll assume most of us here, I really do appreciate getting to read every bit of it, and learning from the big timers. It's like Baseball itself. Do I really need to know everything that I know? F*** no, but I sure as hell enjoy the sh*t out of knowing it. And learning more can often times be every bit as satisfying as buying a new card. That's just my simple view on the hobby.

barrysloate · #3 06-26-2011, 06:00 AM

What clouds this issue a bit, as has been cited, is the amount of material that gets recycled, again and again. There are plenty of collectors who after they drop 100K in an auction, consign 75K of duplicates to the next one. So if you say that every year these big auction houses sell tens of millions of dollars worth of material, you shouldn't underestimate how much of it has appeared two or more times in a short period of time. I'm sure there is someone who buys a T206 set only to merge it with the one he already has, then consigns his duplicate set to a future sale. So much of this stuff goes round and round that it's hard to get an accurate gauge of how much collectors really spend.

If I buy a card for 10K and then sell a different one for 10K, that's 20K worth of sales, but I in fact have spent nothing.

soflphillyfan · #4 06-26-2011, 06:52 AM

The Bruces - "We put the a$$ in assumption."

tonyo · #5 06-26-2011, 06:52 AM

This has been a classic and mostly enjoyable thread......True Bruce, it does bring some energy. Thanks to all who have contributed. Although it sickens me to read direct personal attacks and to hear that some folks consider collecting as a competition (I know it's true, I just don't like that it is), it is still an entertaining thread!

The Highlights for me: (in no particular order)

Learning that Chuck Daly coached BC and Penn.
Hearing of Bruce's plan for what happens to his collection when he is gone (I'm impressed much much more with the plan than the actual collection)
Andrew's find of a reference to a singular person.
Eric's "add a female to the want list"
The use of the word "Whilst"
David's description of his low grade collection and his take on the hobby (the post I most identify with)

hangman62 · #6 06-26-2011, 06:59 AM

Stop using that word - WHILST !!!

Davalillo · #7 06-26-2011, 07:08 AM

Another excellent post Bruce. Although I don't care for the attitude, to me your posts are consistently the most interesting and the best on Net 54.

Its interesting that some don't think the high end of card collectors can grow and that when the current group passes away that noone will be there to take their place? Among people I work with, I have played a role in getting two collectors in the hobby-one is now collecting high end graded sets and stars from the 1950s and the other is focused on high grade hockey and baseball from the 50s and 60s. I have also fielded many questions from prospective collectors asking about how to build a vintage high grade collection.

Good luck to all and what you choose to collect.

Jim

Bill Stone · #8 06-26-2011, 07:24 AM

Leon --if we have assigned seating at the national Net54 Hyatt baseball dinner will you please put me at the table with Bruce,Barry, Seth and Dan? Thanks

novakjr · #9 06-26-2011, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davalillo

Another excellent post Bruce. Although I don't care for the attitude, to me your posts are consistently the most interesting and the best on Net 54.

Its interesting that some don't think the high end of card collectors can grow and that when the current group passes away that noone will be there to take their place? Among people I work with, I have played a role in getting two collectors in the hobby-one is now collecting high end graded sets and stars from the 1950s and the other is focused on high grade hockey and baseball from the 50s and 60s. I have also fielded many questions from prospective collectors asking about how to build a vintage high grade collection.

Good luck to all and what you choose to collect.

Jim

Maybe someone will be their to take their place, I honestly don't know. But on the other side of that, we have to take into consideration that guys like Bruce plan on donating portions of their collections to museums when they pass. Not that there's anything wrong with that, in fact I kind of admire it. Now, assuming that a few of the other top dollar collectors have similar plans, it automatically reduces the amount of desirable high end material available to any potential up and coming big spender, which could discourage them from collecting, or at the very least joining the ranks of the serious big spenders.. Maybe one of those donated cards could've been the spark that some rich dude needed to get into collecting, or to make the jump from casual to serious collector? Maybe he saw it, and decide he had to have it, and then fell in love with the hobby? What happens when that potential card or set or whatever isn't there to be had?

The thought of the "Just So" cards sitting in a museum pains me. It doesn't anger me one bit, but it definitely pains me...

DanP · #10 06-26-2011, 10:01 AM

[QUOTE=[I]Its interesting that some don't think the high end of card collectors can grow and that when the current group passes away that noone will be there to take their place? .....Jim[/[/I]QUOTE]

Jim,
I agree 100%. I didn't start collecting until my late 40's and while I don't have "whale" type money I do have a lot more than I did when I was in my 20's. Why can't we add wealthy collectors to replace collectors who leave the hobby? The population is always increasing and people love to collect things.

Also, I love looking at other collections and would LOVE to see two collections mentioned here: Bruce and Jim's. I think I remember reading that Bruce keeps his private. Jim, do you have a website?

Take care everyone.

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