Sad News: Bruce Dorskind Died

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I disagree. One, let's be honest, very few people on this Board, much less anywhere, have the sort of material Bruce was looking for. Second, if your objective is to maximize your odds of finding what you want, alienating people and getting repeatedly tossed is not a rational way to accomplish that goal. We may never know what motivated Bruce to convey the internet persona that he did -- apparently in contrast to his much more likeable in person side. But I doubt it was rationally calculated to further his collecting goals.

I agree with Peter. Collecting is in good part a networking activity; you are only as good as your network of contacts and friends when it comes to tracking down items outside public sales. I had some items that matched some of the call-outs on the group's want list but 'they' were the last persons I'd ever have offered them to. I don't believe it is ever good marketing to associate your name with bad behavior. OJ Simpson got lots of publicity; I don't think it was to his benefit. Mussolini was world famous for all the wrong reasons. Now, am I saying the Brucii were equivalent to a murderer or a dictator? Obviously not. But to a large segment of the card collecting populace he was "that dick on N54 who refers to himself as 'we' and sends nasty emails to people." Not the epitaph I'd choose. A former boss/mentor once told me that it doesn't cost any more to be nice to people than to be a jerk.

[barrysloate]

Well, the funny thing about "America's Toughest Want List", in my opinion, was it really wasn't a want list at all. I can't tell you how many times I had something from the list that I offered him privately, and he passed; or had something in one of my auctions and he never placed a bid. In fact many of the items he wanted never even existed. For example, if the highest ever graded T208 was a PSA 5, Bruce would ask for "T208 in PSA 6 or better." I think at the end of the day that want list was there because he loved to be the center of attention.

Sure, he did put together a very nice collection, but probably did so the old fashioned way- bidding in auction like everyone else. The number of items he got from that want list were likely very few. But it did make him feel important, and that's what I think it was about. Bruce was Bruce, what can I say.

[David Atkatz]

The key item on "America's Toughest Want List" was this:

Bruce desperately wanted to be one of the "Masters of the Universe" he so idolized.

He never got that one, either.