Does your spouse know anything about your collection ?

[insidethewrapper]

I'd like to know who everyone has been told to go to when they meet their demise.

[HOF Auto Rookies]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

I'd like to know who everyone has been told to go to when they meet their demise.

I'm hoping my family will try to continue to fulfill my impossible dream.


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[vintagebaseballcardguy]

No secrets in our marriage. We decided on a fair monthly card budget that I more or less stick to. We both make a good living, and I could easily spend more than I do on cards. However, we have a mortgage, two kids to raise, and other things she likes as well. So, I keep the collecting in perspective. She has a decent idea concerning value and knows where to go in the event of my demise. All that being said, she's an accountant so that means I am probably screwed if I ever try to get away with anything big.

[tab]

My wife has no idea! I asked her to pick out a t206 for me that I didn't have ( have a list) for my birthday this year. She did and then was telling me she didn't know if she got a good deal or not. She wanted to know what cards the value of some of my collection was worth to see if she got a deal or not. I told her I have never really kept track. She said I need to make a list of all of my valuable cards so she would have it incase something would ever happen to me.

Pretty sure she is just trying to figure how much I am spending!

I really ought to keep track of my spending so I don't lose money on cards if I ever sell any, or try not to.

[tschock]

Mine does, and encourages me, even to the extent of prompting me to pull the trigger on a high priced item (for me) when I have a hard time justifying it even to myself.

Among other things... She loves looking through what I pickup at the shows, knows the difference between a T205 and T206, what to look for to tell the difference between a '68 Topps and '68 Milton Bradley, rudimentary knowledge in 'grading' a card (and some might say just as good as a TPG at times), where and how I store my collection as well as the inventory of what I have, and could probably reel off a list of about 20 HOFers.

Oh... Did I mention though that she is my 2nd wife.

[bbcard1]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

I'd like to know who everyone has been told to go to when they meet their demise.

I was that guy once. I had a former business partner (we owned a shop when there were ten in every town...a darn good little shop) who contracted Lymphoma. He fought it bravely and asked it I'd dispose of his cards. I did my best and got a good bit out of his collection, but it was hard work and took more than a year and I have always wondered if I could have done significantly better...I suspect I could have from the lessons I learned...still, it's all a journey, and I would have probably only done 10% better. I feel so privileged to have been asked, but it isn't an easy task for sure.

[EvilKing00]

Lolol she never asks, dosnt care which is a good thing. But is always telling friends when they come over to go look at my stuff

[Howe’s Hunter]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

I'd like to know who everyone has been told to go to when they meet their demise.

My son has always known he would get the collection on my demise. I had told him he had two choices:

1: continue the quest, but I knew that would be on a limited basis, as cards are not really his thing, or

2: return two cards to their owner, who has been kind enough to send them to me as part of the collection without ever asking for reimbursement and then
contact the auction house I had left info on in the storage case for the collection and sell them as a collection and use the funds to help with his ever increasing student loan debt.

Well, this summer, he surprised me by saying he knew someday he would get the collection and had already done some checking around and had decided to give the cards to the Alachua County, Florida Historical Society. Said he found there was no Baseball Card Hall of Fame to give them to, and that the Baseball Hall of Fame would probably do nothing with them, as they had too much stuff already, but since Howe was from Alachua County, and looked like he had spent most of his life there, he wanted them to go back to where they came from and stay as one collection as I had reassembled them.

I was pretty impressed that he had researched where Gainesville was located, and had at least discovered there was no Baseball Card HoF, or that the Baseball HoF would do nothing with them. He said he wouldn't feel right about using my funds or work to pay off his school loans, that was up to him, but that he didn't want to see my work go to waste having the collection busted up again.

Have I ever mention how proud I am of my son?

[Sean]

My girlfriend knows little about cards or baseball, but she is interested in my spending. She will support me when I get a high grade Cobb or Johnson, but not a Street/ Piedmont 42 and definitely not a brown/ yellow scrap.

Sometimes I end up passing on cards that I would like to have. Other times I end up getting them secretly (luckily she doesn't read this forum).

And once I actually told her that if it came to it, I would choose a card over her. She gave in that one time. At the time (2006) we had been together less than a year and the card was the Plank. She resented the card for a while, but when she realized how much it has increased in value she acts like it was her idea to get it all along.

[vintagewhitesox]

I tell my wife everything regarding finances, especially cards. No secrets.
Although with a 2 year old and another on the way, money for cards is hard to come by.
I do use the excuse that I am buying these cards for our son now.

She doesn't buy it.

[Joshchisox08]

Originally Posted by vintagewhitesox

I tell my wife everything regarding finances, especially cards. No secrets.
Although with a 2 year old and another on the way, money for cards is hard to come by.
I do use the excuse that I am buying these cards for our son now.

She doesn't buy it.

My wife to be doesn't care for it. She is right in regards that we have more important things; "The Wedding, Saving for a House, future children, etc.".

That said I'm buying all I can while I can. I have also used that excuse that I'm buying for my son. She also does not buy it haha.

[Piratedogcardshows]

Very scary thread.

[the-illini]

I tell my wife when I sell something that she will see the money from.

When I buy something, I spare her the details... :-)

[mark evans]

My wife knows everything about my collection that she wishes to know. If she ever asks a question, I answer it honestly. The simple fact is that she has little interest, perhaps because we've never combined our finances so the collection has little impact upon her. We've been married 31 years and this arrangement has served us well.

[Leon]

That's freaking awesome. It was her idea all of the time!! All of us guys should remember that.

And as for me, my wife doesn't know much about my collections, past or present, except she gets half their value if we ever divorce.

Originally Posted by Sean

My girlfriend knows little about cards or baseball, but she is interested in my spending. She will support me when I get a high grade Cobb or Johnson, but not a Street/ Piedmont 42 and definitely not a brown/ yellow scrap.

Sometimes I end up passing on cards that I would like to have. Other times I end up getting them secretly (luckily she doesn't read this forum).

And once I actually told her that if it came to it, I would choose a card over her. She gave in that one time. At the time (2006) we had been together less than a year and the card was the Plank. She resented the card for a while, but when she realized how much it has increased in value she acts like it was her idea to get it all along.

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by Leon

That's freaking awesome. It was her idea all of the time!! All of us guys should remember that.

And as for me, my wife doesn't know much about my collections, past or present, except she gets half their value if we ever divorce.

Leon - How did you explain the ridiculous sum of money coming in from Heritage Auctions??

As for me, I was once pretty secretive about everything, but I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders ever since I "came out of the closet", so to speak. I too used to open packages at work or in the basement (or in a closet). How sad!

It's hard to keep a big secret like this when you are buying a house and so I just came out and told her how much the collection is worth (or at least how much I paid over the years). She knows I love the hobby, so she wouldn't fight me over it. She also knows I've had a few big scores over the past few years, so that helps dampen the blow. She still doesn't consider it part of our total net assets, but to me, it's a long-term investment and a decent liquidity back-stop (aka the "oh $hit" fund). As others have mentioned, this money could have been blown on so many other endeavors.

Great idea for a post, by the way.

[Republicaninmass]

My wife knows everything about my collection that she wishes to know. If she ever asks a question, I answer it honestly. The simple fact is that she has little interest, perhaps because we've never combined our finances so the collection has little impact upon her.

Genius! Mine will get a nice little surprise when I'm gone.

[ejharrington]

I always show my wife my "watch list" before the auctions and have her pick out the items she thinks has "eye appeal". I use her input for validation to either spend lots of money for a baseball card or to pass.

She is supportive of my spending but I think she thinks I'm nuts.

[Leon]

Ridiculous sum is a relative term. My wife knew I spent a lot on cards (relative to our other things) and it was part of our assets and a bigger part than it really should have been, as I so often have said. But that is fixed for the moment.
She encourages my collecting otherwise and knows I love it. We have even talked of traveling and setting up at shows in the future. I think it could be fun (as long as some shows survive). It even funded a college education and a little more!!

ps...Rich, gotcha covered....

Originally Posted by h2oya311

Leon - How did you explain the ridiculous sum of money coming in from Heritage Auctions??

As for me, I was once pretty secretive about everything, but I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders ever since I "came out of the closet", so to speak. I too used to open packages at work or in the basement (or in a closet). How sad!

It's hard to keep a big secret like this when you are buying a house and so I just came out and told her how much the collection is worth (or at least how much I paid over the years). She knows I love the hobby, so she wouldn't fight me over it. She also knows I've had a few big scores over the past few years, so that helps dampen the blow. She still doesn't consider it part of our total net assets, but to me, it's a long-term investment and a decent liquidity back-stop (aka the "oh $hit" fund). As others have mentioned, this money could have been blown on so many other endeavors.

Great idea for a post, by the way.

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by Leon

Ridiculous sum is a relative term. My wife knew I spent a lot on cards (relative to our other things) and it was part of our assets and a bigger part than it really should have been, as I so often have said. But that is fixed for the moment.
She encourages my collecting otherwise and knows I love it. We have even talked of traveling and setting up at shows in the future. I think it could be fun (as long as some shows survive). It even funded a college education and a little more!!

ps...Rich, gotcha covered....

Leon, the thought of setting up at shows with my ex wife makes me shudder. Your marriage must be rock solid.

[joshuanip]

I have a directory of the auction houses, in a folder with my life insurance policy.

[C-mack]

Very much so! Shes a huge baseball fan and we go to about 6 to 15 games a year including on our anniversary lol

Once I showed her Ken burns: baseball she fell in love with the prewar like I did! It's really become our hobby which adds to my enjoyment!

She been overcoming the fact she has epilepsy and that drew her to like Grover Alexander, it's been fun watching her discover her own favorites!

[toledo_mudhen]

Mine is oblivious and disinterested - As long as she has cash to buy clothes, shoes, whatever - the subject never comes up. I have left instructions in the lockbox (in case I get hit by a bus or something)

[Al C.risafulli]

True story:

Eight or ten years ago, I was scouring eBay because I was bored, and I found a beautiful Ruppert Beer tin sign - a HUGE one, not the one that we see more frequently that measures two feet across, this one was about 5 feet across.

I won it, and when it came, it was in a giant box that I had to open in the living room. My wife was sitting on the couch, watching me open it - just another package of baseball stuff arriving at the house.

When I pulled it out of the box, I held it up so she could see it. She was quiet for a minute, and then she said "Oh, that's MINE."

Since then, she's been engaged in every purchase I've made. My collecting tastes have even changed because I buy stuff that can be displayed, and it's hung up throughout my house. She knows what the stuff is worth, she appreciates the aesthetics, and since she was a baseball fan to begin with, she understands the history. Once in a while, she'll see something in an auction, and she'll say "We need to win that." WE.

She's fully involved in LOTG as an employee, she's gotten to be friendly with a lot of collectors, and she's got a decent amount of hobby knowledge. I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm a pretty lucky guy.

-Al

[glchen]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

I'd like to know who everyone has been told to go to when they meet their demise.

I have a standing account with Heritage auctions, where I have zero seller's fee, so I've told my family to use Heritage when I meet my demise, if they don't want to keep the collection. I like Heritage because they are a large auction house, and can split my collection over several auctions per year. Obviously, there are many other great ones like REA. I'd advise folks to pick someone they are comfortable with, and have the lowest fees possible, at least from the seller's side. I don't want my family to get ripped off where someone charges her 40% seller's commission + 20% the buyer's premium, where my wife doesn't realize that there are better deals out there. Most of my valuable stuff is graded, so that makes it easier for me to tell my family what's worth selling and what's garbage.

[MULLINS5]

She's always been pretty supportive, but I moved all of my collectibles to my office last year. I have a rule not to have anything at home so I can spend as much time with family doing activities that mean are meaningful to them, rather than impose my collecting habits onto them.

[MarcosCards]

My wife is very polite about my enthusiasm for collecting, but I think there might be some behind-my-back eye rolling from time to time. I know she was greatly humored when I recently had to dig through the glovebox in order to come up with enough money for a yard sale cache of 1967 Topps baseball cards.

[Kenny Cole]

My wife knows roughly how much my collection is worth, and also knows who to contact if I meet my demise (assuming she isn't the one who causes that). I am very careful not to totally 'fess up about quite how much I spend, and to also sell things from time to time, so as to not wake up buried in the back yard. That being said, given the current shit-show, I haven't been spending much lately.

[seanofjapan]

My wife has zero interest in my hobby and I don't discuss how much I spend on it or any other details really.

I do work on an honor system though. We have a dog, which I had zero interest in getting but she really wanted. We spend a fair amount on food, grooming, vet visits, kennel stays when we go out of town, etc on the dog.

A few years ago she did ask me why I spent time and money on cards. I pointed out that it was my hobby, much like having a dog was hers, and pointed out that my cards didn't bark at her or crap on the floor.

She never asked me about it again, but in the interest of parity and fairness I try to keep my card collecting budget at about the same as what we spend on the dog.

Off topic question but just out of curiousity: this thread is all predicated on the assumption that we are all husbands with wives (which seems mostly accurate). Are there any female collectors on here who have the same issue with their husband (ie wife is card collector, husband has no interest)?