Money in the hobby

[steve B]

Originally Posted by calvindog

It's always the guys with no money telling the rest of us how dumb we are to spend big money on high grade cards. They have yet to figure out that no one listens to investment advice from guys with no money.

Nice card!

I don't usually say people spending big on high grade cards are dumb. In some situations I'm not sure it's a good investment. Of course, I've had that same opinion of those cards, in some cases since they were new. (86 Fleer Jordan ) So you're probably right about some of my investment ideas.

On the original topic of money in the hobby.
It's one of those love/hate things. I've collected long enough that the prices between when I started and now are worlds apart. T206 Wagners were under 20K for sure, 52 Mantles were under 1000 even for a nice one.
Would I like to return to that?
Yes and no. Now that I've got "some money", at least the Mantle would be within reach, probably not the Wagner. (I could buy one at say 10K, but me and the card would be kicked out of the house shortly after ) And I'd love to get common T206s for $2 each with no regard for backs and not much for condition.
But then, back then I hung out at a dealers a LOT. Sort of worked for them, and got to see a lot of collections come in. And saw a lot of those go back out because what the cards were worth to a dealer wasn't enough to overcome the "these were granddads cards".

Yes, money has shut me out of some of the hobby, my own cheapness from a bit more. But if it wasn't for the money, a lot of that stuff would still be in attics and drawers, or would have been thrown out.
Would the Black Swamp find have been sold into the hobby if the cards were worth a dollar each? Maybe maybe not.

And yes, wherever there's money there are crooks.

But overall, I think the hobby has benefitted from the money.

Steve B

[mark evans]

"Bamboozling the wife" appears to be a theme that runs through many threads. My wife and I have avoided money issues over 30+ years by never combining our finances. Thus, she never complains about my purchases, nor I about hers (I once came home to find a new Cadillac SUV in the driveway.).

I realize this system would not work for all couples and, in particular, those where the wife works at home at child-rearing. Nevertheless, I mention it for the benefit of those collectors who may find it worthy of consideration.

[obcbobd]

Interesting article about what happened to the Elvis Presley collectable market as the original Elvis fans start dying of old age. Will BB Cards see a similar depression in 20-30 years when people, like me, from the 70/80s boom start dying off?

https://www.theguardian.com/music/sh...eting-in-price

[aconte]

Originally Posted by obcbobd

Interesting article about what happened to the Elvis Presley collectable market as the original Elvis fans start dying of old age. Will BB Cards see a similar depression in 20-30 years when people, like me, from the 70/80s boom start dying off?

https://www.theguardian.com/music/sh...eting-in-price

Unless it is a top line HOFER, for the most part the answer is yes. It will
probably be more evident in 40-50 years when most of us will be gone.

[Snapolit1]

Elvis fans are aging out clearly. I'd also argue that Elvis hasn't held up particularly well over the decades. What he did doesn't seem quite so spectacular anymore. Ditto people like Bing Crosby. Sure it will be a good long while before people stop collecting Beatles stuff.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Elvis fans are aging out clearly. I'd also argue that Elvis hasn't held up particularly well over the decades. What he did doesn't seem quite so spectacular anymore. Ditto people like Bing Crosby. Sure it will be a good long while before people stop collecting Beatles stuff.

Elvis was #3 on Rolling Stone's most recent top 100 singers list. And #3 on its top 100 artists list. So there.

[wondo]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Elvis fans are aging out clearly. I'd also argue that Elvis hasn't held up particularly well over the decades. What he did doesn't seem quite so spectacular anymore. Ditto people like Bing Crosby. Sure it will be a good long while before people stop collecting Beatles stuff.

Bring it back to baseball cards. Not many folks left alive that saw Gehrig or Ruth play. Many less that saw Cobb and WaJo play. Ain't nobody alive that saw Matty play (well, maybe a handful who dont remember). Yet, those players' cards continue to rise and it seems their collector base expands.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by wondo

Bring it back to baseball cards. Not many folks left alive that saw Gehrig or Ruth play. Many less that saw Cobb and WaJo play. Ain't nobody alive that saw Matty play (well, maybe a handful who dont remember). Yet, those players' cards continue to rise and it seems their collector base expands.

That's because we are all amateur historians of the sports or subjects we collect. I started following baseball in the mid-1970s and collecting current players, but then as I learned about Aaron and Mantle and Mays, I went there. And then it was off to the earlier players. You get started as a kid today and become a Kershaw collector, and you hear the comparisons with Koufax (and see the then and now style cards). So you take a look at Koufax's career and get a card. Then another one. Then you hear about those other legendary speedsters, so you get a Feller card (though you have to shop around to find one that isn't signed ). And that leads you to Grove and WaJo.

[obcbobd]

Originally Posted by wondo

Bring it back to baseball cards...

In the 1960s, almost no adults collected BB cards, T206s could be bought for pennies. Starting in the 70s, the number of people collecting cards increased, more so in the 80s and 90s.

However, the people no longer collecting cards (because they died) was almost non-existent. That is still the case as the number of people born in the 1920's or 30s who collected BB cards as adults was almost nil.

However 20 years from now, people born in the 50s and 60s, will start to die off. A much greater number of those people collected cards, so more cards, from their estates will enter the market. There will be less people buying, unless people born in the 90s and 00s take their place in equal numbers. This will result in a deflated market.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by aconte

Unless it is a top line HOFER, for the most part the answer is yes. It will
probably be more evident in 40-50 years when most of us will be gone.

Basically, any card where a beater of a beater is still going for $1000+/- gives you a hint on what the top of the line HOFer can stay afloat when everything else goes down

A beater 1974 topps Dave Winfield rookie is a dollar etc.

A beater Beater 1914 Cracker Jack Cobb still has real value..

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by obcbobd

Interesting article about what happened to the Elvis Presley collectable market as the original Elvis fans start dying of old age. Will BB Cards see a similar depression in 20-30 years when people, like me, from the 70/80s boom start dying off?

https://www.theguardian.com/music/sh...eting-in-price

Perhaps you haven't been paying attention to rare and significant Ruth, Cobb, Jackson, etc. cards. They've been doing quite well, and virtually none of the buyers of their cards were there to see them play. Baseball and its history are truly Americana at its finest, and I believe the sport itself is so deep in its tradition that this isn't going to change any time soon, certainly not before all of us are long gone.

Good luck in your collecting,

Larry