Are We Slaves To The Registry?

[Mark]

It would be a lot like 1990. Except with eBay instead of the SCD -- and also except for the part where someone (aliens?) trim the borders from all cards. It was OK, but I was operating in the dark much of the time.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by Mark

It would be a lot like 1990. Except with eBay instead of the SCD -- and also except for the part where someone (aliens?) trim the borders from all cards. It was OK, but I was operating in the dark much of the time.

True, and certainly much of what has happened in the last thirty years has gotten the hobby to its current state. But to be clear, the questions are a menu. In a restaurant you rarely order everything on the menu, and on this thread you need not answer all the questions and come up with a unifying concept.

For example, for those of us who eschew the registry and its impact on pricing the answer to the title question is “no” as we are not slaves.

or

My problem with pop reports are the plethora of ways that the information may be totally inaccurate, leading to incorrect assumptions regarding rarity.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

True, and certainly much of what has happened in the last thirty years has gotten the hobby to its current state. But to be clear, the questions are a menu. In a restaurant you rarely order everything on the menu, and on this thread you need not answer all the questions and come up with a unifying concept.

For example, for those of us who eschew the registry and its impact on pricing the answer to the title question is “no” as we are not slaves.

or

My problem with pop reports are the plethora of ways that the information may be totally inaccurate, leading to incorrect assumptions regarding rarity.

I wonder how many posts have used both eschew and plethora.

[Vintagecatcher]

Frank forgot the most important question:

What if Leon's quarter never existed?

Answer: Bufferfly effect!

Patrick

[barrysloate]

I eschew gum...among other things.

[Bill77]

What if eBay allowed only 99 cent opening bid auctions without BINs?

I would have a lot less cards as I rarely win auctions.

[oldjudge]

The answer to the first four are that the hobby would be less wide spread and, even though my involvement with the registry is pretty minimal, I believe worse than it is today.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

I eschew gum...among other things.

And if you escheat, you will be estopped.

[Dpeck100]

I have a client that is really into 1950's classic cars. He has 18 that are in perfectly restored condition. He can tell you about every component and why each is valuable but the first thing he tells you about is how many were made and how many still exist.

The registry is nothing new to many forms of collectibles and it was only a matter of time until it came to cards. Something that attempts to track scarcity in quantity and quality is what drives collectibles markets so the registry shouldn't be viewed as something that is a negative.

Just this week Joe Orlando on his Twitter feed disclosed that PSA graded a 1932 U.S. Caramel William McKinley. In 28 years they have only graded two copies. Without the registry many would say this card is very rare and only a few are known. With the registry you can confirm that in 28 years PSA has only assessed two copies so it proves just how rare it is. Information is the key to confidence in collectibles so the more you can display the better.

The fact that a population report exists is extremely positive for card prices and I think it is a wonderful thing for the hobby. This scenario isn't slave like under any circumstances. Why anyone tries to fight the trend makes no sense to me. It isn't getting smaller but only exponentially bigger.

In terms of some of these what if's. It is pointless to even discuss because they do exist. We don't live in the great depression. There is money coming from every corner of the world so keeping a lid on prices just to appease a few isn't even possible. Why wouldn't people who collect things of value monitor and track prices? Of course they do that is a major driving force on how people determine what they think something is worth.

Puffery? Every consumer product has some level of puffery. Why do women where lingerie? To make you want it more. It takes seconds to take off but it certainly does the trick and entices you. People can pretend all they want that the fantasy descriptions don't help but they do. Humans like to read something and get excited and many auctions houses do a great job of putting lingerie on cards.

All of the information that is available to collectors has helped the hobby and I for one have no interest in going back in time.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Which flavor?

[Bram99]

Originally Posted by Dpeck100

Something that attempts to track scarcity in quantity and quality is what drives collectibles markets so the registry shouldn't be viewed as something that is a negative...
All of the information that is available to collectors has helped the hobby and I for one have no interest in going back in time.

I don't know why many of the Net54 old-guard and frequent posters to this board want to look down upon the increasing trend of popularity of the PSA registry. Maybe they don't like the idea that the hobby has changed.

I have put forth the theory on earlier posts that I believe the PSA registry and its' network effect is the most important reason for the persistent gap in prices between the graded cards of PSA and other TPG's.

Call it being a slave to the registry if you want. Call it Kool-Aid. But despite what the septuagenarians and sexagenarians of this board may believe, the hobby is changing and the registry is a big part of it. MLB is not going back to 154 games. Kids are not learning cursive anymore. Kids write with only one space after a period now. And the registry is not going away. Embrace the change rather than mock it.

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by Dpeck100

Just this week Joe Orlando on his Twitter feed disclosed that PSA graded a 1932 U.S. Caramel William McKinley. In 28 years they have only graded two copies. Without the registry many would say this card is very rare and only a few are known. With the registry you can confirm that in 28 years PSA has only assessed two copies so it proves just how rare it is. Information is the key to confidence in collectibles so the more you can display the better.

Skewed logic. The only fact you can confirm is that PSA has graded only two copies of that particular card. It does not speak to rarity. Your statement is based on the assumption that anyone and everyone who owns that card would want it in a plastic tomb with an artificial number attached to it. There could be any number of non-sports collectors who don't give a rats rump about getting their cards graded and tracked. They could be happy just owning the cards and keeping them as they are.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by Dpeck100

I have a client that is really into 1950's classic cars. He has 18 that are in perfectly restored condition. He can tell you about every component and why each is valuable but the first thing he tells you about is how many were made and how many still exist.

The registry is nothing new to many forms of collectibles and it was only a matter of time until it came to cards. Something that attempts to track scarcity in quantity and quality is what drives collectibles markets so the registry shouldn't be viewed as something that is a negative.

Just this week Joe Orlando on his Twitter feed disclosed that PSA graded a 1932 U.S. Caramel William McKinley. In 28 years they have only graded two copies. Without the registry many would say this card is very rare and only a few are known. With the registry you can confirm that in 28 years PSA has only assessed two copies so it proves just how rare it is. Information is the key to confidence in collectibles so the more you can display the better.

The fact that a population report exists is extremely positive for card prices and I think it is a wonderful thing for the hobby. This scenario isn't slave like under any circumstances. Why anyone tries to fight the trend makes no sense to me. It isn't getting smaller but only exponentially bigger.

In terms of some of these what if's. It is pointless to even discuss because they do exist. We don't live in the great depression. There is money coming from every corner of the world so keeping a lid on prices just to appease a few isn't even possible. Why wouldn't people who collect things of value monitor and track prices? Of course they do that is a major driving force on how people determine what they think something is worth.

Puffery? Every consumer product has some level of puffery. Why do women where lingerie? To make you want it more. It takes seconds to take off but it certainly does the trick and entices you. People can pretend all they want that the fantasy descriptions don't help but they do. Humans like to read something and get excited and many auctions houses do a great job of putting lingerie on cards.

All of the information that is available to collectors has helped the hobby and I for one have no interest in going back in time.

+100, David. I got so sick of the disparaging remarks on Net 54 regarding auction house lot descriptions. They MUST represent the consignor with all their might. While it is true that many items are all too well-known, their fame must needs be refreshed for potential bidders to ponder whether they want to bid to own said item. Then there are items that were scarce when issued, and somewhat rare to downright rare today. All too many collectors have little to no knowledge of them, not to mention their significance. How are they going to learn, or become intrigued and then intensely interested, lest the auction house let them in on what they're looking at?

--- Brian Powell