Changing collecting habits or thinking about getting out altogether?

[SMPEP]

I don't have to change collecting habits.

I have never seen a single PSA 10 I wished to own.

But I see a beater and say - "Ahhh, there's the card I want!"

Why? Money. Nope.

Because the beaters were played with, admired and loved. They were actually used. They are part of the history of the country. They are real.

A PSA 10 can never accomplish that.

I'm very happy to leave the PSA 10s (and the associated profits) to the card trimmers, shillers and hucksters - as long as they agree not to venture into my beater space. I think we have gotten alone pretty well to date.

[judsonhamlin]

I'm more likely to get an SGC 10 than a PSA 10, so I am clearly not the target audience for PWCC, Moser, et al. That being said, this scandal has taken some of the wind out of the hobby for me.

[x2drich2000]

This is the first Cobb I ever got and the most recent Wagner I picked up. I think that pretty much answer the question on what I have collected in the past and what I will continue to collect going forward.

[Scott L.]

Originally Posted by judsonhamlin

That being said, this scandal has taken some of the wind out of the hobby for me.

Agreed Judson. This hobby give me just as much pause as it does enjoyment these days. I'm not going to completely stop but I think I'll slow down a bit.

[KingFisk]

The scandal has got me putting my vintage collection on hold and I have begun hoarding Alec Bohm cards. I wish I was kidding.

[joshuanip]

As in the markets, I think the initial reaction would be overreaction, and perhaps some reflexive momentum down in general prices. But I do believe we will recover longer term and we would look back and regret not buying during the bargain period we are about to suffer.

Over the last year I narrowed my want list as I refocused my collection on certain players. So if I find the card I want, and get a good deal on it, I'm staying the course...

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by joshuanip

As in the markets, I think the initial reaction would be overreaction, and perhaps some reflexive momentum down in general prices. But I do believe we will recover longer term and we would look back and regret not buying during the bargain period we are about to suffer.

Over the last year I narrowed my want list as I refocused my collection on certain players. So if I find the card I want, and get a good deal on it, I'm staying the course...

Second Sentence I believe to be 100% true

[T_Hamilton]

Originally Posted by KingFisk

The scandal has got me putting my vintage collection on hold and I have begun hoarding Alec Bohm cards. I wish I was kidding.

This is the boat I am in... All my vintage purchases are turning into Jarred Kelenic cards. and some Heritage Trouts.

[Chris-Counts]

I suspect it's the investors and not the collectors who will cut their losses and get out. Aside from all this monkey business about graders and auction houses, I find the hobby more interesting each day. I made the decision about 15 years ago to avoid high graded slabbed cards because I didn't trust the industry. I recall there was a lot of talk back then on Net54 about the many trimmed cards that made it into high grade holders. Now, I simply collect cards that are authentic and look presentable. I look for cards that have low technical grades, have bad backs or are trimmed. I prefer SGC to PSA because it's way easier to bust them out their slabs, and display them in albums.

[MULLINS5]

I have a PSA/DNA set that I will continue working on, but all my sets will be raw from now on.

[OldEnglishD]

Originally Posted by judsonhamlin

I'm more likely to get an SGC 10 than a PSA 10, so I am clearly not the target audience for PWCC, Moser, et al. That being said, this scandal has taken some of the wind out of the hobby for me.

This.

[swarmee]

I have stopped buying for my personal collection, and will sell most of it through COMC. This includes: 200 cards in the Mantle master set, half the 1952 Topps set, 100 1952 Topps autos, a bunch of Bobby Jones, and 95% of the 1959 Fleer Ted William's set. Haven't decided if I will sell or keep the #1 T51 colleges master set.

[robkas68]

I am going to draw the line and refuse to buy the altered t206 Gretzky Wagner card. : )

[Yankees1964]

I have never gone for high grade cards. For me it is more about collecting that investing, though I still tell my wife that she will have something when I am gone. I have kept my pre-war cards to mostly 3's and 4's, my 50's to 5's and the 60's to 6's. I am not looking for super high grade. I want cards that someone loved and "used" not ones that were just squirreled away for 75+ years. I like my CJ's with some caramel stains on them. I am not going to ever stop collecting at this point. I have made all big purchases at either the Philly or White Plains shows or from LOTG or Sterling and from trusted people on this board. I am actually hoping that this gets back to being a hobby and not like a business. I get enough of that in my daily life.