Memory Lane Auction Any Surprises or WOW's

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by MattyC

"the Registry is a powerful drug." That's always been a perfect analogy, because gobs of money have certainly been spent on drugs by addicts.

It is a very powerful drug. I have one psa registered set - my 526 card t206 set. Initially, I didn’t care about the grade composition, but later decided that (excluding the big 6), I wanted all commons in at least a 5 and all HOFers in at least a 6. And as I started upgrading my set, I started moving up the registry, which I liked. And some cards are weighted more, so I found myself considering Zach Wheat in a 7 merely because his card was weighted a 4 vs other HOFers who are weighted 3. It’s stupid, but I fully got caught up. And then I got to #4, stayed there a week until the guy I jumped made an acquisition to take back #4. My first thought was what can I do to get back into 4??!! Anyway, only need two more commons in a 5+ and I have all HOFers in a 6+, and, to some dealers’ dismay, I have decided to stop upgrading. But I can tell you first hand that the registry is like crack.

As much as I have issues with PSA, I will concede that the registry is nothing short of sheer genius and, in my opinion, the sole reason why SGC will always play second fiddle

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

It is a very powerful drug. I have one psa registered set - my 526 card t206 set. Initially, I didn’t care about the grade composition, but later decided that (excluding the big 6), I wanted all commons in at least a 5 and all HOFers in at least a 6. And as I started upgrading my set, I started moving up the registry, which I liked. And some cards are weighted more, so I found myself considering Zach Wheat in a 7 merely because his card was weighted a 4 vs other HOFers who are weighted 3. It’s stupid, but I fully got caught up. And then I got to #4, stayed there a week until the guy I jumped made an acquisition to take back #4. My first thought was what can I do to get back into 4??!! Anyway, only need two more commons in a 5+ and I have all HOFers in a 6+, and, to some dealers’ dismay, I have decided to stop upgrading. But I can tell you first hand that the registry is like crack.

As much as I have issues with PSA, I will concede that the registry is nothing short of sheer genius and, in my opinion, the sole reason why SGC will always play second fiddle

Hi Ryan,

I do not totally understand the weighting of it to get on the list and to move up or down it.
But I do disagree with 1 premise.
In my opinion yours should be #1 because your shows as the only set 100% complete. That should be the biggest weighted factor in my opinion.
Regardless you have a great set and congratulations on it

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

It is a very powerful drug. I have one psa registered set - my 526 card t206 set. Initially, I didn’t care about the grade composition, but later decided that (excluding the big 6), I wanted all commons in at least a 5 and all HOFers in at least a 6. And as I started upgrading my set, I started moving up the registry, which I liked. And some cards are weighted more, so I found myself considering Zach Wheat in a 7 merely because his card was weighted a 4 vs other HOFers who are weighted 3. It’s stupid, but I fully got caught up. And then I got to #4, stayed there a week until the guy I jumped made an acquisition to take back #4. My first thought was what can I do to get back into 4??!! Anyway, only need two more commons in a 5+ and I have all HOFers in a 6+, and, to some dealers’ dismay, I have decided to stop upgrading. But I can tell you first hand that the registry is like crack.

As much as I have issues with PSA, I will concede that the registry is nothing short of sheer genius and, in my opinion, the sole reason why SGC will always play second fiddle

Ryan, I commend you for this most insightful post AND for your ongoing willingness to share various aspects of your collection with us, which most collectors with fabulous collections don't do. Whether you are #4, #5 or #6 on PSA's T206 set registry, your accomplishment is tremendous, IMHO.

[trambo]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

It is a very powerful drug. I have one psa registered set - my 526 card t206 set. Initially, I didn’t care about the grade composition, but later decided that (excluding the big 6), I wanted all commons in at least a 5 and all HOFers in at least a 6. And as I started upgrading my set, I started moving up the registry, which I liked. And some cards are weighted more, so I found myself considering Zach Wheat in a 7 merely because his card was weighted a 4 vs other HOFers who are weighted 3. It’s stupid, but I fully got caught up. And then I got to #4, stayed there a week until the guy I jumped made an acquisition to take back #4. My first thought was what can I do to get back into 4??!! Anyway, only need two more commons in a 5+ and I have all HOFers in a 6+, and, to some dealers’ dismay, I have decided to stop upgrading. But I can tell you first hand that the registry is like crack.

As much as I have issues with PSA, I will concede that the registry is nothing short of sheer genius and, in my opinion, the sole reason why SGC will always play second fiddle

Agree w/you, Ryan as learning about the weighting makes choices for cards very interesting. Agree w/you on the Wheat, too. I found a good deal on a 7.5 and when I saw the weighting, it became a no brainer.

As always, great set! I'll never be 100% complete but happy w/my 521. Hoping to get closer to your set but not looking forward to the 150-200 commons I need to upgrade...haha!!

[MattyC]

The Registry was certainly a genius creation from the perspective of PSA, and how it ensnared so many participants.

Its salient feature, in my opinion, is how it got (and continues to get) so many collectors to spend money on cards they never really wanted, and would never really want, were it not for The Registry.

I, too, was once into it— and then I realized how deep into the weeds I had wandered. How far off course I had gotten, when I compared what originally would have satisfied me to what I was actually pursuing. The Registry also gets collectors to spend more time looking at other's sets with competitive eyes than looking at one's own cards with simple and pure enjoyment. And the cherry of lunacy atop all that, is that most Registry sets don't even feature pictures, so you wind up looking at a web page in a remote corner of the internet that shows only a grid with cards and opinions from graders who get it wrong a good deal of the time.

For me, the epiphany— or should I say intervention— came when my brother took me to task for spending thousands on commons. He had such a fresh, genuine, outsider perspective on it, that cut through the fog; he said something like, "Dude, what the &*@# are you doing? You just spent thousands on a Wayne Twitchell. Wayne Twitchell? Who the hell was Wayne Twitchell and why on earth would you spend that much on him? I don't care how few exist with that stupid sticker on it, you can get that same card in almost identical condition for so much less. You're a moron. Go spend that on a player or card you actually always wanted."

And like that, the spell was broken, LOL. I consigned that set and built my collection, going after all the cards I always wanted as a kid. I was back to collecting for myself, not for PSA, or to compete with utter strangers.

[53toppscollector]

Originally Posted by MattyC

The Registry was certainly a genius creation from the perspective of PSA, and how it ensnared so many participants.

Its salient feature, in my opinion, is how it got (and continues to get) so many collectors to spend money on cards they never really wanted, and would never really want, were it not for The Registry.

I, too, was once into it— and then I realized how deep into the weeds I had wandered. How far off course I had gotten, when I compared what originally would have satisfied me to what I was actually pursuing. The Registry also gets collectors to spend more time looking at other's sets with competitive eyes than looking at one's own cards with simple and pure enjoyment. And the cherry of lunacy atop all that, is that most Registry sets don't even feature pictures, so you wind up looking at a web page in a remote corner of the internet that shows only a grid with cards and opinions from graders who get it wrong a good deal of the time.

For me, the epiphany— or should I say intervention— came when my brother took me to task for spending thousands on commons. He had such a fresh, genuine, outsider perspective on it, that cut through the fog; he said something like, "Dude, what the &*@# are you doing? You just spent thousands on a Wayne Twitchell. Wayne Twitchell? Who the hell was Wayne Twitchell and why on earth would you spend that much on him? I don't care how few exist with that stupid sticker on it, you can get that same card in almost identical condition for so much less. You're a moron. Go spend that on a player or card you actually always wanted."

And like that, the spell was broken, LOL. I consigned that set and built my collection, going after all the cards I always wanted as a kid. I was back to collecting for myself, not for PSA, or to compete with utter strangers.

I had a pretty similar experience with the 1953 Topps set. It sort of broke my spell with the PSA registry, and I now own zero graded cards as a result.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by MattyC

The Registry was certainly a genius creation from the perspective of PSA, and how it ensnared so many participants.

Its salient feature, in my opinion, is how it got (and continues to get) so many collectors to spend money on cards they never really wanted, and would never really want, were it not for The Registry.

I, too, was once into it— and then I realized how deep into the weeds I had wandered. How far off course I had gotten, when I compared what originally would have satisfied me to what I was actually pursuing. The Registry also gets collectors to spend more time looking at other's sets with competitive eyes than looking at one's own cards with simple and pure enjoyment. And the cherry of lunacy atop all that, is that most Registry sets don't even feature pictures, so you wind up looking at a web page in a remote corner of the internet that shows only a grid with cards and opinions from graders who get it wrong a good deal of the time.

For me, the epiphany— or should I say intervention— came when my brother took me to task for spending thousands on commons. He had such a fresh, genuine, outsider perspective on it, that cut through the fog; he said something like, "Dude, what the &*@# are you doing? You just spent thousands on a Wayne Twitchell. Wayne Twitchell? Who the hell was Wayne Twitchell and why on earth would you spend that much on him? I don't care how few exist with that stupid sticker on it, you can get that same card in almost identical condition for so much less. You're a moron. Go spend that on a player or card you actually always wanted."

And like that, the spell was broken, LOL. I consigned that set and built my collection, going after all the cards I always wanted as a kid. I was back to collecting for myself, not for PSA, or to compete with utter strangers.

Excellent, thought-provoking, and well-written post, MattyC. Thank you. -- Brian Powell

[Republicaninmass]

You think THOSE weights are ridiculous, the SIGNED WEIGHTS for the 1952 topps are exactly the same as the unsigned weights! You have guys living with a weight of 4 or 5, and guys who died in the 1950s, some with 2 examples known, worth 1 point!

[conor912]

Hmm. Sounds silly.

[Snowman]

I think this hobby needs a crowd-sourced registry where collectors (not PSA) determines the value of each card in any grade from all TPGs. If I had the time, I'd build one, but alas, I do not.