Sad but true - collecting addiction

[ullmandds]

it's only cardboard for crying out loud!!!

[Leon]

That takes it to a new level.
.

[ncinin]

There are some screwed up people in the world.

I have two different show customers literally tell me that if it wasn't for cards they would have nothing to live for. Another told a friend of mine if he couldn't go to shows he would rather die.

Some people have problems.

[Johnny630]

For as much as you may love the cards the cards don't know you own them.

[brian1961]

I understand. I've been a collector most of my life. For me, without God's help, it can turn into a compulsion. The mind can always seem to find a "logical" reason to pursue a collectible that has struck your fancy. If left unchecked, the mind will create an illusion that the said collectible must not be lost to another! You can get so worked up about it, and believe your collection would be so inferior without buying the object.

The insidious part is that ONCE YOU BUY IT, the feelings of elation almost immediately vaporize, and you're left with an unspeakable emptiness. The cure, so to speak?

Begin looking for something else.

As I said, I understand, but with that, as Leon Luckey aptly surmised, "That takes it to a new level." I'm sure it has hit him as a ton of bricks what he has lost. Hopefully, his family will forgive him and stand with him. Yes, he needs to get some counseling. However, right now he has to pay back a lot of money, and find a job unlike what he was doing. At 44, this will not be easy.

He'll probably need to sell some of the things he collected, but with what's happened to him, he may not want to look at them any more, or at least not for a long time.

This is a sad case, and one in which we should all look at closely, AS WELL AS LOOK AT OURSELVES. I know I sure am.

I will qualify one thing. There are many things I've purchased / won at auction for which my elation lasted long after I got the item in the mail. If one of those things comes to mind, I get all excited again. THAT'S WHEN i KNOW I REALLY WANTED THE ITEM IN A POWERFUL WAY, AND HAVE NO REGRETS. You just gotta be sure before you buy or fight for an item in an auction. Nevertheless, again, this is a very sad case, and illustrates in a horrifying way what can happen if you allow your possessions, or "gotta have it desirables", possess you. --- Brian Powell

[Smarti5051]

I love that this guy's life is ruined because he used the "company car" to make some Amazon deliveries while "on the clock." Ostensibly, he was otherwise doing a satisfactory job during his tenure or he would have been fired. Meanwhile, there are guys blatantly stealing from cars and stores in California with ZERO risk of consequences, and online fraudsters that are stealing millions from citizens with ZERO consequences. We don't have the resources to deal with those wrongdoers. But prosecuting a moonlighter with a shopping addiction is a public necessity.

This guy's actions are probably no different than about a million other US employees. If any other employer had discovered their employee was engaging in the same conduct, he would just be let go or given a written warning. But this guy, because it is a federal job, has his life ruined. Seems like an overreach to me. Termination plus an agreement not to seek further government employment seems like a more appropriate punishment.

[Snapolit1]

I always used to read about women with shopping addictions who had closets full of 100s of pairs of expensive shoes and outfits they had to buy yet have never worn once. I think collecting cards can easily lapse for some people into that.

The dopamine rush of the chase and the "win" [such an odd term for agreeing to pay more for something than anyone else; a "win"; does anyone say I "won" this new house?]

We used to have people on the board, quite a few of them in fact, waxing poetic about the smell of a certain catalog arriving at their front door. And the feeling of hearing it hit the ground on their steps. Yes, there are signs of addiction/compulsive behavior all over this board, whether people want to acknowledge it or not.

Many of us have had the feeling of something arriving at the house and (a) having no recollection with it is and then (b) opening it and wondering why in the world. . . .

[bnorth]

I will say I have had a problem before. Back when those darn serial numbered and different shiny cards came out I HAD to have them all. Seriously I would spend hours everyday trying to track down ALL the Wade Boggs versions.

Luckily for me I realized how beyond crazy it was. I then sold all them and never looked back. Now if I see one super cheap I will buy it but no more having to have anything.

There are at least 2 members on here with a serious problem. I told both to never even consider buying from me again. I don't mind waiting for a payment once in a while but when it takes several days to weeks with every purchase there is a problem.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Addiction is a disease, whether it's heroin, gambling or baseball cards. Obviously this guy made some huge mistakes, but I'm not without compassion for him.

[nolemmings]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

Addiction is a disease, whether it's heroin, gambling or baseball cards. Obviously this guy made some huge mistakes, but I'm not without compassion for him.

Well said.

[brianp-beme]

You know you are in too deep when it gets to this level of bottom of the barrel collecting. I might just have to start moonlighting as a federal investigator.

Brian

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

You know you are in too deep when it gets to this level of bottom of the barrel collecting. I might just have to start moonlighting as a federal investigator.

Brian

I'm there, and happy to be!

[Northviewcats]

I think Brian really nailed it when he described the problem with all addictions when he wrote:

"The mind can always seem to find a "logical" reason to pursue a collectible [or any desire for that matter] that has struck your fancy. If left unchecked, the mind will create an illusion that the said collectible must not be lost to another! You can get so worked up about it,and believe your collection would be so inferior without buying the object. The insidious part is that ONCE YOU BUY IT, the feelings of elation almost immediately vaporize, and you're left with an unspeakable emptiness."

Brian's words remind me so much of a family member, who is addicted to gambling. The guilt, the lies, the loss, the frustration. It is so painful to see him struggle after he has fallen back into his addiction.

I agree that if you start to feel that deep feeling of regret after making purchases, that it is a good sign to question whether or not you are addicted to the hobby.

I hope that no one here is struggling with it.

Best regards,

Joe

[Johnny630]

Hopefully the New Card Raffle Set Break thing is just a fad and not commonplace.

[Huck]

Some might consider Net54 to be a gateway drug. When I am on the site there are cool cards I didn't even know existed (ex. Leon's E221 PCL Team cards). There are an array of collecting niches (ex. pennants) in the hobby that collectors here pursue, but could be an endless rabbithole for some.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

Hopefully the New Card Raffle Set Break thing is just a fad and not commonplace.

Gambling has never been a fad. If there's any kind of a pay off possible it will always be a thing.

Never fails, every time I go into a gas station and go inside to pay, to use up some of the cash in my pocket, I'm stuck for 5 to 10 minutes in line, waiting for somebody ahead of me to pick out a stack of scratch off tickets, having the clerk scan another stack of tickets, while also feverishly scratching off another stack of tickets.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Smarti5051

there are guys blatantly stealing from cars and stores in California with ZERO risk of consequences, and online fraudsters that are stealing millions from citizens with ZERO consequences.

Not true, at least in LA. The LAPD and LASD have been doing a great job running down these gangs of store busters. There have been a ton of arrests of the raiders and the fences buying the stolen merchandise.

Originally Posted by Johnny630

Hopefully the New Card Raffle Set Break thing is just a fad and not commonplace.

One of the things I find most concerning about modern card breaks and some of the forms of sale on platforms like whatnot is that they are indistinguishable from casino games. I've seen whatnot sellers use gambling devices to award prizes, and all of the random slot assignment programs that breakers use are indistinguishable from slot machines, which are just random number generators with bells and whistles.

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by ncinin

There are some screwed up people in the world.

I have two different show customers literally tell me that if it wasn't for cards they would have nothing to live for. Another told a friend of mine if he couldn't go to shows he would rather die.

Some people have problems.

This and it has only gotten worse in the last 3 years.

My fear about gambling in sports has split over in card collecting. It seems like everything is a craps shoot.

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by parkplace33

This has only gotten worse in the last 3 years.

My fear of gambling in sports has split over into card collecting. It seems like everything is a crap shoot.

Gambling has a strong hold on most of the sports industry as a whole right now. Every sporting event you listen to on the radio or watch on TV is loaded with sports book commercial advertising. They got them all warmed up with fantasy for a few years then statewide nationwide off sure Bookie/Betting. Now the vintage card industry with breaks ugh.

[Seven]

It's absurd how almost taboo sports gambling was for years upon years. And now it's launched at your face at any given moment, because of the absurd amount of revenue and taxes that it generates. You used to have to know a Bookie, nowadays not so much.

I can understand looking forward to a show, or the anticipation of what deals you may score at the next show. I could also understand if someone uses it as a way to get out of the house, or as a social gathering. But saying they'd die without one is extreme.

[Snapolit1]

Funny that the addiction discussion so far has primarily focused on breaks . . . . and not aspects of prewar.

[5-Tool Player]

Originally Posted by Leon

That takes it to a new level.
.

+1