And how much does that Cobb cost??

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Posted By: scott brockelman

Adam,

while the numbers you provide from the markets are correct. imagine if you were in mutual funds or etf's of energy sectors, latin america, japan or a few others, 40% gains for the year. which is probably what collectors of tough E cards, T cards, 19th century scarce issues or rare type cards, BUT, what about the people that bought F-G t205, 206 or 207 commons or various other commodity cards, which are in large numbers and quite frankly are not appreciating. a low grade t206 still sells for $3-5 bucks.

my thinking is that folks who buy baseball cards for "investment" better buy the right ones, just like picking stocks or mutual funds, best to buy quality.

lest you think i am kidding, i can't tell you the number of people i have met at cards shows that were amassing low grade goudey's and t cards for their kids education or some other convoluted retirement get rich package.

i believe that that the majority of the board are either pretty astute about buying the proper pieces for appreciation or are buying strictly for fun and enjoyment regardless of loss, so everyone will be fine. but there are quite a few collectors out there that will be saddened to learn that 10 years from now, their cards are worth about what they paid for them. HOWEVER, that could also happen on the top end of the card market as well, either no appreciation or even declines in value.

While i know Adam was stating this in jest, there are those that would read this as a blanket statement that baseball cards are a better investment than Wall Street. i would hope than sound minds would know that you can't replace a solid retirement investment program with a baseball card portfolio. sometimes i marvel at the price i get for a card that i may have bought 5-10 years ago, but then realize that i better had made that much gain or it would have been a crappy investment, although that was not why i bought it in the 1st place. people don'r realize how fast $1 will grow with componding. baseball cards "have" to show a solid gain to be part of an investment portfolio, but don't have to gain a dime in a collection for them to appreciate or be appreciated.

just my random thoughts

Scott