If You Can Sell It Here, You Can Sell It Anywhere

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Posted By: E, Daniel

that if any such investment group or hedge fund were to take on such an endeavour, they would hire someone with significant knowledge in the hobby to be their chief advisor (hopefully not Bruce, that would just garner too much board energy/animosity).
And secondly, that such purchasing would undoubtedly be restricted to items that 99.99995 % of us collectors would never dream of selling our homes to buy. If such a fund wanted to buy an original 19th century cabinet filled with baseballs from a historic first proffessional season, or nice wagners in high end condition, or a black betsy or two, exactly which collectors are being deprived? An extremely well-heeled one or two across the nation?
I seriously doubt I will sleep better at night knowing Hal is able to look at some amazing piece of memorabillia as opposed to it being held in a vault.
I really think you are kidding yourself on this issue, and just taking the opportunity to have a whack at Bruce. Fun maybe, but hardly a righteous argument. IMO.

daniel


edited to ask: And, if you could just have a go at the question I asked, which was how is this any different to the Mastro or REA Auctions. How do I know the motivations and actions of those individuals or groups who end up buying material at such auctions? What guarantees do I have that they are not buying primarily becuase they believe it is an excellent investment, and that the material does not make its way directly to a very large, very dark, and very secure bank vault?

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Posted By: Bottom of the Ninth

Brian,

I had to bring in the milk and cookies long ago. After Bruce threatened, via email, to burn down my home and business and kill my family I wanted to clear a path for the fireman and the coroner. Did not need anyone else getting hurt.

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Posted By: Chad

There's much better ways of making fun of the Dorskind group if that's all I wanted to do. In his own post, he states that dealing with these funds is inevitable. Is it? Is it a good thing? I think it's not. Thanks for explaining my motivations to me, though. I guess my righteousness is matched only by your arrogance. Maybe we can be a "We", too?

--Chad

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Posted By: E, Daniel

where exactly did I explain your motivations?

daniel


edited: Oh, and yes. I almost forgot.

How is this all different from the Mastro and REA auctions again?

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Posted By: Brian

George is getting angry!

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Posted By: DJ

Barry, stop patting yourself on the back. It's like saying the moon will come out tonight.

Jim, where did I say that I wanted your mission to fail? I encouraged your mission.

I think you scroll the posts, see the ones you like and refuse to think that anything negative can be said about your mission. In truth, a large majority of the readers here collect low grade cards and don't really care about your mission and some "in the know" aren't surprised at all, just surprised of some things that were admitted.

The next VBC Forum poll should be the following:

WHAT WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE?

O----Five-hundred and twenty four T206 cards (a set) in Fair condition.
O----Two PSA8 T206 Commons. (low registry cards)
O----Twelve e107 cards in poor condition.

Then you will see what this Board's collecting focus is all about.

DJ

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Posted By: Chad

George has to close up shop anyway. George is getting busy. George has to work sometimes or he won't even be able to buy those 90 Leaf Sammy Sosas to fill himself up with. (Disturbing image, by the way.)

--Chad

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Posted By: S Gross

Hey Leon,

I am a terrible reader (I was Dyslexic before Dyslexia was cool), and it takes me forever to read through all these post:

Do you think you could come up with "Net54 on tape" ??

Thanks, Scott

PS -- I totally agree with everyone.

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Posted By: Tom Boblitt

James Earl Jones could narrate.......
Or Carrot Top........

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Posted By: ScottIngold

Is it just me or does the video short remind anyone else of the afermentioned George Costanza ?

To funny BOTN.

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Posted By: Tom Boblitt

Looking a little closer.....I think he could become a hand model........

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Posted By: barrysloate

Soft and delicate...yet very masculine! That's the Puffy Shirt Episode.

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Posted By: Tom Boblitt

But was he master of his own domain?

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Posted By: joe

seems to be a HEX on NY City, 1st WE could not get a lunch together, now WE can't get a small card show organized.

Ty Cobb, Spikes flying!

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Posted By: barrysloate

George was master, but not the guy he replaced. That guy developed arthritis and crippled his hand from...well, you know from what. That episode was also the debut for Jerry Stiller as Frank Costanza- the scene where he tells George about his silver dollar collection was his very first. I love Seinfeld trivia.

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Posted By: T206Collector

http://nyshows.org/main_page

Why does JPS promote shows in White Plains and Long Island, but not in the middle in NYC? It must have to do with cost and the belief that most collectors are really in the suburbs.

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Posted By: John

As long as Lloyd Braun is there I'm ok with it, honestly why cant you guys be more like Lloyd Braun???

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Posted By: barrysloate

I think NYC is extremely expensive and there is too much red tape to deal with. Plus, hotels are prohibitive and that would scare promoters away, fearing poor out of town turnouts. They used to have one at the Armenian Church in the 80's as others have cited, but for numerous reasons they just disappeared from NYC.

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Posted By: steve f

"He relied on Cub Scouts to feed him... Let's just hope you have a little more self-control."

George, "You don't have to worry about me,________________________."

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Posted By: barrysloate

And there were two Lloyd Brauns- the first one who got George an appointment with Mayor Dinkins doctor was different from the second, played by Matt McCoy. I guess they hoped the audience wouldn't notice this. Several other examples of two actors playing the same role occur on the show- such as Phil Bruns playing Jerry's father for one episode before he was permanently replaced by Barney Martin.

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Posted By: ScottIngold

George is getting MAD !

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Posted By: John

Does it have to be "Black Tie" I'm a big fan of casual Fridays.....

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Posted By: steve f

"ahh, the timeless art of seduction."

Am I the only one here that Ebay's, wearing that identical outfit?

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Posted By: warshawlaw

Ok, assuming for the sake of discussion that anyone would be stupid enough to invest in such a fund post-Ohio, how would it really play out? If your fund manager was charged with the task of buying only the "best" cards, how would he figure out which definition of "best" to follow? Would it be "best grade" or "rarest card"? Would he buy a PSA 10 1952 Mantle instead of a Western Playground set? Would a T206 Wagner be considered "better" than a group of E107 HOFers costing about the same? How would they possibly price rare items, other than by guessing or topping everyone else at auction? And selling, how could that happen? There isn't any exchange for these things. They'd either have to form their own auction house, do private sales, or work with the auction houses (paying a hefty "load" in return in the form of the commissions and BP).

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Posted By: JimCrandell

I think having a fund that invests in cards is an interesting concept--he would buy and sell just like stocks--buy the blue chips like a Mantle PSA10 or the ungraded dogs--wherever the best value was for the money.

If LarryMayer ran a hedge fund in cards I would invest with him--he watches ebay like a hawk, buys cheap and sells at a profit and seems to do very well at it. Larry usually deals in only the high quality stuff which turns over more quickly.

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Posted By: jay behrens

Jeff, it's no fun when it's this easy. Besides, the last time I got into it with His Royal Majesty, he threatened to have me killed. All emails have been kept and my local authorities have been notified of his threats in case something unusual happens to me. I, or should I say we, warned him that if he ever threatened me again that the apropriate autorities in his area would be notified of all threats he has made against me.

Jay

I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.

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Posted By: Bob

Yikes! That is 2 posters now who say they have emails where they have been threatened to be killed by another poster.
Crap, we are talking about pieces of cardboard here fellers. (We are wondering when this thread warped in to another dimension)...

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Jay, who is this "him" and "he" you are referring to? I'm thinking you're having pronoun issues.

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Posted By: jay behrens

You are right. I should have said "they" and "them". My apologies for the gramatical faux paus (can't spell sissy foo-foo French words. I wasn't raised by servants)

Jay

I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.

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Posted By: Peter Spaeth

Jay, "we" understand. Or is that "oui"?

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Posted By: Judge Dred (Fred)

Oui oui

I wonder if French kids tell thjer moms that they need to go oui, oui...

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Posted By: Steve

A show in NYC sounds like a great idea! maybe the dinner could be held around it too.


Steve

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Posted By: David Smith

No, kids in France tell their Moms they need to go yes yes.

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Posted By: Brian

Why dinner?

Why not a breakfast? Duels at dawn, then have breakfast.

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Posted By: John S

Maybe this will scare them away...kind of like a cross to a vampire.





Spend your money as you will, PSA 8's, creased and beat, its just a hobby to me.

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Posted By: barrysloate

One of the first things I learned in this hobby is there is no right or wrong way to collect. If we could all just take that to heart the board would be a more harmonius place. PSA-8 is not better than PSA-1; it's just different.

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Posted By: Richard

Well, Barry, if you could take that PSA 8, sell it and buy 100 PSA 1's with the proceeds, I would say that indeed, that PSA 8 is far better than the PSA 1 !

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Posted By: Rich Klein

Loves General Hospital, which I always tell her is a waste of time (All my Children and One Life to Live were always better anyway).

However, I think I will tell her to read this board in the future -- this is more entertaining than any soap opera

Regards
Rich

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Posted By: Larry

Bruce-
I am amazed at the power you have, taking so many at Net 54 and unifying them against a common front at the stroke of a thread, the disgust expressed seems to have no borders. I would love a good NY show but maybe, just maybe you can be a little kinder and thoughtful.

Even if your intentions are well meaning, it appears to be a reach since you are leaning toward arrogance. How can you justify alienating so many collectors and potential future collectors while trying to represent New York, the center of many cultural & economic classes and multiple beliefs.
Hope you can put humility back into your life, that will make you an even stronger man than you think you are now, no disrespect intended. Happy Holidays-
Larry

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Posted By: Frank Evanov

Well I sure missed a lot today.

It would be great having a show in my backyard. I have spoken to Jimmy Ryan about it in the past and he cited the reasons listed above [parking, hotel fees etc] as to why he would never do one there. So I guess we're stuck with the Long Island National every 6 months.

Frank

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Posted By: Alan

I think this song sums it up:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pBAasek8NR4

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Posted By: JimB

John S,
That post with scans was the funniest thing I have seen in a long time.
Thanks,
JimB

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Posted By: Judson Hamlin

Wow, I can just feel the love.

A few thoughts
-The "we" thing is really throwing me. I just watched an old Muppet Show episode with my daughters and Peter Sellers is doing some Queen Victoria impersonation in a Viking helmet saying "we will receive him.." We are not amused. Actually we are.

-A Manhattan show isn't impossible. There is a postcard/ephemera show at the Penn Hotel a couple of times a year, so a paper themed show can be done. I mean, those postcard collectors can't be better or more organized than us, right? (checks NYC Dinner threads) Oh, right, never mind.

-When it comes to this "hobby"(and I recognize that is is a business for many of this board's members), I am clearly a have not. Like many of us (I suspect) I am a fair to vg-ex collector for all my pre-war sets, and wouldn't know what to do with a PSA 8 T205, except sell it for a heap o' raw vg's. And I do feel like a dollar spent on a grading service is a dollar lost for another card. A PSA 8 show has all the allure for me of say, a Menudo reunion concert or watching a "The Simple Life" marathon. But good luck with that.

-You may now return to your regularly scheduled sniping, ranting, etc...

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Posted By: jackgoodman

Doesn't anyone remember back in the 80's when David Hall (I think that's the original PSA guys name), actually tried to create securities to sell on Wall Street that were backed by baseball cards. Tony (Galovich), if you're reading this, I think I remember you being initially involved. Do you remember what ever happened to the idea back then? But since there are no securities around today, I'm betting it didn't work then and it won't work now.

Not that there's anything wrong with it.

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Posted By: JimCrandell

It would have to be like a closed-end mutual fund designed to last a certain period of time--I think with the right guy running it, it could be a great investment.

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Posted By: edacra

The truth is New York is a real nickle and dime town when it comes to collectibles. It's a suprisingly great flea market city, with a good cross section of merchandise, but there are very few upscale shows for a reason.

Same with auctions. I've watched auctioneers take some heavy dives in this town There was a furniture auction I witnessed where the dealers were buying back their own merchandise back because paying the buyers premium was better then the lowball closing bids. The first Grafitti art auction was poorly represented, in the mid 90's, and again major works were sold way below value because they attempted to make something exlusive, and upscale when there wasn't yet a market for it. Meanwhile, this city has some of the most established auction houses in it, and it's not like you can buy much at Sotheby's for $2.

So just make sure the approach doesn't alienate people. This town could really use a low key show with a large amount of quality dealers, in a tried and true venue like the 26th Street Armory (69th Regiment). The sports crowd doesn't really live in the city, they just work here...Manhattan is more of an arts & culture town..so you have to appeal to that cross over crowd* instead of target the luxury box crowd. That's my opinion.

*a good example of crossing over would be a recent book of art from Japanese menko cards that's for sale at Giant Robot stores, MOMA gift shops, and some downtown hipster shops too.