Cards making the rounds

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

I was just telling Rob Lifson a few months ago that one of the high end cards that he sold in a previous REA auction was in one of the other auction's current catalog. He wasn't aware of that, but says as long as it's theirs, they can do whatever they want with it. My best guess is that the consigner knew of a card coming up in the future that he wanted MORE than that card he currently owned and didn't want to use additional money for the one he really wanted.

I had said that you could probably make a nice living out of just winning cards in auctions & then reconsigning those same cards 5 years later in the same or other auction house. Say you win cards in 2001 & then reconsign them in 2006, win cards in 2002 & reconsign them in 2007, etc,...

Losing 800% in a year doesn't sound like a great investment strategy....there are a lot of these examples. They are quite interesting...

[barrysloate]

Can you mathematically lose 800% on an investment?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Can you mathematically lose 800% on an investment?

Behind door #2 anything is possible.

[barrysloate]

If I buy something for $1000, and sell it for $200, I believe I've lost 80% of my original investment.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

If I buy something for $1000, and sell it for $200, I believe I've lost 80% of my original investment.

hey Barry.....the numbers are so staggering I think I went the wrong way in my calculation..... ....at any rare it is 7.3x less than it went for last time.

[canjond]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

If I buy something for $1000, and sell it for $200, I believe I've lost 80% of my original investment.

But if you buy it for $1000 and sell it for $20...

[Bicem]

Originally Posted by canjond

But if you buy it for $1000 and sell it for $20...

no, you're only losing 98%.

[daviddbreadman]

I may be naive but what is between the lines here. Are you guys saying that people are legitimately buying card and then selling them for losses or are you saying there is something else behind the scenes that I don't understand going on here?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by daviddbreadman

I may be naive but what is between the lines here. Are you guys saying that people are legitimately buying card and then selling them for losses or are you saying there is something else behind the scenes that I don't understand going on here?

David, we are suggesting there is more here than meets the eye.

[glynparson]

That would be 98%. As was pointed out above the only way to lose more then 100% is if you pay someone to take it.

[Bicem]

Originally Posted by glynparson

That would be 98%. As was pointed out above the only way to lose more then 100% is if you pay someone to take it.

which by the way would make you the world's worst card flipper.

[canjond]

Originally Posted by glynparson

That would be 98%. As was pointed out above the only way to lose more then 100% is if you pay someone to take it.

Good call - glad it's friday.

[Bicem]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Can you mathematically lose 800% on an investment?

if I buy something for $10 and then when I sell it I have to actually pay someone $70 to take it off my hands, that would be a 800% loss.

[Bicem]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Can you mathematically lose 800% on an investment?

a little more realistic scenario...

I buy something for $10 and sell it through Mastro/Legendary for $20. They never pay me my $20 and also sue me for another $70.

[smtjoy]

The card I was listing prices for was an E95 Wagner SGC 30 btw.

[FrankWakefield]

Hey Barry, I read it....


If I bought a card for $100. Held it 2 years, then gave you $700 to take it from me... that would be an 800% loss. Makes me wonder if any of the card investors (I know everyone here is a collector) have ever claimed a loss or an offsetting loss in their income taxes... Surely folks who consider cards an investment would be doing that.

Good point, mathematically, and practically, I think not... Bicem's scenario is as unlikely as mine.

[tbob]

I guess the bottom line is for most of us to be buyers now and not sellers...
Probably a good time to start building a new set, I know I have built some 50's sets lately because the prices were right. I know with the 50's cards I have done a lot more comparative shopping than I ever did before, using ebay and on-line sales to constantly upgrade.
Because the market is a little touchy now, not as many pre-war caramel cards coming out of the woodwork.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by tbob

I guess the bottom line is for most of us to be buyers now and not sellers...

I don't think this issue has anything to do with the current state of the economy. I think the lesson here is maybe to put a little less stock into the numbers that auction houses say things "sold" for.

[Potomac Yank]

Buy it at $89.95 .....

Try to give it away for $4,999.99 ... make sure that you say FREE SHIPPING.

Keep it low, and don't wake them up.

[calvindog]

Plow's Candy Cobb PSA 4 The card that defies the worsening economy - and keeps on getting "sold." (Same card all four times)

5/8/09 Goodwin $21,494.30
9/1/07 Mastro $14,383.20
4/27/07 Mastro $13,698.00
4/3/06 Mastro $12,773.40

[Wesley]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Plow's Candy Cobb PSA 4 The card that defies the worsening economy - and keeps on getting "sold." (Same card all four times)

5/8/09 Goodwin $21,494.30
9/1/07 Mastro $14,383.20
4/27/07 Mastro $13,698.00
4/3/06 Mastro $12,773.40

I was the consignor for this card the last time it was sold. I received the check a few weeks ago, so at least there was a bona fide sale there.

[cyseymour]

I'd just like to mention a couple possibilities other than the most cynical ones:

a) The high bidder failed to pay, and therefore the card needed to be relisted (Perhaps Goodwin, unlike Mastro, was wise enough not to send out the card before the bidder paid).

b) The other thing is that this is a hobby for many, and collectors, especially, don't always act rationally (i.e., a card of Jim Tyng sold for $20,000). A lot of collectors, I bet, buy an item and feel excited about getting it, enjoy it for some time, and then the thrill of owning the item wears off and they want to sell it. That might sound crazy to some, but it is the psychology of the collector.

c) When people buy cards, they usually purchase them thinking that they got a good deal. So they don't realize that they actually didn't get a good deal until they've sold it in auction.

One way to look at it is kind of like day-traders in the stock market. 90% or more lose money, many going almost broke. That's why you should never buy a card and try to flip it. If you didn't want it, don't buy it in the first place. Also, the best cards I buy, I find, are the ones I'm least excited about when they actually arrive in the mail. If I'm not excited about it, that means I didn't chase after the card. If I'm jumping up and down with excitement about "winning" the card, it probably means I chased after it at auction.