Something is Wrong With the World When This Happens

[slidekellyslide]

I'm never surprised by what people will pay for stuff. I also don't care how people spend money that isn't mine, but nevertheless it is interesting...I saw Keith Olbermann buy up a bunch of Alex Gordon Topps rookie cards and all the variants of said card...he paid what I think are outrageous prices, but to him it was probably nothing.

[T206Collector]

I started buying up Jeter minor league rookie cards when he was still in AAA. I probably had 100-200 at one point before 1996. After he won ROY and the Yankees won the 1996, 1998 and 1999 WS, I went to "cash in" my Jeter cards. I made a little money, but because PSA came to the fore front in the interim, and none of my Jeter's woulda graded a 10, I was basically able to earn a couple hundred dollars.

Given how well I predicted (guessed) the Jeter phenomenon, I always thought that my early minor league purchase decisions should have been rewarded like a lottery ticket..... but no such luck!

Also, bought 50 Frank Thomas 1990 Topps rookies while he was still in college on a hunch. Cost me $.25 per card. Wound up selling most of them for $4. The Leaf was the way to go, not the Topps. Made a couple hundred, but shoulda made a bank!

Oh well!

[ullmandds]

I have 15 bernie williams rookies, 12 pedro martinez rookies...and looked high and low for an unopened pack w/christian okoye's rookie in it...all worthless now!!! And my Phil Sims rookies aren't exactly hot either!

[packs]

I remember years ago I went into K-Mart and bought a retail box of like 8 packs of 1999 Ovation cards. It must have cost me like 15 bucks. I open the box and pull a Ben Grieve ROY GU bat and autograph card numbered out of /25. I sold it for $450 on eBay all the way back then. I'd bet you could pick it up now for $4.50.

[prewarsports]

On the flip side, in 2001-2002 a signed Bowman Chrome rookie of Albert Pujols was like $500 and people were complaining about how overpriced that was. I know there have not been many cards like that in the last 10 years, but every now and then the cards end up being decent investments and I think that is what keeps people going. That card is worth several thousands of dollars now.

I remember in 2000 a friend of mine bought a Vince Carter UD Authentic SP or something graded a 10 for like $2000 and then sold it about a year later for $11,000. It is probably not worth much now but for him it was a great $2000 investment.

To these guys it is a hobby and a business just like vintage cards are to us. Maybe when they realize how bad new card investments are overall they will turn vintage cards.

Rhys

[Mark]

I'm not enough of a relativist to agree that there's no such thing as wasting your money.

[doug.goodman]

That's the kind of thing that makes (part of me) hope the kids falls apart.

Brien Taylor anyone?

Doug

[BCauley]

Originally Posted by packs

I remember years ago I went into K-Mart and bought a retail box of like 8 packs of 1999 Ovation cards. It must have cost me like 15 bucks. I open the box and pull a Ben Grieve ROY GU bat and autograph card numbered out of /25. I sold it for $450 on eBay all the way back then. I'd bet you could pick it up now for $4.50.

On a similar note, I picked up a set of '99 Topps Chrome Traded back then and had doubles of Corey Patterson in the box. He was the "Hot" player in the set at the time. I sent one to BGS and it came back a 9.5 and immediately threw it on ebay. Darn thing sold for $500. I couldn't believe it. I then bought a bunch of '55 Topps I needed for my set.

[packs]

I remember when that Patterson card was huge. Anyone else remember good ol' Toe Nash? He was labeled "The Natural" by Peter Gammons and his Bowman auto was going for hundreds of dollars before he even played a minor league game. Another huge bust was the Nomar Topps Traded. It's almost worthless now but man, it was huge.

[M's_Fan]

You have to understand the psychology of the participants in every speculative bubble. First, they always think "this time its different." Second, even if they realize they are in a bubble, they always think "I'll be smart enough to get off this train before it crashes."

Modern cards excite people BECAUSE of the volatility, just like some people get a thrill out of the rough and tumble world of currency trading and casino gambling.

If you look at it this way, you can see why the hardcore modern collectors play this game. Unfortunately, some newcomers to the hobby get mixed up in the hype and get burned, and never collect again.

[sportscardtheory]

This thread reminds me of when people say AVATAR sucks. Entertainment is subjective, so no one is wrong, just like cards. If someone wants to pay for Ike Davis, what is it to you.