Are you more picky about picking up our gems?

[Leon]

In the current economic snowstorm are you more picky about picking up cards? This can be either for your collection or to flip, if that is your desire. I have found myself being quite a bit more "careful" on both sides of that equation. Also, it seems like a straight sale, 4 figure card, is almost non-existent anymore. Even if the card is fairly priced most folks seem to want to buy at auction to make sure they aren't paying too much. And I understand there could be hanky panky in auctions but I am putting that aside for this discussion. Thoughts?

[barrysloate]

I'm extra careful because many of the cards I buy for resale turn out to be worth no more than I paid for them- and on occasion a little less. It's a very difficult market to figure out.

[chris6net]

I have been very careful the last 2-3 years. I wonder how the Euro Crisis will affect our hobby? CN

[Cat]

I haven't been more careful, but perhaps I should. I have been very careful with stock purchases in the last year, if not doing it can be classified as careful.

[ChiefBenderForever]

I think we are all very picking but if the price is right we can justify the purchase and maybe someday upgrade if the right card comes along. I have been thinking lately how our national debt is going to affect everything if the value of a dollar keeps dropping. I believe we are currently at 92% deficit, or for every dollar we have 92 cents is debt and it will reach 100% in the next year. It seems that these numbers don't really affect the average prewar collector, and not sure how much the value of vintage cards will be affected if at all since most collectors seem to be above water and many very successful. I am just a small time collector and feel very fortunate to be able to buy any cards at all, as I think we all know people who are on the verge of losing everything, and many who were very successful. They say things are turning around, but the jobs are not there. Instead of focusing on what card I don't have, I'm trying to enjoy what I do have but being and addict am constantly looking for the next card lol !!

[alanu]

The card addiction in me makes it difficult to be more careful, but I suppose the BIN trend on ebay has forced it on me since there aren't a lot of "deals" out there and I mostly buy/sell on ebay.

[rdixon1208]

I'm still buying, but only cards that I want to keep for a long time. I don't know that I own a card that I could sell for more than I bought it for...but I don't really care.

[Robextend]

Originally Posted by rdixon1208

I'm still buying, but only cards that I want to keep for a long time. I don't know that I own a card that I could sell for more than I bought it for...but I don't really care.

I agree 100%.

And if the same card comes around with better eye appeal for a decent price I will upgrade, however understanding that I might lose minimal money on the original purchase...but that is ok.

[JasonL]

I was very active in 2007 and 2008 in vintage and probably dont have any cards I can sell for a gain.
I cooled off in 2009, switching more towards post-war, and I probably don't have any there to sell for a gain if I were to sell.
I had a fast start to 2010 and probably still don't have any cards that I can sell for a gain.

The only thing I can say for myself is that at least I have become alot more disciplined in the quality and focus of my buying than I was in the 2003-2006 timeframe...alot of that stuff is garbage!

All that said, none of it was bought specifically to flip, so all my sales occur when I change collecting goals...

[T206DK]

I find myself being a bit more cautious when I'm buying any cards these days. Since January, I've had more trouble with Ebay sellers than I have in the past ten years. I cannot discern a reason as to why this is suddenly happening , other than the bad economy nationwide is causing some people to break the rules in an attempt to make money. I've had to file more "cases" this year for not receiving an item than I ever have before also.

[ChiefBenderForever]

I think for many of us a major purchase is any card $500.00 or more, and if you look at the hobby in a class of lower-middle or upper class anything over $1000.00 is very major. Look at Quans E93 Cobb as an example, how has that not sold yet ? We'll it's probably not a high enough grade for the upperclass collection and is a major purchase for the lower to middle class and if the funds are not available ( I sure with they were !! ) it takes time for someone to get the cash ready . So I think for many it's not only being cautious it's just limited funds and a major purchase only can happen if you save up, or sell a bunch of cards and those are never easy options for most !

[Bosox Blair]

I am not really holding back, partly because I think the economy and the fears of others have created a buying opportunity. I think 2009 was probably the best of it. Prices were way down from a few years earlier and some really good cards became available. I have noticed that 2010 prices seem a bit stronger (Sunday Ebay closings on pre-war cards have been quite strong for the last month, in general).

I'd say I buy at least 90% of my cards through auction, but I have bought some bigger items on a straight sale recently. I bought my E94 purple Cicotte from Tony (3-2 Count). I have also bought a few other cards from him too.

My friends who have done well from investing remind me that you often make the most money when you do the opposite of what the majority of the market is doing (assuming you understand what's going on).

Cheers,
Blair

[Leon]

Originally Posted by JohnnyHarmonica

I think for many of us a major purchase is any card $500.00 or more, and if you look at the hobby in a class of lower-middle or upper class anything over $1000.00 is very major. Look at Quans E93 Cobb as an example, how has that not sold yet ? We'll it's probably not a high enough grade for the upperclass collection and is a major purchase for the lower to middle class and if the funds are not available ( I sure with they were !! ) it takes time for someone to get the cash ready . So I think for many it's not only being cautious it's just limited funds and a major purchase only can happen if you save up, or sell a bunch of cards and those are never easy options for most !

I also think VCP has something to do with the sale of cards when they show up on it. It's easy to go see where that E93 Cobby sold last time and the price it got. I think Quan's price is fair but the history of it makes it a bit more difficult to resell. That being said, I do like VCP, but when I buy something for a great price and it shows up there....it's harder to then get what a real market price is for it. Also, I know some will say...well, if you bought it then that is the market price, but I don't think that is always true. How many of us try to buy, and do buy, things that fall through the cracks? I think the environment for selling is a bit tougher right now...and the instant information we have at our fingertips is also a two edged sword.

[tbob]

leon- I do think I have been more picky unless it concerns scarce and tough cards which I need in any decent condition when collecting a set. There's always the opportunity years down the road to upgrade those if necessary.
tbob

[ChrisStufflestreet]

Anybody who's seen my collection knows that "careful" isn't really a word that's ever applied to my acquisitions, unless that "no haggling, just give me a price or I'll walk to the next table" attitude and then simply saying yes or no is a form of it.

What I am and have always been...is cheap. A Sh---y economy hasn't changed that.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by rdixon1208

I don't know that I own a card that I could sell for more than I bought it for...

Man does that ever ring true!!!

[iggyman]

Dear Net54 PreWar Card Collectors:

I haven't changed my spending habits. I'm an optimist by nature, plus I figure that if the economy really really really tanks, then trying to sell my baseball card collection for a profit will be the least of my worries. I agree with "Bosox Blair's" assessment. Prewar prices have been strong so far in 2010 (at least in comparison to 2009). I don't think we will see a market like the one from the early part of this century in our lifetime again (of course, I thought the same thing about the 80's & the 90's). For a time there, card prices were doubling from one year to the next. That was crazy, I remember way back in 2004, buying a raw T206 Cobb with bat from Leon (on eBay) for ~$225. A year later, the same card sold for $460. At that point in time, most collectors were jumping on the "flipper" bandwagon! Heck, I'm positive even Peter C. was a successful flipper.

Well, doubling your money with no effort involved in 360 days on a flip doesn't happen anymore............well, at least not without the help of a David Trudeau book. I actually take comfort in the fact that baseball card prices paralleled the housing market (to a degree). Yet, when the Dow was sinking like the Lusitania, prewar card spending never sank with it. Of course, if it would have been a prolonged slump........well, that is a different thesis.

I believe the market we have today is vibrant, strong and is well position to have a "rosy" horizon. If you don't believe me, just shake any tree.....I'll bet you that a few auction catalogs will fall on your head. If that isn't a sign of a healthy market, I don't know what is.

Lovely Day...

[Jantz]

Originally Posted by rdixon1208

I'm still buying, but only cards that I want to keep for a long time. I don't know that I own a card that I could sell for more than I bought it for...but I don't really care.

Originally Posted by Robextend

I agree 100%.

And if the same card comes around with better eye appeal for a decent price I will upgrade, however understanding that I might lose minimal money on the original purchase...but that is ok.

I have to echo what these gentlemen said.

If there is a card I want for my collection, I try to get it. I don't wait anymore.

Jantz

[Exhibitman]

I've definitely stopped buying cards I know I can find regularly--no T206s for me in 2 years, for example--unless the price is ridiculously low. Anyone got a vg Speaker for $20?

I still go as all out as I can for truly rare items and have enjoyed getting many very, very scarce cards at a fraction of pre-Great Recession prices. I am comfortable with that approach since I collect those sorts of items for myself and for the long term, and am reasonably confident I could sell them with a few telephone calls if needed. Plus they look soooooo much better in my albums than brokerage statements.

The real question is how much latitude and cred have we all earned with our spouses because we were prudent enough to buy cards instead of all the worthless crap like houses and stocks? Though I have to say that my wife is definitely doing her best to prevent a double dip recession--her clothing and household decorative junk purchases make my card budget look puny...

[teetwoohsix]

I agree with what Jantz and the others he quoted said.

Clayton

[53Browns]

It's a long term situation. The vintage cards will hold their value and increase but it may be 20 years before we see really significant gains in some of them. Unlike the junk they are selling in today's market made of shiny tin foil. Just my opinion.

[drdduet]

When it comes to cards I still buy what I like, but when it comes to investments I am going green--building a self-sustaining home and clinic (solar, wind, biomass) and ensuring a fresh water supply--with some nifty contraptions.

Even though I can pretty much walk out to the lake behind my home or the bayou in front of it and get all the oil I want, it disgusts me.

[barrysloate]

Darren- is Cut Off close to the oil spill?

[drdduet]

Yes Barry,

We are a shrimping community located on Bayou Lafourche, a tributary of the Mississippi River. We are about 30 miles just north of the Gulf of Mexico. Basically Cut Off and all of the towns of southern Lafourche Parish sit on the banks of Bayou Lafourche surrounded by the marshes of the Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary.

I am the Chief Medical Officer of the company involved in servicing this "rig". We are also the company sending the images to the media with our ROV's. Our community's whole livelihood and culture is based on the seafood industry and oil and gas.

[barrysloate]

It's a terrible tragedy Darren, and it looks like it will only get worse.

[drdduet]

It is a horrible thing, and you're right it will only get worse. As the rest of the Nation celebrates once this thing gets capped off, we will live in a devastated wasteland for years. What's worse one or two hurricanes will stir up the oil from the bottom and push it further inland.

We've given the rest of the country tremendous resources, top producers of oil, seafood, sugarcane--but we're just ignorant folk down here.

[barrysloate]

It almost seems like a full cleanup will be impossible. When I see some of the footage I get sick.

[drdduet]

And the oil hasn't really made it to shore yet. What we are seeing is the leading edge making it to land--maybe 10,000 barrels, on 40 million more to go.

[ethicsprof]

darren, my friend,
i know you have been through the roughest of times with Katrina and now this tragedy. we've had a bit of oil come to shore here in Pensacola but nothing is around here compared to what you are coping with.
do know that my ole T206 buddy is continually in my thoughts.

best,
barry

[calvindog]

The situation is an absolute disaster, the likes of which will not be fully appreciated for a long while.

But on the bright side, I spoke to Jim Carville the other night and he feels very confident that my Duke basketball team provided some good ideas to President Obama on how to stop the gushing oil well during their photo op this week at the White House.