Originally Posted by Kzoo (Post 2199174)

I don't mean this in a arrogant way as that's not my personality, but it's not 'vague' at all to folks that have been truly paying attention the last several years. The MSM spoon feeds their narrative on a daily basis to the 'masses' as a cover story to keep us from noticing the true corruption that is destroying our country. It's worked for years, but with the mid-terms in 8 months and a social media 'change' on the horizon, the tide is slowly changing and the large amount of censorship will be coming to an end. It will be very interesting as it plays out. Again, just my opinion. Everyone's entitled to their own.

Originally Posted by Johnny630 (Post 2199163)

Vintage is only going up…if you get a correction in quality vintage it’s only a short term thing….buy it. Way way to Much Money Is Invested In Quality Vintage Cards not by guys like us who are collectors, we are the collateral beneficiaries, by guys who are strictly big card money buying investors.

Originally Posted by Mark17 (Post 2199260)

When I was a kid in the 1960s, I collected baseball cards, stamps, coins, bottle caps (with Twins players on the inside liner,) and a few other types of cards and other things. "Everybody" knew that only the coins and stamps were worthwhile long term. I would go to Woolworth's, where they had coin and stamps in large glass displays, hinged on the wall so you could page through them. I frequently would spend 35 to 40 cents for a plate block of 4 stamps from the 1950s mostly - so, 4 3 cent stamps plus the border showing the plate number.

My parents were pleased to see me tucking some of my money away into this long-term investment. Not that they had big expectations for future value, but it was seen as good, on principle, for me to be preserving my money rather than wasting it.

Fast forward 50 years. Last week I made another purchase of postage stamps, which I use for my mail order business. I get them from a guy who bought up very large stamp dealer inventories, and our standard deal, which we've done a half dozen times so far, is $2,000 face value in mint unused stamps, for $1,150 delivered. That's 57.5% of face value, and the seller always gives me a little extra, so more like 55%.

As usual, the stamps I get at that price are heavy in older, low denominations; the same ones I used to collect as a child. Now, I strip off the borders and plate numbers as waste, sort and audit them, and then use them on the packages I send, or offer them in smaller quantities (like 100 different for $10, or 300 diff. for $25) on ebay.

Bottom line, these stamps, as an investment, have done the following: In 50 years, a plate block of 4 stamps has gone from 35 cents down to about 7 cents. Invest $1,000, wait half a century, and have $200. Add inflation into the calculation (the fact each of those $1,000 original dollars was worth way more than the current $200 that remain) and it's less than $100 in real return.

My conclusion is that the baseball card blue chips will probably hold their value always, but with commons there is no guarantee.

Originally Posted by Hankphenom (Post 2199269)

And I don't mean to be nasty, because that's not my personality at all, but my opinion of this is that it is the kind of paranoid nonsense that is actually in danger of destroying the country, or more precisely of dividing the country to the point that it destroys itself.

Originally Posted by foo3112 (Post 2199278)

+1. Leave that stuff for gab & parler and let's bring it back to cards.

Originally Posted by Hankphenom (Post 2199269)

And I don't mean to be nasty, because that's not my personality at all, but my opinion of this is that it is the kind of paranoid nonsense that is actually in danger of destroying the country, or more precisely of dividing the country to the point that it destroys itself.

Originally Posted by Kzoo (Post 2199174)

I don't mean this in a arrogant way as that's not my personality, but it's not 'vague' at all to folks that have been truly paying attention the last several years. The MSM spoon feeds their narrative on a daily basis to the 'masses' as a cover story to keep us from noticing the true corruption that is destroying our country. It's worked for years, but with the mid-terms in 8 months and a social media 'change' on the horizon, the tide is slowly changing and the large amount of censorship will be coming to an end. It will be very interesting as it plays out. Again, just my opinion. Everyone's entitled to their own.

Originally Posted by Hankphenom (Post 2199318)

I wonder what happened to stamps and coins, stagnating or even declining in value, as opposed to other collectibles that have appreciated, some exponentially, over the years. I think stamps and coins are still popular, with millions of collectors and large conventions, so what explains the difference? Maybe they're just not as much fun or as interesting as the others? They were probably the earliest major collectibles, why didn't they at least keep pace?

Originally Posted by Hankphenom (Post 2199318)

I wonder what happened to stamps and coins, stagnating or even declining in value, as opposed to other collectibles that have appreciated, some exponentially, over the years. I think stamps and coins are still popular, with millions of collectors and large conventions, so what explains the difference? Maybe they're just not as much fun or as interesting as the others? They were probably the earliest major collectibles, why didn't they at least keep pace?

Originally Posted by Mark17 (Post 2199338)

Hank, we've discussed The Glory of Their Times before. I would say that book has done for tobacco era cards what the 1952 Topps Mantle has done for post war cards. So, I would say, keeping interest (and value) alive for the old common baseball cards keys on keeping alive the history of the game during that era, through books and movies.

Originally Posted by Mark17 (Post 2199260)

Bottom line, these stamps, as an investment, have done the following: In 50 years, a plate block of 4 stamps has gone from 35 cents down to about 7 cents. Invest $1,000, wait half a century, and have $200. Add inflation into the calculation (the fact each of those $1,000 original dollars was worth way more than the current $200 that remain) and it's less than $100 in real return.

My conclusion is that the baseball card blue chips will probably hold their value always, but with commons there is no guarantee.

Originally Posted by Kzoo (Post 2199174)

I don't mean this in a arrogant way as that's not my personality, but it's not 'vague' at all to folks that have been truly paying attention the last several years. The MSM spoon feeds their narrative on a daily basis to the 'masses' as a cover story to keep us from noticing the true corruption that is destroying our country. It's worked for years, but with the mid-terms in 8 months and a social media 'change' on the horizon, the tide is slowly changing and the large amount of censorship will be coming to an end. It will be very interesting as it plays out. Again, just my opinion. Everyone's entitled to their own.

Originally Posted by Foo3112 (Post 2199934)

Your post is also unnecessary. No need to bring up something that happened a couple of days ago just because you were late to the party. This was discussed, handled, and all parties agreed to move on, yet you felt your voice also needed to be heard.