Quote:
Originally Posted by mrreality68
The concept is potentially good for the right person. ie investors. Also many like it so that you can take a loan against it (in some cases) for extra funds
Other auction houses are trying to duplicate this basic concept.
But I am more a collector and would prefer to have the cards under my control and more accessible.
Also since I am not comfortable in general with PWCC reputation it just makes me pause.
In addition the time it can take to get the card processed in and out of their vault also concerns me(as mentioned above in the thread)
So I am sure this service is right for many people and all well and good but it is just not for me
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Right you are Jeff. I didn't even get into the loan aspect of what they are offering, that is a whole other kettle of fish. But you're correct, the PWCC vault concept and how they are presenting and handling things, is akin to working with an investment advisory firm that holds your investments for you, assists in sales and purchases, and even gives out margin loans. About the only thing they don't do, at least not yet, is have you just open an account with them in which you simply deposit money, and then they go out and acquire cards for you that they feel will be good investments and grow in value for you down the road. I think if they did start doing that though, they may cross a line where they could possibly be viewed as a form of bona fide investment advisor, and actually become subject to all the applicable federal and state laws, licensing and the myriad of rules and regulations that have to be followed. Which I seriously doubt they would want to do, at least not now.
Who knows down the road though? They clearly are smart and ahead of the game in realizing that our wonderful little hobby has gone from being just that, a simple hobby, to a booming industry with surging prices that have caught and grabbed ahold of the attention and interest of serious people in the investment industry. They've set themselves up to be at the forefront of this change from being a pure hobby to more of a serious investment vehicle. Just look at some of the threads we've had recently talking about a potential IPO by Topps, which was undermind by strategic investments of various professional sports leagues and player groups in a major distribution company which then apparently stole future licensing rights right out of the hands of Topps and other card companies. Or the takeover and privatization of the major TPG of our hobby, quickly followed by the announcement of their acquisition of another company heavy into AI technology. Heck, we're starting to read like the Wall Street Journal in some threads. The only thing we're still missing is for Warren Buffet to come out during Berkshire-Hathaway's next annual meeting and declare they're going to start heavily investing in sports cards. And if Buffet were to go even further and expand on how they'll focus on acquiring cards of who he felt was the greatest pre-war baseball player ever, and didn't name Ruth............I can only imagine the thread(s) that would generate on this forum!!!!!!!!
