Quote:
Originally Posted by cardsagain74
Hoarding anything in a marketplace at the expense of everyone else is a dick move. Obviously it's a more serious matter if it involves goods that people need to function in society, but still.
When a collector is stuck between not completing a set and paying an artificially highly inflated price, it's naturally a no-win situation. The worst experience of my (or likely any) '52 T build was, of course, Bartirome.
Some people actually celebrate it. This guy has been proud and very vocal about his attempt to "corner the market" (as he admits) on a '57 T mid-series card that he picked at random. And many of the responses he gets find it funny or praiseworthy. I hope those who do have to buy their own hoarded card sometime.
Anyway, he gave up on that hoard as it didn't work. And now there's this 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/115372068351 |
I guess I'm a dick. Buying anything that has more than one potential bidder is at the expense of someone else. I'm an all-collect-no-invest type but I don't believe anyone is entitled to buying a card at X price they want. Whether it's this guy taking 300 Paul Smith's off the market or 300 different collectors driving up the price of Roberto Clemente, I don't see much of a difference. Investors stockpiling stars, player collectors, set builders, they don't seem to offend people but having many of a card for non-investment (I don't believe one of these hoards has ever really panned out financially, and besides bnorth's account above not a single divested hoard has been identified yet) seems to be upsetting. I'm not quite sure why that is beyond the fact it seems quaint.