Quote:
Originally Posted by JimStinson
But I'm afraid many of todays collectors (and dealers) somewhere along the line got stuck in the same mind set as those same card "investors" mentioned above. Buy it, slab it, stash it away for future "investment". Because its SURE to be worth more someday. Money is nice , to be sure , And collecting autographs is great fun , for a fact. But if your collecting today is motivated by "whats it gonna be worth tomorrow" well .....just think about those unopened boxes of baseball cards from the 1980's and 1990's that were mass produced to supply an artificial demand. Or that athlete sitting at a table somewhere signing 1,000 autographs a day every single weekend and maybe the two comparisons have something in common.
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Buying and Selling Vintage autographs for over three decades
jim@stinsonsports.com |
Hi Jim
I can’t help but wonder if my use of the word investment in a previous post is what you may be alluding to in yours.
First, I agree with you 100%.
I don’t see my hobby as an “investment” … that’s what stocks and mutual funds are for in my opinion.
That said, given the high prices these days, it seems wise to me to protect the price paid in some way. Speaking for myself, the hobby is not an investment, but I do hope that they have some resale value down the road when the time comes to pass them along. We are no longer talking about $12 autographs.
If I was inclined to pay $175+ for an in-person Stephen Strasberg signature (I’m NOT!), it doesn’t seem like a bad idea to get a PSA or JSA sticker for $7… so if I want to sell it in 5 years, I can get a few bucks back out of it. The reality is that without it – or without a known reputation like yours – the average Joe Collector will get pennies on the dollar.
Certainly some experienced and educated collectors know the difference and don’t rely on TPAs to make purchase decisions. But, what seller thinks it’s a good idea to restrict his potential audience only to one part of the collecting community? If the TPA provides reassurance to the casual collector, then you are greatly expanding the number of potential customers, or in an auction scenario, bidders.