When a hobby turns into a sick obsession

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Posted By: John S

I have been sitting on this for two weeks because I know that that it has the potential to raise some conflict. I just felt that it needed to be told. A friend of mine had listed some high grade (PSA) cards on eBay from a set that is familiar to all of us (He is a very private person and I am being intentionally ambiguous). One card was the highest ever graded. Within the first twelve hours he had received three offers from individuals to end the auction for the highest graded card early. All of them identified themselves as high profile collectors that were interested in improving their registries. My friend respectfully declined. One of the individuals continued to harass by email making offers that DECREASED each time. Three days before the auction closed he emailed my friend asking him to do a search for the particular issue that he was selling. The individual had listed three other cards from this set, all high grades from PSA, ending within ten minutes of my friend's auction. He made a final decreased offer. The only satisfying news is that he did not win the auction; but his attempt to increase supply to drive down the prices of my friend's cards is an extreme case of what the hobby has become for some individuals. I am not passing judgement because I too catch myself getting competitive during auctions. I have to remind myself that these little pieces of cardboard are the same things that I used to fling across the room thirty years ago. This was just an extreme story. Before I conclude, let me offer this disclaimer: I am not passing judgement regarding graded versus non-graded, set registries, collecting versus investing, etc., etc., ad nauseum.