Two things you love about the hobby & Two things you hate

[atx840]

1) Love chatting with the people I've met on here and seeing their cards.
2) Learning something new about the cards, printing process and intricacies of the sets.

1) Dislike that in my niche I'm competing with good friends and sometimes have to decide, give up a great card or chance upsetting them.
2) Never enough funds, scarcity of freaky deaky cards, greed & egos....

[Jaybird]

1. love finding out new things and aspects to cards. Basically the history tied to these pieces of cardboard

2. Love talking with friends and other hobby acquaintances about this stuff. Having stuff in common is a blast. The focus and intricacies that we can geek out on is what's amazing. The different print type on the back of a Sporting News card, etc. We can just burrow into the specifics to find out amazing things about my #1 above.


1. Don't like the arguments about cards. I don't mind disagreements but arguments aren't productive and only serve to fragment the hobby rather than shed light and elucidate.

2. Card doctors.

[Tobacco&Gum]

I like that there is always something new to learn about and collect.

I love graded cards, because it allows me to hand a 1956 Mantle to my young kids, and say "here, check this out" without having to worry about them ruining it.

I dislike how shady dealers can be.

I dislike the sometimes huge inconsistencies in grading.

I once sent a 1971 Topps Munson to PSA. It came back a 6.

Seven months later, I cracked and subbed it again. It came back an 8.

$60 card the first time, $800 card seven months later.

[ullmandds]

I love:

-discovering new cards/poses I have never seen before

-sharing my passion for the hobby with other like minded collectors

I hate

-what grading has turned the hobby into

-unscrupulous behavior within the hobby.

[Cardboard Junkie]

Aloha, I like the cards and researching them.

I dislike insufferable know it alls, and TPG.
Dave.

[Tobacco&Gum]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

I love:

-discovering new cards/poses I have never seen before

-sharing my passion for the hobby with other like minded collectors

I hate

-what grading has turned the hobby into

-unscrupulous behavior within the hobby.

What in your mind has grading turned the hobby into?

I can't speak on Pre War, but for Vintage and Modern grading has given the hobby new life IMO.

The major card grading companies aren't perfect, but I think the good well outweighs the bad.

[Jaybird]

Some could argue that grading has brought prospectors into the hobby in higher numbers than before. It also encourages submitting and resubmitting for higher grades (bringing higher dollars) and therefore card doctoring to sophisticated levels enough to pass these TPGs.

So, with grading and more "security" come doctors who can pass that security. What you are left with is more people in the hobby trusting a system which is inherently as flawed as it was in the past. I suppose it's great that more people are entering the hobby with trust but in the end, the only defense against getting taken is knowledge and experience.

[ullmandds]

Thanks Jason...what he said!!!!!!

Likes:
Net 54
Great friends I have made in the hobby

Dislikes:

PSA( and really any other grading company)
Dishonest dealers.

[zljones]

Love:

1. The beauty of some of the issues of cards and being able to indulge in such a fun hobby.

2. fulfilling my dream card wants from my childhood.

Dislike:

1. super high overinflated prices from greedy dealers wanting 2x-4x the value.

2. My credit card debt from buying cards LOL

[Bicem]

Originally Posted by Jaybird

Some could argue that grading has brought prospectors into the hobby in higher numbers than before. It also encourages submitting and resubmitting for higher grades (bringing higher dollars) and therefore card doctoring to sophisticated levels enough to pass these TPGs.

So, with grading and more "security" come doctors who can pass that security. What you are left with is more people in the hobby trusting a system which is inherently as flawed as it was in the past. I suppose it's great that more people are entering the hobby with trust but in the end, the only defense against getting taken is knowledge and experience.

well said Jason. This is exactly why I don't care for grading. It's not some sense of being old school, or hating change, or longing for the good old days of the hobby - it's simply because so many collectors put so much faith into a severely flawed system.

[brickyardkennedy]

Originally Posted by Jaybird

Some could argue that grading has brought prospectors into the hobby in higher numbers than before. It also encourages submitting and resubmitting for higher grades (bringing higher dollars) and therefore card doctoring to sophisticated levels enough to pass these TPGs.

So, with grading and more "security" come doctors who can pass that security. What you are left with is more people in the hobby trusting a system which is inherently as flawed as it was in the past. I suppose it's great that more people are entering the hobby with trust but in the end, the only defense against getting taken is knowledge and experience.

Well said!

[sox1903wschamp]

Originally Posted by Jaybird

Some could argue that grading has brought prospectors into the hobby in higher numbers than before.

"Prospectors" That's a good way to put it.

[Tao_Moko]

Likes:
1. This Forum - one of the few mental escapes I have from work
2. The fact that I can still enjoy a hobby 30 years after I started and will be able to continue doing so

Dislikes:
1. The sometimes condescending attitude about a question or statement
2. Collecting a team that a gazillion other guys collect - Cubs