Been so long

[RedsFan1941]

this post caused me to think about my collection, which has been a work in progress for more than 4 decades. i wrote down my 5 rarest cards -- not necessarily most expensive but truly rare or at least scarce. 4 are pre-war and one is from the 1950s. 3 i bought in auctions, 1 at a NAtional and 1 in a private sale.

the years i got them were: 1985, 1990, 1991, 2001, 2012.

on 4 of the cards, i had seen less than 2 examples ever sell before i bought mine. on three of the cards, i've not seen an example come up for auction since i got mine.

i am in my late 60s. my collection likely will stay with me until i die.

i post all of this because i think there are a lot of collectors like me who when they add a truly rare card to their collection, it stays there. i am not a big fish in this hobby so i can imagine a lot of collectors with my mindset who instead of having 5 truly rare cards, have 20, 50, 100 or more.

even though you see many of the same high-grade and expensive cards come to auction every six months or so, there's a reason the really rare stuff doesnt.

[joshuanip]

Originally Posted by RedsFan1941

this post caused me to think about my collection, which has been a work in progress for more than 4 decades. i wrote down my 5 rarest cards -- not necessarily most expensive but truly rare or at least scarce. 4 are pre-war and one is from the 1950s. 3 i bought in auctions, 1 at a NAtional and 1 in a private sale.

the years i got them were: 1985, 1990, 1991, 2001, 2012.

on 4 of the cards, i had seen less than 2 examples ever sell before i bought mine. on three of the cards, i've not seen an example come up for auction since i got mine.

i am in my late 60s. my collection likely will stay with me until i die.

i post all of this because i think there are a lot of collectors like me who when they add a truly rare card to their collection, it stays there. i am not a big fish in this hobby so i can imagine a lot of collectors with my mindset who instead of having 5 truly rare cards, have 20, 50, 100 or more.

even though you see many of the same high-grade and expensive cards come to auction every six months or so, there's a reason the really rare stuff doesnt.

+1(guppie)

[ullmandds]

Been so long since I have been able to add a Miller to my run. It’s a travesty! Someone please help ! E92 nadja, t216 type 1, t216 ve. ��

[pokerplyr80]

The rare and exceptional cards that pop up on eBay tend to sell before most have a chance to even see them. There are many out there searching. Unless they show up in a pwcc or probation auction. Then we all get a shot, and everyone complains about the crazy prices they sell for.

[DeanH3]

Hi Steve,

Listing buy prices for the issues you're interested in might help. I think it's been a successful method for some. It might shake some cards loose that are hidden in collections.

[Rhotchkiss]

Things I “need” keep popping up all the time. Problem is, I didn’t know I “needed” it until it popped up!!

[joshuanip]

Originally Posted by DeanH3

Hi Steve,

Listing buy prices for the issues you're interested in might help. I think it's been a successful method for some. It might shake some cards loose that are hidden in collections.

The risk towards that is you might create a market against yourself. And you may overshoot significantly by re-rating the value of what you are buying. Not saying don’t offer above vcp, as I think you should pay what you feel is worth, but some expectations can get out of hand from some ask prices I fielded after I tried that route. Putting up a fair price may not shake loose those private collections. And providing a max offer way above market only frames the buyer in a disadvantage in negotiating a reasonable offer, as the seller usually then tries to ask for a price above that. For those MBA’ers, it’s a case of the BATNA’s. I guess the narrow road to walk is between what price would attract latent interest and providing some wiggle to make the deal work.

[Snapolit1]

I posted a list of about 15 Gehrig pieces I need on BST and crickets. I guess like someone said these are the kind of things where people who have them aren't parting with them (absent emergency situation).