Good News for Many of You!

[sportscardpete]

I wish you the best, but I completely disagree with your point. I don't understand how anyone could let "big-fish" bother them. Just keep collecting and growing your collection and don't worry about everyone else. My collection is nothing compared to certain people, but I just enjoy it. And if someone is trying to pull a fast one on a deal, I'll ignore them.

[Robextend]

I have no clue what you are talking about, but I am a "small fish" too and don't let anyone else bother my collecting.

[Browncow75]

Hey Guys,
before we go to far here, I am actually commenting more on the fact that I dont have the resources to be reliable enough to make the deals I want, and I am getting frustrated and tired of making enemies in a hobby that has become more about the money and "look at what I can afford" than the enjoyable hobby it should be. Its just not my bag, baby!!

[autograf]

Good luck......it's good you realized that sooner than later! Lots of people have gotten themselves too deep and found it hard to get out and get away.....you can't change the economics of the market. You can change what you collect or choose not to collect....that's within your power.......

[ChiefBenderForever]

Happy trails! You can always come back never a shortage of cards for sale.

[barrysloate]

Most people do leave the hobby at some point, but I too am lost regarding Brandon's post. There's more going on here. Since you decided to share this with us, could you fill us in?

[mintacular]

I personally wouldn't let anyone else spoil by passion for the hobby...

In terms of pre-war, I am not at a point in my life that I can spend the 1K+$ on some cards that I want...so instead I have a couple post-war sets that I can buy affordable singles that work for my financial reality...

When I get a larger chunk of change I will occasionally splurge on higher dollar pre-war card. No reason to quit the hobby altogether--just take a break for a few months and reassess your budget/collecting goals...Most of us eat tuna helper not caviar

[Browncow75]

Hey Barry,
I am just to the point where all I am doing lately is pissing people off, either by taking too long to do deals, or having to hold off because of financial problems that come up. I am not blaming anyone for those situations, nor am I looking for sympathy. People seem to think that I am just blowing off agreements willy-nilly, without any thought for the seller. That is far from true. The stress I put myself under with these deals means as much to me as if I were buying anything from anyone. I really enjoy collecting cards, but my situation has finally gotten to the point where people dont trust me, and I dont blame most of them. In some cases however, when I have legitimate reasons for my shortcomings, certain people who I KNOW are dealing with multi-thousand $ cards, think its the end of the world when I cant come through on time. I very rarely tell anyone "no, I cant do the deal at all". Granted, it is frustrating when that happens, but selling a $100 card shouldnt be a life-or-death scenario. The cards are just getting too damn expensive, and there is too much competition for someone like me. I am rambling, and not making much sense so I will stop here.

[vintagechris]

Originally Posted by mintacular

I personally wouldn't let anyone else spoil by passion for the hobby...

In terms of pre-war, I am not at a point in my life that I can spend the 1K+$ on some cards that I want...so instead I have a couple post-war sets that I can buy affordable singles that work for my financial reality...

When I get a larger chunk of change I will occasionally splurge on higher dollar pre-war card. No reason to quit the hobby altogether--just take a break for a few months and reassess your budget/collecting goals...Most of us eat tuna helper not caviar

Well said. I can't say for sure Brandon, but it kind of sounds like you were making it more than a hobby.

[E93]

I have no idea of the background details that are motivating this, but from an outside observer's perspective on your note, it sounds like you are trying to rationalize and place blame on others or on the nature of the hobby to feel better about your lack of personal responsibility in recent deals. In other words, did you not follow through with commitments you made and now people are calling you out on it so you are pissed? Are you now just rationalizing that they and the hobby are too focussed on money to appease your own guilt? Sounds self-serving. I could be entirely wrong and I apologize if I am. If there is a grain of truth and you want to leave the hobby anyway, why not just graciously exit quietly rather than make generalized digs at the rest of us.

The reality is that the cardboard we collect has monetary value and nobody likes being ripped off whether it is for $2 or $2000.
JimB

[ullmandds]

Jim B...I believe you hit the nail on the head!

[barrysloate]

On a side note, Brandon's avatar is a bit troubling.

[Jaybird]

I agree. Doesn't matter if it's $2 or $2000, why shift the blame and say it is the hobby that is the problem? There are lots of guys on this board and in the hobby that spend $5/week on cards and have just as much enjoyment as the next guy.

Inter-Personal relationships seem to be the problem you are dealing with and you might want to look at that rather than at the larger "big fish problem" that you state. My guess is that if you're having a problem with folks on this board that you might be having similar problems in your personal life. Look inward, my friend. I wish you the best and hope you find peace and happiness.

[whitehse]

I am a set collector and, while I cannot afford the pre-war stuff I have found some vintage sets I can chip away at a little at a time to satisfy my collecting interest. I have learned paying 40 bucks for a graded common when that same common in raw form would cost me 3 bucks is just not cost effective.

Trying to play the ole "keeping up with the Jones'" game in this hobby is never good. There are thousands of cards I would like to own but my economic reality helps me be more satisfied with less. I have found my niche in this hobby and I am happy to pursue it and maybe thats what the original poster needs to do.

[Big Ben]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

I wish you the best, but I completely disagree with your point. I don't understand how anyone could let "big-fish" bother them. Just keep collecting and growing your collection and don't worry about everyone else. My collection is nothing compared to certain people, but I just enjoy it. And if someone is trying to pull a fast one on a deal, I'll ignore them.

+1

I look at the hobby as one of many of my interests and try not to get over saturated. I quite honestly don't care about the big fish in the hobby. Give me a PSA 3 or 4 or SGC vintage card at a good price and I am happy. Heck I like graded cards with qualifiers on them. Take some time off and enjoy life!

[smtjoy]

If you are making deals and then paying late or not at all, that sounds like an issue with your own life and has nothing to do with the hobby. Their are big fish in all parts of life and they only affect you if you let them. Collect what you want within your budget and you will enjoy a great hobby.

Sounds like you might need some time off from the hobby in any case.

Good luck!

[jb217676]

You'll never have the worst collection, you'll never have the best collection, we all fall somewhere in the middle. Trying to achieve a collection above your income level is foolish and will lead to financial ruin and lost friendships over broken deals. Sounds like you need to diversify. Instead of just buying cards, sell some too. I have a few things I like to do when my $ is tight: sell a card to buy a card, keeps me in the "action". I also look for groups of cards to buy, keep one, sell the rest. If I make a little bit of $ on the deal I put the profit towards new cards. Heck, I'll sell cards in my driveway if the weather's nice!

[DICKTOWLE]

Originally Posted by jb217676

You'll never have the worst collection, you'll never have the best collection, we all fall somewhere in the middle. Trying to achieve a collection above your income level is foolish and will lead to financial ruin and lost friendships over broken deals. Sounds like you need to diversify. Instead of just buying cards, sell some too. I have a few things I like to do when my $ is tight: sell a card to buy a card, keeps me in the "action". I also look for groups of cards to buy, keep one, sell the rest. If I make a little bit of $ on the deal I put the profit towards new cards. Heck, I'll sell cards in my driveway if the weather's nice!

Nice comment, you are right on for Brandon

[jb217676]

Originally Posted by DICKTOWLE

Nice comment, you are right on for Brandon

Thanks! It sounds like Brandon would like to continue collecting, but needs a reality check. When reality sinks in, I'm sure he'll have a collection he's happy with. So, diversify! Buy, sell, trade, flip, whatever is fun for you. To only buy, buy, buy, buy doesn't work. Trust me!

[slidekellyslide]

When I found this forum in 2004 I realized VERY quickly that I was a little fish in a pond full of whales..I found it fun to swim among them, but as far as my collecting goes I decided to move to a much smaller pond where I was the big fish...heck I may be the only fish there, but it's made the hobby a lot more enjoyable and my collection since 2004 has grown immensely.

[dstraate]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

When I found this forum in 2004 I realized VERY quickly that I was a little fish in a pond full of whales..I found it fun to swim among them, but as far as my collecting goes I decided to move to a much smaller pond where I was the big fish...heck I may be the only fish there, but it's made the hobby a lot more enjoyable and my collection since 2004 has grown immensely.

That's just it! I haven't posted a card here in months. Finances tightened up and I intensified my work on the extra-sexy and underrated '70 Topps Basketball set. When I get done occupying Wall Street and back to making money, I'm sure I'll be boring all the "whales" with my low grade T206s.

No worries bro, life is good.

[glchen]

Good luck, Brandon. I wouldn't worry too much about what's happened in the past or what not, and as a poster above stated, it's really more important to do what's important for your family than the cardboard stuff. Collecting is fun, and card are always there, but it's easy to get in too deep. I started collecting when I was a kid, and re-started a couple of years ago. One of the things was that I could now afford cards that I wanted to buy that I could never afford when I was a kid. All of those things that I wanted, I now had the wherewithal to actually get. However, this can definitely go too far where you are now spending past your alloted "entertainment" budget, and into your mortgage and "living" budget. There are a lot of people on this board with extremely nice collections. Some of them have the means to put down considerable amount of $$$ on cards. Others have been collecting for eons. They can easily flip there cards for tremendous profit, and use these funds to buy very nice cards. Or they just show the very nice cards that they picked up a long time ago for peanuts. None of this is wrong, and it's really fun to see all of the great cards that people have on this board. Some of the threads like "show of your best card" or "what are your top 3 cards" are some of my favorites since I love seeing those rare valuable cards. Seeing these can definitely make you feel like you really want to own some of these cards that people just love seeing. However, just like in those days when you were a kid, sometimes, you can't afford it. Even as an adult there are cards you simply cannot afford or makes no sense to buy. That's just how it is, but if you want to keep collecting, you can still find that niche that keeps you happy in the hobby. Keeping a budget can be very, very tough sometimes. There are times when I've hit my budget limit for the month, and then I see a card that I want selling for a steal of a price. It's tough to just let it pass by, but that's what you need to do sometimes. There will always be other cards that fit your collection that will come by again.