Minimizing your Losses

[kmac32]

Vintage for the most part holds its value. With that said, I collect vintage because I like it. I don't rally care what the monitory value is as long I enjoy it. If I worried about how much money was invested, I probably wouldn't have started the collection to begin with. I have also found that trading on the board, we have a really good group and generally if someone wants a card and needs a little help to make a deal happen, it's not a big deal. Just some thoughts.

Kmac

[rainier2004]

If I worried about the money Id never buy another old, small piece of cardboard. IDK...Ive made money on my cards before. You'll always lose if youre looking to "dump" cards though.

[HRBAKER]

Here's a way to make sure you never lose money. Put them on ebay with an insane Buy It Now price.

[ValKehl]

I have been slowly and steadily buying pre-War cards for pleasure (not with an investment motive) for 20-25 years. Yes, I realize that if I were to sell all the cards I bought over the last few years, I would incur a loss on many (perhaps most) of them. But, if I were to sell my entire collection, I fully believe (I've never tried to run any numbers) that I would realize a gain that is greater percentagewise than the than the gain in value of my house and the gain in value of my IRA investments over the same time period. I look at this as "having my cake, and eating it too!"
Val

[Fred]

Alex, I can see where you could really lose it on modern cards. You can also lose it on vintage cards but at least you'll have something that is a bit more difficult to obtain and probably easier to sell than the new shiney stuff.

Nobody can predict with certainty what's going to happen with card prices but it would sure be a lot more cool to have a T206 of Cy Young or Ty Cobb than to have a 1986 Barry Bonds or some other rookie card from the not so distant past (even in a "10" holder).

Don't collect for investment, collect because you enjoy it. If you collect for investment then you'll be miserable if you see a devaluation in the cards. If you collect because you like baseball then at least you can appreciate the player on the card and the era from which it came.

[sportscardpete]

Originally Posted by kmac32

Vintage for the most part holds its value. With that said, I collect vintage because I like it. I don't rally care what the monitory value is as long I enjoy it. If I worried about how much money was invested, I probably wouldn't have started the collection to begin with. I have also found that trading on the board, we have a really good group and generally if someone wants a card and needs a little help to make a deal happen, it's not a big deal. Just some thoughts.

Kmac

True... A lot of sellers here will negotiate fairly if they know you are a collector rather than a dealer.

[Leon]

I think about all of the cards I paid really strong for and how much less I know I will get for them. Then I think about the cards I got good deals on. Put both together and I am probably about a dime ahead. All in all it's been fun so far though. I have made a ton of really good hobby friends and had some great times over the last 15 yrs (since I started as an adult). I can't count the number of times I have been rolling over laughing while partying/eating/drinking with my buds. That also is what I love most about shows....that and the babes of course . At this most recent Oaks show, when out at dinner one night, our waitress had a side job of selling sex toys. She gave me her card and I got it slabbed an 8!!

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[celoknob]

I admit to being "haunted" by a number of difficult things that happen in life, but the resell value of my collection is not one of them.

This is one thing in my life I just try to enjoy. I consider it entertainment and diversion. As another poster mentioned some others spend money for other types of entertainment--play golf, go to expensive restaurants, buy boats, cars, etc. for their pleasure and don't expect their money back.

[Rich Klein]

That story about the waitress is not any good without pictures

Rich

[sportscardpete]

Originally Posted by celoknob

As another poster mentioned some others spend money for other types of entertainment--play golf, go to expensive restaurants, buy boats, cars, etc. for their pleasure and don't expect their money back.

I think the money spent on golf is crazy. And people that play golf probably think collecting cards is crazy. But the two have fun with their hobby. So it is a wash.


Technically speaking - if you only collect cards, and never sell, you never really lose money.

[dstraate]

I'd tend to agree that this more frequently happens with modern cards.

Everybody remember the Strasburg Superfractor? It sold for more than my house. I bet that buyer is seeing a lot of red ink when he looks at that card, and not because of the Nats road jerseys.

PreWar players are established. You know what their career totals will be, because they're dead. There's a lot of speculation in modern cards. If you ever doubt that, look at the ebay auctions after the next no-hitter, or 3 HR game.

[bbcard1]

[QUOTE=sportscardpete;943070]I think the money spent on golf is crazy. And people that play golf probably think collecting cards is crazy. But the two have fun with their hobby. So it is a wash.

Which reminds me of a joke.

Guy goes up to his buddy and starts laughing and says,"You wouldn't believe what I saw the other day at 5 O CLOCK IN THE MORNIN!

These guys were out there PLAYIN' GOLF AT 5 iin th morning! Can you imagine getting up that early to hit some little ball and chase after it. It's crazy.

So the guy's buddy says, what were you doing up at that hour, Vern?

I was going fishing.

....to each his own....

[drc]

There are a million things that can be said about the subject, but I will pick three.

To prevent losses, avoid investing in what is hot now, what's the in thing now-- especially if it's modern.

Buy at good prices. No matter what it is is, it's not a good investment if you buy at 3x going price. At 3x overpaying, you'd still lose money if it doubled in market value in a week.

Sell items once in a while, so you get a feel for what things really sell for. People who never sell often have their heads in the clouds about value and usually overvalue their items, while people who actually sell items have a real world view of what they'll get and make wiser purchases.

A positive of selling at an unexpected loss (which has happened to everyone, by the way!) is it can make you wiser for the future.

My old saying is the worst thing that can happen to a newbie stock investor (or casino better) is that his first pick wins money, and the best is it loses money. If his makes money he's suddenly sure he knows it all and is a stock picking genius. If it loses money, he is now aware that he can easy lose money, doesn't know everything and has to be careful and smart when making future picks.