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1-31-2006 The unexpected is a fickle mistress. Why is it more enjoyable to randomly hear one of your favorite songs on the radio than when you pop in a CD featuring it? Why do we flock to see a movie that has “a shocking twist”? I guess uncertainty holds big entertainment value. And it should. When a person wants to escape their daily routine, all the better to have something far from ordinary. However, with life’s purchases we want to eliminate that uncertainty. Luckily, we have more and more information at our fingertips all the time. This is great news for the smart shopper. And we’re all smart shoppers, aren’t we? For a couple months/weeks/days (often based on the size of the purchase), we become experts on the pros and cons of every model of whatever product we plan to buy. I found myself doing this recently when I bought a new computer. Price vs. processor speed and type, memory, hard drive – you name it, I knew it. And what’s better is that I could talk intelligently about computers for a while…with the 2% of my friends and co-workers who actually knew what I was talking about and gave a crap. A majority fell into neither the “knowing” nor the “giving a crap” categories. But my point is, this is natural. Anyone buying a product ranging from a CD to a circular saw to a car is probably going to read reviews to know what they are going to get. No one wants uncertainty in their purchase. Stepping back a minute, have we, and our expectations, gone too far? Has this all happened so gradually that we’ve failed to notice? Take a recent phenomenon like internet dating, for example. Anymore it’s not enough that you might meet someone in a chat room who shares one of your interests. Now we have sites like eHarmony.com and Match.com where you get a list of compatible candidates based on 42 personality characteristics. Wow! What ever happened to meeting a person at the supermarket where the only things you knew about them were: a) what they looked like and b) what they were about to eat for dinner? I see a lot of card buyers getting wrapped up in their purchases the same way. Most are armed with a Beckett, SMR, or knowledge of what the card they’re after last sold for on eBay. Smart shoppers, in other words. People who have done their homework. But still, as with the stock market, past results are no indication of future performance. You can tell that aside from searching for what is deemed a good price on their card, these people are very concerned about the resale value of what they purchase. That’s why I refer to them as buyers and not collectors. Don’t get me wrong, I love that cards are a relatively liquid commodity. That’s part of the magic. They are as good as cash if you’re dealing with the right person. But remember that I’m also a dealer, and my business only works if I can sell a card for more than I bought it for. People ask me frequently if I collect anything, and the answer is yes. (Here’s a link to some of my prize possessions.) I’m not just out to make a buck selling cards; I really enjoy being around them and around people who share my interest. I like to hear stories of what people collect and how they decided to take on their particular collecting challenge. And I can separate my dealer side from my collector side. But now that we’re in the eBay era, anyone can be a dealer. You don’t have to set up at a show, have a shop, or even a not-so-fancy website. You can pick up a card at a show and list it that evening. You can also purchase an XBox 360 at Wal-Mart and make a quick profit listing it on eBay. Life is great for the smart shopper. But as this recent opportunity arose, I think the collector became confused. If you want to embrace your dealer jones, go ahead and make money off of cards. But as a collector, the best piece of advice you can receive is: Collect what you like. Unless your favorite player is involved in a scandal or your allegiances change, you will never go wrong with your card purchases if you embrace that statement. Best of all, resale value won’t even enter the equation because these will be cards you don’t plan on parting with. It’s mysterious to me how often people will ask my opinion on cards. Which of two of the same card look better, or about what to buy in a more general sense. I do appreciate the trust that conveys, but ultimately I’m not the one who has to be happy with the cards. Again, the message is to collect what you like. If you think you want to put together a set, but then find yourself cringing at the thought of what you will have to shell out for that stupid Wally Bunker Hi# that you’ll never look at or appreciate, I’ve got a suggestion for you: Don’t! Remember, it’s your collection. Maybe you’d rather just have the Detroit Tigers plus the Perez and Rose out of a set. If that’s what you want, then that’s what you should buy. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re just a collector if you’re thinking about the resale value. On the flip side, once you tap into your inner-collector and start picking up cards that you truly enjoy, I think the hobby will be that much more enjoyable for you for years to come. Have fun! -T |
Inside My Brain