Observations on the current state of the hobby from a show this weekend

[eastbayak]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

Went to Chantilly simply to get same day authentication at Beckett and JSA. I walked around to kill the 2 hours until drop off pickups.

Observations:

- Prices and asks were comical and dealers scoffed at offers
- Tons of Pokemon tables
- The social media bros everywhere filming were annoying
- The constant pelican cases on top of displays blocking most of the cards was enraging
- Little hobby wax that I saw, all retail
- People smelled bad

Otherwise, the Beckett and JSA service was great!

BO is a legitimate issue at card shows.

[BoSoxFan1999]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

Went to Chantilly simply to get same day authentication at Beckett and JSA. I walked around to kill the 2 hours until drop off pickups.

Observations:

- Prices and asks were comical and dealers scoffed at offers
- Tons of Pokemon tables
- The social media bros everywhere filming were annoying
- The constant pelican cases on top of displays blocking most of the cards was enraging
- Little hobby wax that I saw, all retail
- People smelled bad

Otherwise, the Beckett and JSA service was great!

I went on Friday at open just to sub my 50/50 auto relic Ohtani. The Beckett guy that handled my sub was like when I put it on the table. Lol

Did walk around a little to explore the floor. Asked several tables if they had any Bowman U college basketball cards, and unless it was CC or Flagg, no one really had any. Owell.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

Observations:

- Prices and asks were comical and dealers scoffed at offers

I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that many of the people setting up at shows are not what us old-timers think of as being "dealers", i.e. people with actual business experience running a brick & mortar store who know how to price their goods appropriately and negotiate to make sales. They're lazy flippers who can't be bothered to update their prices regularly or look up comps. And there are plenty of them on EBay as well, even though EBay makes it really easy to look up past sales data.

It's also worth noting that a significant portion of the people in the card industry today have never experienced anything other than economic growth...i.e. they've never experienced a real recession (since the last one was over 15 years ago).

[BoSoxFan1999]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

90% of the people at Chantilly this weekend care about the $

Same with that big Pokemon show in Tampa

Though.....who DOESN'T care about the money? lol

[kipgen]

Originally Posted by BoSoxFan1999

Though.....who DOESN'T care about the money? lol

The True Collectors

[Crosby 87]

Originally Posted by kipgen

The True Collectors

What governing body dubs thee a "true collector"? (Dumb phrase by the way )

Who is a False collector?

[eastbayak]

Originally Posted by kipgen

The True Collectors

Originally Posted by Crosby 87

What governing body dubs thee a "true collector"? (Dumb phrase by the way )

Who is a False collector?

True collectors: Anyone who joined the platform before the pandemic

False collectors: Anyone who joined the platform after the start of the pandemic

[Crosby 87]

Originally Posted by eastbayak

True collectors: Anyone who joined the platform before the pandemic

False collectors: Anyone who joined the platform after the start of the pandemic

Whew hopefully I can transfer my pre pandemic site cred from another in the portal. Since I got zero NIL upon joining.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by Crosby 87

What governing body dubs thee a "true collector"? (Dumb phrase by the way )

Who is a False collector?

One who, upon a card purchase, experiences more joy flipping the card for profit than actually keeping it.

[eastbayak]

Originally Posted by Crosby 87

Whew hopefully I can transfer my pre pandemic site cred from another in the portal. Since I got zero NIL upon joining.

False collector,

There's nothing wrong with being a false collector.

Best,
True collector

[Rage]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

One who, upon a card purchase, experiences more joy flipping the card for profit than actually keeping it.

But what if they are flipping so they can buy a card they enjoy more to keep?

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by Rage

But what if they are flipping so they can buy a card they enjoy more to keep?

If you spend/exert more resources purchasing cards that you intend to flip than you do for cards you intend to keep, you are a false collector.

True collectors don’t buy cards they truly don’t intend to keep.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

If you spend/exert more resources purchasing cards that you intend to flip than you do for cards you intend to keep, you are a false collector.

True collectors don’t buy cards they truly don’t intend to keep.

You're starting to sound like that idiot MoreToppsPlease.

It doesn't matter if you finance your collection with your W2 wages, flipping baseball cards, flipping houses, or flipping anything else. None of that has any bearing on whether you are a true collector. If you think it does, you aren't a true collector. Because a true collector understands what collecting is all about.

[eastbayak]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

You're starting to sound like that idiot MoreToppsPlease.

It doesn't matter if you finance your collection with your W2 wages, flipping baseball cards, flipping houses, or flipping anything else. None of that has any bearing on whether you are a true collector. If you think it does, you aren't a true collector. Because a true collector understands what collecting is all about.

^ False collector

[LVDan]

Admittedly false collector since 81' here although I joined this site in 2017.

Non collecting Phase 1(1983-1989)Playing acey deucey for Mattingly RCs at recess in 6th grade, slinging Jeffries at the Swap Meet in 88'.

Non collecting Phase 2(1998-2008)-Flipping Big Mac inserts for Travis Lee and Jose Cruz in 98. Hoarding #'d Pujols RCs to flip for Ryan Howard Rookies, Sniping rare Greg Miller, Joel Guzman, Dopirak and Stokes chrome stuff for flipping in 2002. Sitting on cases of 2007 Elite Extra because Josh Donaldson(and Scherzer)plus 10 other bums who never panned out.

Non-collecting Phase 3(2017-current)- Who are Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge? And why do their cards double on ebay everytime they homer?-------to current.

Im the worst. No favorite team or players- just a fascination with the card market and human behavior and a desire to put gas money in my busted ol car with the occasional profits.

[Twalk1975]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

If you spend/exert more resources purchasing cards that you intend to flip than you do for cards you intend to keep, you are a false collector.

True collectors don’t buy cards they truly don’t intend to keep.

This would effectively eliminate anyone who is a dealer from being able to claim to be a true collector. Some of the most impressive collections I've seen are owned by dealers.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by Twalk1975

This would effectively eliminate anyone who is a dealer from being able to claim to be a true collector. Some of the most impressive collections I've seen are owned by dealers.

Just ignore cardbro and MTP. Their brains are incapable of separating a personal collection from other card related activities. It's just too complicated for them.

To help with this discussion, here is an example. While I never sell baseball cards. I buy cards for my Reds PC and nothing else. Once I own them, my collection is essentially permanent. I do, however, have an extensive firearms collection. I have sold guns to fund the purchase of other guns many times over the years. Obviously, firearms sales are far more regulated than sports cards. So looking to how the concepts of "collector" and "dealer" (or "engaged in the business") as they are used under Federal law is worthwhile. Because if it doesn't qualify as "engaged in the business" in that context, it sure as heck doesn't in sports cards.

27 CFR 478.11 says "Engaged in the business..." means "A person who devotes time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms".

But it goes on to clarify that "such a term shall not include a person who makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his personal collection of firearms."

[patchgenie]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

Went to Chantilly simply to get same day authentication at Beckett and JSA. I walked around to kill the 2 hours until drop off pickups.

Observations:

- Prices and asks were comical and dealers scoffed at offers
- Tons of Pokemon tables
- The social media bros everywhere filming were annoying
- The constant pelican cases on top of displays blocking most of the cards was enraging
- Little hobby wax that I saw, all retail
- People smelled bad

Otherwise, the Beckett and JSA service was great!

doesn't sound like much fun

[ThoseBackPages]

Beckett? haha

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by Twalk1975

This would effectively eliminate anyone who is a dealer from being able to claim to be a true collector. Some of the most impressive collections I've seen are owned by dealers.

Most everyone is a false collector.

Only a minority get uptight about being labeled one on a message board, lol.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by eastbayak

^ False collector

LOL, that actually made me chuckle a bit.

[hermanotarjeta]

The worst are flippers who pretend to be true collectors.

[Rage]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

The worst are flippers who pretend to be true collectors.

Why is that?

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by Rage

Why is that?

They use it as a negotiating tactic then end up flipping the card in front of your face.

*not speaking from personal experience.

[Rage]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

They use it as a negotiating tactic then end up flipping the card in front of your face.

*not speaking from personal experience.

Speaking from personal experience, once I sell a card, I don't care about what the new owner does with it. If they sell it for more, good for them.

If that kinda stuff bothers you, gotta hustle harder!