Lizard's Rant

Without much (any) fanfare, Tuff Stuff recently launched their own blogging section, only a few years behind the times…they’re getting better. Editor Scott Kelnhofer wrote a great article about collectors who are surprised about how much - or I should say, how little - their cards or worth when they go to sell:

The reality is that the bulk of most people’s card collections are made up of iems that aren’t necessarily extremely valuable or rare. That realization comes to some people when they decide to try to sell off some or all of their collections. Most “novice� collectors believe that when it’s time to sell their cards, they simply have to bring in their boxload(s) of items to the nearest card show or dealer and cash them in.

I can’t tell you the number of dealers who tell me they get calls on a regular basis from someone who had a collection of cards “from several years back� and wants the dealer to buy it from them. The dealer eventually learns that what the person has is a box full of unorganized cards from the late 1980s and early 1990s that aren’t valuable or scarce. They decline the customer’s offer, or offer them a bulk rate such as 25 cents per pound. Needless to say, some customers are left feeling a bit deflated. But how many 1990 Fleer Baseball sets or Jose Canseco rookies did they really think the dealer needed?

I can’t tell you how many times I get emails from people who stumble upon SportsLizard asking me what their collection is worth. Or how many times I get phone calls from friends or family looking to unload their collection. Or I get complaints from Price Guide users telling me their cards are worth waaay more than we say they are.

In all scenarios, the answer is the same: “unfortunately cards from the late 80’s to mid/late 90’s were overproduced and your collection is probably worth nothing. You might be able to get a small amount from a dealer, but you’re best bet is to probably give them to a young collector or to a kids charity that can really enjoy them”. Most people don’t like that answer, but it’s true.

So is card collecting nothing more than a scam, with trumped-up book values designed to lure customers into making a purchase? Of course not. Card collecting is a hobby, and hobbies are meant to provide entertainment. There are examples of cards that sell for a lot of money. There are examples of cards that are worth less today than a few years ago. That’s the case in any collectibles hobby.

If you’re going to get involved in the collectibles market purely to “buy low, sell high� you’ve got to do your homework and know which items will bring top dollar. It can be done, but be prepared: When a hobby turns into a business, it isn’t always as much fun as it used to be.

I couldn’t agree more. Just collecting herds of cards can be really, really fun…but probably won’t fund your retirement. Unless you analyze the market like CardCollectingRambler does, you’re probably not going to have much of investment success.

Therein lies the modern lie of card collecting. People get lured in not because they love sports or because they love to collect, but because they think it’s a fun way to invest. However, 99.99% of them have no clue how to actually make money buying and selling, and end up losing money. I think if the majority of them looked in the mirror they’d realize that they are in it because they enjoy sports and the challenge of finding a card they want, not because they care about turning a profit.

And if that’s the case, why are collectors obsessed with values and grading? Who cares what a card is graded if it brings you happiness and fits into your collection? Imagine how much money we’d all save if the 99.99% of novice collectors out there didn’t spend money grading cards and arguing over values? I’ve never paid to get a card or auto graded, and I never will. If I like the card, I don’t care what an “expert” tells me the corners look like. If I get an auto, I get it myself and again, I don’t care if a so-called expert says it’s real.

Cards, like anything else in this world, are only worth what someone will pay for them. In such a volatile and emotional industry like sports, there is very little consistency. While there’s definite value in knowing about what something has been selling for, the obsession about knowing the “exact price” of every single card in your collection is absurd and patently insane in my opinion. No matter how many spreadsheets you have running, or how much data you have, you’ll never know for sure until you go to sell. And it will always be less than what you’re numbers say. So why bother?