Haven’t checked in for a while. Just spent 30 minutes reading through a long list of unread posts and I continue to be amazed. There are a consistent few posters who it seems are rooting for VEND to belly up so that they can plunge the “told you so” stake in the hearts of everyone else. It astounds me that they can find everything wrong with the company and nothing, without sarcastic “okay here’s one” points. They call the company leaders crooks. They ignore or impugn reports from franchisees. They act like VEND, a penny stock, should be somehow more stable, more advanced, more profitable than any other penny stock out there.
I believe that I have stated before that investing in markets, stock or commodity, is gambling every bit as much as casino games are gambling. Perhaps it is safer in the end, but it is gambling never-the-less. There is no certainty whatever that even big board stocks will go up and/or stay up forever. Check the graveyard of once darlings that are struggling or gone. There is no certainty that there are not shady characters in any sized company though most are honestly run I expect. Still, if you are trying to affect a retirement savings, careful selection of big board stocks is an accepted way to grow wealth over a lifetime of saving for retirement. I assume that everyone on this site has some sort of long-term retirement program that includes these “safe stocks that, growing 5 to 10 percent a year will compound nicely for the investor.
On the other hand, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of “pink sheet”, startup, tiny to small “penny stock” companies. Rare ones may be the future HP or Berkshire Hathaway or Wal-Mart that all started out as small untested companies that exploded. But most, it is obvious to recognize, never grow, or even survive, much less explode. So why even risk our financial futures on such speculation? Because occasionally one does hit a home run. So, we, gambling without a doubt, find or hear of a company that sounds like they might have a new mouse trap. They are usually startup, small, untested and owned by business novices. To be fair, most of these entrepreneurs are honest and excited about their products or services. They hope to be the next “story”. Sure, a few are hucksters, scammers out to make a few bucks and move on, but I doubt if they are the average.
After we identify such an offering, I doubt that very many bet the farm or use money that is needed for the house payment or groceries and certainly don’t use long-term IRA money to buy into these companies. We use “play” money. We gamble. Why? Because the big board stocks are more likely to grow slowly. They are already beyond, some far beyond, “penny stock” range. Most don’t grow more than a few percent a year. But a 0.10 or 0.50 or even 2.00 stock might go up 50 to 500 percent almost overnight and that is the attractive attraction. Spend 1000.00 on 3 to 5 Amazon or apple shares and see your money go up a few percent (the rationale for having them in a safe(er) portfolio) or get 1500 to 2000 shares of a “penny”, of a VEND, that you have a gut feeling for, that seems to have a new mouse trap. Then, cross your fingers and hope that you are right and that 0.50 goes to 5.00. That is a home run.
With that in mind I suspect that most of us fully understand that we could be wrong betting on any fledgling company and are usually proved right in that assumption. They are a gamble for the people who start the businesses and a gamble for those who buy their stock, a gamble that they, and we, take never-the-less. We, probably most of us, have done it before. I have. I have made money on an occasional “penny” and have lost big on more than I have made it with. I move on. I can either swear off the practice and avoid the stress or I can give it an occasional try. Now that could be considered entertainment, I guess. But to say that one has no investment interest in a stock but logs on to a blog for entertainment makes me wonder if they have a life outside of arguing, negative commentary or controversy. If they have absolutely no interest in, say, VEND and have absolutely no faith in VEND or their principal staff then why not move on. Find one they do believe in and get on board. Some of these people obviously expend a lot of time and mental energy to come up with their virtually universal negative pronouncements. I have said before, I know that VEND is a risk. I can read the news and their filings. I don’t need bloggers humble opinions, and I stress “opinions”. Do these people somehow feel compelled to save me. No thanks, I know the risk. They tend to act like they are gurus of the investment world. If they are then each one of them must have used their intuition, their insight, their ability to read the market to have already made multi millions in the market. I congratulate them on their prowess and their millions. Or, are they shorts who play the ups and downs like a harp to make a few dollars here and there but enjoy the “game”? If I pass a dog tied to a stake and he lunges at me I can either think that he wants to lick my face and wag his tail or that he wants to attack me. My first thought is the latter. If someone continually pontificates in the negative my first thought is either a short or someone who gets off on stoking the fire. Neither is helpful.
One last thing, I say again as in an earlier post, NY, with 20 million shares (that he likely can’t sell yet) could hope to keep interest up until he can maybe sell for a few million, settle any outstanding debts and move on to the next offering or he could try to get the shares up to 10.00 or more and become a very wealthy man indeed by selling the company. If I were in his shoes I would try for the latter. It makes little sense for him to do otherwise. To paint him and his other principals as shysters is, without concrete evidence, wrong. Some of the posts do that very thing. If I turn out to be wrong, okay, I’ve been wrong before. I will move on and probably will eventually buy into another small startup that strikes my fancy. People here to “protect” me or to have fun bantering for the sake of bantering are useless to me in those decisions. Nor am I here to listen to hype or fantasy or marvel at their knowledge and insight or hang on every word or sarcastic, all too often, humble opinions. I log on occasionally to see if there is any news from anyone concerning manufacturing or updated sales news and the like. That is easier than calling NY every couple of weeks.
I don’t post often so I say it all at one time. Sorry if long posts are exasperating. If I decide it is going to bust, I’ll sell and take my smaller profits or any losses and tell you all bye and good hunting. If I win big, I’ll celebrate with the rest of you.