very interesting, mind-blowing even, post
That sports card dealer sure had the right idea. Here I am thinking I had 3 Lew Alcindor's and other people are buying boxes and boxes of cards. I should have done that with the 1969-1970 Topps basketball set. I was a huge Knicks fan at the time so my enthusiasm led me to load up on basketball cards. I was also a big fan of Wilt Chamberlain, who I consider the greatest of all time. Just look at his stats. In his best season he averaged over 50 points a game and played every minute of every game. His athleticism was off the charts.
I thought of buying a box of cards during Michael Jordan's rookie year, but I couldn't find them anywhere.
I wouldn't buy a card today unless it has been graded because that's what the value is pegged to. There's a big difference in price even between a 9.0 and a 9.5 grade.
The reason, I thought to myself, that cards would never go nearly as high as they have is because I figured the manufacturers could always re-print the cards. Many counterfeiters have, in fact, done just that. I've read that the difference between an original copy and a counterfeit copy is indistinguishable. That's another reason to get your cards graded. I wonder how many counterfeit cards have been erroneously graded by the professional grading services.
So I guess we can classify you as a bona-fide collector, not head over heels, full blast, but certainly more so that the average person. My neighbor was a mailman and had a stamp collection of an estimated value of $10,000 - $25,000. Every time a new issue would come out, he'd buy 4 stamps. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by a flood in his basement. He did get some money from an insurance company, however.
My mind is conflicted over the inherent value of collecting in general. What is the value to society, what is the value to one's fellow man, of collectibles? I guess there's nothing intrinsically wrong with trading like that, but I think a more noble way is to get a legitimate job that contributes to society, that benefits one's fellow man, like being a carpenter, fisherman, doctor, teacher, plumber, farmer, etc., providing goods and services to others and being compensated fairly for your work.
