Many guys my age or older remember the glory days of card collecting. You wouldn’t have thunk it, but I was big into collecting sports cards when I was in elementary and middle school. It started with baseball, Topps with the chewing gum, and then the gloss Upper Deck cards. My fourth grade teacher, Mr. Perry, a big baseball card collector himself, gave away the special holographic edition cards for good behavior in his class, I was hooked. And is the aspiring young capitalist I and everyone else was, most of my time with the cards was spent checking their value in Beckett Price Guides. Basically you would buy some cards and then you would look up their value in this monthly price guide, and if it was worth something you’d stick it in a hard plastic case to protect it’s value. Baseball cards where like dollar bills, flimsy pieces of paper that held a value, though in a much more volatile market. It was also a gamble. You gambled your allowance, lawn mowing or babysitting money on a sealed pack of cards in hopes that the value in return would be worth much more. I had a small collection compared to most, but it was still a valuable investment. Someday I would cash in my cards to pay for college, or better yet I’d take my small fortune and retire early.
Enter the voice of reason: My mother. Mom always said,
“It’s only worth that much if someone is willing to pay you for it.”
But mom didn’t know what she was talking about. Some brilliant dude was sitting in a room writing down the value of each card and the rest of us agreed that’s what it’s worth so that’s what we’d pay for it. Mom didn’t realize that in card country the economy was stable and I could cash in now, or in ten years and my small fortune (which I kept stashed in a shelf in her basement), would bring me into the plush lap of luxury.
Well, I went to the library the other day with a small box of my most valuable cards, the ones in the hard plastic cases. I pulled out the dictionary-like 2007 Baseball price guide and I started looking up my cards. It appears, that without much fanfare or press, the economy of card country has collapsed and gone pretty much bankrupt. And no one thought to tell me.
Mom was right. She’s always right. And her wisdom stretches far beyond baseball cards:
“It’s only worth that much if someone is willing to pay you for it.” (and if your actually going to sell it)
It’s funny though, that we don’t stop this capitalist-ascribing-of-worth mentality once we stop collecting baseball cards. Adults still do it with everything. We talk about how much our TV or bike, coin collection or painting, coffee table or chair is worth, even when we have no intention of ever selling it. And not only do we spend our energy ascribing value to things based on their supposed monetary worth, but we love talking about how much we saved in our acquisition of said item. “I got this painting at a flea market for $10 and it’s worth $300.” It doesn’t even matter anymore if the painting is pretty, we let the $ sign dictate it’s value. We eat, sleep and breath capitalism. In a search for a techy gadget, before, during and after the purchase, one of the main subjects that will come up is what a monetary bargain you got, not whether you needed the more expensive one or why you couldn’t share.
Thank you mom for the economics lesson, your right. From now on I’m going to stop talking about the monetary value of items when it is completely unnecessary in conversation. Instead, I’m going to start valuing things based on their function in society and the good the contribute to the world.
My laptop still has value, but that’s because it allows me to blog, stay in touch with family, earn a side income, pay my bills, and more, not because I got a great bargain on it. My bike is also a valuable resource, but not because of how much it’s worth if I sell it (especially since I have no intention of selling it). The guitar in my closet is not worth the sticker price I paid for it, but the good it contributes (which isn’t much, unless you value gathering dust).
What are your big ticket value items? And what high-capitalist-monetary-value items in your house are pretty much worthless?
I’m on the baseball card bandwagon with you, my friend. I too thought my 100,000 cards would bring me riches. But, once my mom made me get them out of her house, they just took up space. I’ve spent the last year ebaying all but about 5,000 of them. It didn’t bring me riches, but it did bring me something.
People on ebay will buy pretty much anything, so if you’re really looking to sell, give it a shot. If you’re lucky, you’ll recoup your original cost.
my dad tells me he is worth more dead than alive….but i think he is worth far more alive. 🙂
but seriously, its a good point. i can’t think of much that i own that is worth much.
this post did make me think of beanie babies. i wans’t into them, but many of my friends were. come to think of it, they aren’t rich now. hummmm…..
Sam,
Did you really make a few bucks on ebay? It doesn’t seem like it would be worth the effort to post them, pack and mail them. But I could be wrong. There’s no card shops in Nashville are there?
Jody,
Beanie Babies are another one I thought of too. Lesson to learn is sell them when the market is there. Anyone remember Pogs?
this is such a good post. thanks man. i totally remember all of the baseball cards i used to have. checking the Beckett, putting the cards in sleeves and binders, trading with friends. wow, what a trip down memory lane. thanks bro
Your mom was right. I too have learned that lesson but in other business relations not just baseball cards. I have been collecting for many years. When I was a small boy my father brought me to Yankee stadium and just like my dad we got the four hours early. We stood outside the gate where the players walk in, back then there was no one around and no security. Up walks Mickey Mantle, toward the players entrance. My dad pushed up as he was walking in and I handed him a ball and pen. I was shaking but he was such a nice person, rubbed my head and handed me back a signed ball. That was it, I was hooked. I collected every one of his cards. Boy do I wish I had them now. Sure I went off to college and while away my mom trashed everything. So I have tried over the years to make up for my loss. Collecting can be so frustrating yet so rewarding. The memories it brings back are priceless. And while I still collect I sell as well. It is a hobby and a small business all rolled into one. I love it. And while the card manufacturers started to over produce since the mid 70’s up until recently, so many cards are not worth the cardboard their printed on. You have to pick your collecting wisely and not look for pack that is going to pay your bills. Spend only what you can part with and don’t worry about you ROI. (return on investment) Just enjoy the cards.
So Anthony, you want to buy some of my baseball cards? I have basketball too. Are you a Michael Jordan fan?
Well said. We do read too much into what a price guide says. Also, I used to pick on one of my ex coworkers about his habit of talking about the great deal he got on lunch or real estate. But when it came to his clothes and entertainment equipment it was all about how much more he spent to get the very best.
You will find that baseball cards are more valuable off of ebay. I doubt you will be able to cash them in to pay for your college, but at least you will have fun collecting them until then.
I was recently disappointed as well when I dug out my old baseball cards. However, baseball cards are in fact a pretty stable industry – you just have to collect the right ones. The card boom in the 1970’s-1990’s never had a chance at producing valuable cards because the industry mass produced cards to an extreme. Card rarity translates to card value. Cards produced before 1940 are rare, and thus have enjoyed a healthy return on investment over the years.