Where are all the six and seven figure collectors (with poll)?

esquiresports

There was an interesting thread on "conspicuous consumption" the other day related to very high-dollar cards and reasons why they may be good bets. That got me to thinking about why it seems there seem to be very few posters on this board that show six or seven figure collections/cards. Based on the volume of high-dollar auction house catalogs out there, there are thousands of these collectors. So why not here? I am making my first poll where you make your best guess. Feel free to expound on this below.

Personally, I'd love to see these collections and here their stories. I love flipping through the catalogs and seeing all these great cards. I had an opportunity to connect with Doug Dreier, I significant collector, and he was once of the nicest people I have met. He was also a true collector with a real passion for it.

Dodgerfanjohn

There aren't a few thousand active buyers at any given time in this stratosphere. More than a handful of active buyers would send prices through the roof. If it appears that there is "a few thousand"...well, BBG gets slammed bad, but he makes a good point. There is a lot of shilling. Its been proven time and time again to exists on ebay, including with sellers held in high esteem. Theres no doubt it occurs in the auction houses as well.

That aside, think about who these heavy hitter collectors are.....

1.) Very high income earners. The ones that work do not have time to post online. In fact one LA Card shop, aside of having a very good rep as far as honestly, albeit with high prices, does a very brisk business with entertainment industry people. In many instances, these highly compensated people simply give the shop a list of stuff they want to collect and do so a bit at a time. I doubt any of these people would have time to be posting on online forums. There is the privacy aspect also.

2.) Independently wealthy, lottery winners, inheritance. These are the heavy hitters more likely to post. Of course, many of these guys still want privacy. Simply put, there are very very few of these guys and even fewer who are into sports cards.

3.) People "pretending". This is the guy who can't really afford these luxury items. Often they have to sell to be able to afford something else. Sometimes theyre tens of thousands in the red. Sometimes they got a small inheritance or lawsuit settlement. All sorts of stuff. These guys post a lot I think, but you won't know about their finances until they get caught in something shady or basically just disappear. This is the smallest group of these three I think, but the most vocal.

OcTrAdInG

Just out of curiosity, have you ever read the book about the Honus Wagner card? If you have not, the full name is The Card: Collectors, Con Men, and the True Story of History's Most Desired Baseball Card. Given your comments, I think you'd find it an interesting read that not only details the history of Wagner and the famous card but also all the personalities involved in the buying and selling of an icon for the hobby. In so much as my post was not meant to be a book review, the main players in the story seem to have different desires and motivations, and those differences may be particularly relevant to your poll.

Loose lips sink ships, and I do think that privacy is a key factor in building and maintaining great collections...Not so private that one is unable to assemble a great, one-of-a-kind collection but private enough to purchase cards at acceptable price levels without jeopardizing security and well-being.

SumoMenkoMan

To me it doesn't make sense to show off six-figure cards due to security and theft. I imagine most people got rich with some amount of caution.

TheCARDKid

Some other factors.

-Some may not feel they "belong". Kind of the odd man out, you've got a million dollar collection, and everyone else has $10-50,000 worth of stuff. I think the real high strata collectors run in a different social circle than the average joe.

-The posts may be few and far between. Didn't Marshall Fogel post on these boards years ago? Maybe 5 or 10 posts, I don't even remember.

I think the law of averages tell you there aren't many high income earners to begin with. On a sports board, its going to be miniscule.

It seems like these boards are really for the hardcore guys. Think about the top 10 or 20 (or 30) dealers in the country. How many post regularly? Very few if any. And you've got shifting habits and priorities.

goraiders

I'm here

Probstein123

I think many are in touch with the boards, but rarely post

ClockworkAngel

Yes, I am right here...and here's the card to prove it



I have likely opened up a can of works with this, so please keep the PM's to a minimum

prthd

<< <i>To me it doesn't make sense to show off six-figure cards due to security and theft. I imagine most people got rich with some amount of caution. >>



Ding ding, we have a winner. I find it amazing when I here of people flashing their collections on Facebook and other sites. People are just asking to get robbed. Maybe in just crazy. I recall 2 years ago we went on vacation,my girlfriend posted on FB a picture of our hotel and what time/ day we were leaving. I was not to happy to say the least. Its just common sense.

LeonLuckey

<< <i>I think many are in touch with the boards, but rarely post >>



This is the answer for the most part. I have had many of the so called whales come up to me at the National and tell me they read chat boards (at least one other too) every day. They are not even registered either so they don't post. Also, the higher income folks are out making higher income, not usually posting on chat boards.

OcTrAdInG

<< <i>

<< <i>I think many are in touch with the boards, but rarely post >>



This is the answer for the most part. I have had many of the so called whales come up to me at the National and tell me they read chat boards (at least one other too) every day. They are not even registered either so they don't post. Also, the higher income folks are out making higher income, not usually posting on chat boards. >>



The chat boards are an extremely valuable tool for everyone, regardless of collection size/worth.

ClockworkAngel

<< <i>

<< <i>To me it doesn't make sense to show off six-figure cards due to security and theft. I imagine most people got rich with some amount of caution. >>



Ding ding, we have a winner. I find it amazing when I here of people flashing their collections on Facebook and other sites. People are just asking to get robbed. Maybe in just crazy. I recall 2 years ago we went on vacation,my girlfriend posted on FB a picture of our hotel and what time/ day we were leaving. I was not to happy to say the least. Its just common sense. >>



I can see that, at least when it comes to facebook where you are broadcasting to everyone who you are, but many of us are anonymous so I don't see the risk in posting our stuff on THIS forum

CollectorAtWork

<< <i>... I recall 2 years ago we went on vacation,my girlfriend posted on FB a picture of our hotel and what time/ day we were leaving. I was not to happy to say the least. Its just common sense. >>



My wife is like that too where she doesn't want me to post pictures on facebook when we are on vacation because then people will know that our house is empty and can rob us.

Dodgerfanjohn

The Facebook matter is not an issue for a lot of people.

perkdog

Because people with money are "different" dont care how you slice it, they are.

1954

The chat boards are an extremely valuable tool for everyone, regardless of collection size/worth.


Do not agree with you on this comment. While I enjoy many of the guys on the boards , most of the collectors I know don't come here because of the lack of knowledge or conversation in what they they collect or find interesting. Some of the old school guys who are no longer on the boards really contributed to helping others know about their specific sets. I hope this does not sound mean spirited but those guys are no longer around to speak about prewar sets and rarities throughout the industry. Due to this, the message boards are not an extremely valuable tool for EVERYONE.

I do think the PSA boards have some great collectors still left and contribute to threads that they are knowledgable in. Conversly, I do think some contribute to threads just to type something and offer zero material information.

OcTrAdInG

<< <i>

Do not agree with you on this comment. While I enjoy many of the guys on the boards , most of the collectors I know don't come here because of the lack of knowledge or conversation in what they they collect or find interesting. Some of the old school guys who are no longer on the boards really contributed to helping others know about their specific sets. I hope this does not sound mean spirited but those guys are no longer around to speak about prewar sets and rarities throughout the industry. Due to this, the message boards are not an extremely valuable tool for EVERYONE.

I do think the PSA boards have some great collectors still left and contribute to threads that they are knowledgable in. Conversly, I do think some contribute to threads just to type something and offer zero material information. >>



Correct me if I'm wrong, but searching for topics will result in matches at least as far back as 2005. As someone who had been away from the hobby for an extended period, I frequently consult this forum and a few others when I am ignorant. If what you say is true, there should still be old, relevant posts for active collectors. There is nothing wrong with transferring information from one generation to the next, and this forum is a means to doing just that.

I do agree with you in part, because I've been involved in some meaningless, circular posts, but those posts are easy to disregard if one has a legitimate concern about the hobby. Many of the issues facing big-time collectors are the same as those facing a lot of collectors, maybe on a larger scale but similar nonetheless. Yes, these collectors are lurking on the message boards. They may not post, but there is worthwhile info added on a daily basis.

Undoubtedly, when discussions become personal, the forum is of limited use. We can all do our own part in making the forum a better place. How much interest my threads have gotten I can't say, but I will say that I've tried to limit my posts to things relevant to the current collecting experience.

1954

I would agree with that. I think there are thousands of collectors that are sitting on the sidelines just to read what is being posted, but sadly they never post. I find it very interesting how popular the 70's/80s/90's cards have become over the past five years. I remember how the PSA message boards contained only information from 1975 and below. Today you will find many collectors discussing their 80's sets and providing interesting tidbits of those sets. I find it very encouraging that this is occuring because it shows how strong card collecting is still today.
Shane

OcTrAdInG

To encourage people to post, I'd also like to add that many of the most valuable comments I've gotten have been from folks who don't collect the same things (that I collect). If I'm looking for an answer to something hobby-related, I really don't care what your background is or where your interests may be, so long as the answer is correct and timely.

Happy collecting!!!

Edited to Add - That's a beautiful Tony Gwynn card above.

ReggieCleveland

I'm guessing there's an inverse correlation between the number of collectors the OP references and the number of trolls on the message board.