Since this is an editorial piece, we have the freedom to vent and go on tangents at times. This article will be more of a polite vent. With COVID-19 shutting life down since March 2020, collectors have been itching to buy, sell, and trade in person. The card flippers are in paradise though, inflating card prices before selling them online to us desperate shut-ins.
Do we sound bitter? Maybe a little. The flippers are taking advantage of events in the environment. It’s capitalism 101. We live in the USA. So, we aren’t full bitter. But bitter, yes.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of being a collector of memorabilia (or dare we say a “picker”) these days is that we cannot see, feel, and hold these valuable collectibles as we consider purchasing them. How does it make you feel to pull that Fleer Michael Jordan Rookie card in and out of your desk drawer? Is that feeling worth $3,000 or a lower PSA grade? Is the card you’re holding obviously a fake?
But even more heartbreaking to the FSM staff than not being able to walk into their local hobby shops is the disappearance of garage sales. It’s quite a felling to find a rare gem, collectible, or piece of memorabilia on a sunny Saturday morning. If you’re really lucky, you’ll get a cool story about the item to take with you as well. Garage sales are also one of the last places where people can actually negotiate a fair price for the things they want.
We recently came across a story in which someone found a lot of Patrick Mahomes rookie cards at a local thrift shop. The story was encouraging because it’s indicative that stores are opening and collectors are venturing out to search for treasure. We’ll end on that positive note. The collectors are restless – but not for much longer.
P.S. If the title of this editorial is familiar it’s because it was inspired by this Far Side collection.
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