Collector Corner: When Did Collecting Become Just About Profit – Many people, not surprisingly, would answer yes to that question. I have been collecting for about a year now and it still gets to me how so many people are seemingly involved in the hobby only to make money. Now of course, I’m not talking about hobby store owners their job is to sell trading cards. The people I’m talking about are the ones who judge other collectors by how much their collection is worth. I see this very often and its disconcerting.
I like to collect Bishop Sankey, and if you don’t know who that is he is currently on the practice squad for the New England Patriots. As a result of his current situation, his cards aren’t worth that much. It’s one of the reasons why I collect him – to prove a point.
I will often receive messages via social media asking me “Why do you PC (personally collect) him he’s not that good.” Or, even more deragatory, “He sucks! You’ll never make your money back.”
Well, the answer is simply that making my money back is not why I’m in the hobby. I’m in the hobby for the joy of collecting. It seems to me that too many people think that you have to own the best and most expensive cards out there to be a “true collector”. If you don’t, you’ll be judged just because you can’t afford the same cards that other people have.
But if you are happy with your collection, why feel the need to crush the spirit of another collector simply because they collect differently or have a different taste in cards than you? The answer is that all too often, it seems, that people are just in it for the money and not the enjoyment or to share their collection with fellow collectors. Instead they want to flip their cards and make a quick buck.
I see this happening more and more in the Instagram community, in particular. It is actually pretty upsetting. When I joined, I was under the impression that as long as you had nice cards, no matter the player or their value, that people would accept that and not judge you. Unfortunately, I quickly found out that this is not the case.
I don’t understand the need for some people to find fault with your collection simply to bring you down. I do try and see the bright side of things and think that maybe I actually enjoy the hobby more then that person. I know not all collectors behave this way. In fact, I’ve actually met people who are really nice and make me feel awesome about my PC. I hope this will change some people’s point of view on the hobby and bring the enjoyment back if they’ve lost it.
Submitted by Breanna Couvillion. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @bree_cards87
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Collector Corner: When Did Collecting Become Just About Profit
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