The sociology angle about age equating to inventory and those antiquted value notions is fascinating. That tension between the old-guard collegiality and the card bro transactional culture feels like every collecting niche right now. The dealer's fear of being ousted for making 2000x on a deal really captures how those unwritten social rules can trap people in inefficiency. I dunno if I agree with the "I dont sell it till I figure it out" philosophy tho becasue the cognitive load of researching everything could paralyze you.
That is very true, though I enjoy research and I approach every research project as a chance to learn something new about a collectible that I can file away and perhaps use later. It makes the effort worthwhile. I cannot count the number of times over the last several years that a bit of my time researching one item has led me into a great deal on another related item, whether that deal is acquiring it or not acquiring it, which is sometimes the best deal of all. There are a universe of things that 'should' be valuable but that just are not, and avoiding them is often my biggest challenge.
The sociology angle about age equating to inventory and those antiquted value notions is fascinating. That tension between the old-guard collegiality and the card bro transactional culture feels like every collecting niche right now. The dealer's fear of being ousted for making 2000x on a deal really captures how those unwritten social rules can trap people in inefficiency. I dunno if I agree with the "I dont sell it till I figure it out" philosophy tho becasue the cognitive load of researching everything could paralyze you.
That is very true, though I enjoy research and I approach every research project as a chance to learn something new about a collectible that I can file away and perhaps use later. It makes the effort worthwhile. I cannot count the number of times over the last several years that a bit of my time researching one item has led me into a great deal on another related item, whether that deal is acquiring it or not acquiring it, which is sometimes the best deal of all. There are a universe of things that 'should' be valuable but that just are not, and avoiding them is often my biggest challenge.