Like a bridge
01/05/07 23:34 PersonalGeneral Yammering
It's so damn easy to get discouraged lately, what
with all these allegations of wrongdoing and all.
There are good guys in this hobby. Lots of them. I talk to them every day.
I belong to a community of some of the most honest, knowledgeable, straightforward guys you'll ever meet in the hobby. They're my friends. We look out for each other, help each other out, share personal experiences with one another. They come from every conceivable walk of life. When I first met them, they made the hobby better for me. Now that I've gotten to know them all, they've made my LIFE better. They're my friends, and they all have two things in common: cards, and personal integrity.
I do work for a number of companies that make their money in the hobby. I trust them implicitly. In each case, I started as a customer, and gradually built a relationship with them. In most cases I've become fairly knowledgeable about their businesses, and I'm very comfortable with and confident in them. The management of the two companies I'm closest with - SGC and Robert Edward Auctions - have become my friends, and I enjoy their company and respect them immensely. I respect the way they run their businesses, and the passion they have for the hobby.
Through my work and my collecting, I've met a number of others in the hobby that I've grown to like and respect. Some are friends, and some are people I've only met once or twice, but who have impressed me. Huggins & Scott. Chet Woods. Ron Vitro. Marshall Fogel. Barry Sloate. Jimmy Spence. Levi Bleam. Brett Hardeman. And so many more.
So once in a while, look around the hobby and try not to think about which auction house is fixing cards, which grading company is doing favors for dealers, which seller is shilling his auctions, which grader is slabbing trimmed cards. Instead, look at your cards, and your friends, and try and remember what got you started in this hobby in the first place.
It worked for me today. I got home after reading all the crap that went down today, walked into my card room, sat down, and immersed myself in the hobby. I still feel pretty good.
There are good guys in this hobby. Lots of them. I talk to them every day.
I belong to a community of some of the most honest, knowledgeable, straightforward guys you'll ever meet in the hobby. They're my friends. We look out for each other, help each other out, share personal experiences with one another. They come from every conceivable walk of life. When I first met them, they made the hobby better for me. Now that I've gotten to know them all, they've made my LIFE better. They're my friends, and they all have two things in common: cards, and personal integrity.
I do work for a number of companies that make their money in the hobby. I trust them implicitly. In each case, I started as a customer, and gradually built a relationship with them. In most cases I've become fairly knowledgeable about their businesses, and I'm very comfortable with and confident in them. The management of the two companies I'm closest with - SGC and Robert Edward Auctions - have become my friends, and I enjoy their company and respect them immensely. I respect the way they run their businesses, and the passion they have for the hobby.
Through my work and my collecting, I've met a number of others in the hobby that I've grown to like and respect. Some are friends, and some are people I've only met once or twice, but who have impressed me. Huggins & Scott. Chet Woods. Ron Vitro. Marshall Fogel. Barry Sloate. Jimmy Spence. Levi Bleam. Brett Hardeman. And so many more.
So once in a while, look around the hobby and try not to think about which auction house is fixing cards, which grading company is doing favors for dealers, which seller is shilling his auctions, which grader is slabbing trimmed cards. Instead, look at your cards, and your friends, and try and remember what got you started in this hobby in the first place.
It worked for me today. I got home after reading all the crap that went down today, walked into my card room, sat down, and immersed myself in the hobby. I still feel pretty good.
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