Is Collecting Still Fun?

Is Collecting Still Fun?

  

Hmmmm....

It would seem to be an easy question to answer you would think if you are collecting. But, it may not be either.

I feel the "fun" aspect is trying to be pushed out and in return it's turning more about the money. Rip and Flip. Buy and Flip. Flip and Flip. Whatever it takes to make money.

It's sad to see my Twitter timeline sometimes when all I see is people selling stuff. Some of which they put in their profiles as "PC material" but it's being sold off. Whatever happened to collecting that stuff you PC? Has it lost it's "fun" appeal and it's just about making money now? What happened to collecting in general?

It's not just Twitter either. Facebook I see it in Groups, I see it on my Facebook page for Sport Card Collectors to. I hear about it in conversations from my father. "Well, I just picked up this box of random assorted cards for $10 and already sold two of the cards for $25 and the rest are pending sales." 

But, I thought you said you were collecting? Didn't sound like you kept any of those cards. How is that collecting?

It may just be me feeling this way or seeing it this way. I don't sell cards and before this gets out of context, I don't have a problem with people who do. It's all apart of the hobby and keeps it going. I have just been feeling that there has been a lot more selling/flipping than collecting now.

So that's why I posed the question, is collecting still fun?

If you were to ask me that question, it's a straight out yes without hesitation. Everyday brings a new adventure in the hobby for me. A new blog post to type, a new Hampton card to attempt to land and some new sorting project that needs to be completed. And even some trade that needs to be attempted or finished off.

But, if I was to ask some of the main flippers I see, what would they say. Would they say it's fun to collect or say it's fun to flip. That's two different things in my opinion. Flipping is not collecting and collecting is not flipping.

So it made me wonder what made the hobby less fun if that's what I am seeing. Could it be the cost so people feel like they have to flip? Is it the negativity that graded trimmed cards brings and collectors worrying who they can trust? Is it the fact licensing only allows us to buy our sport from one company? It is the possibility of fake autographs in the hobby? Or is there another reason IF the hobby is less fun.

Just theories I suppose. Maybe I am just misreading all of it or maybe I am seeing something you are as well.

So that poses the question to you, is collecting still fun and do you see the trend I am seeing?