Bi-Weekly Market Report - October 18, 2006
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| Lidle's Death Continues Sad, Greedy Pattern for Hobby Opportunists |
Rarely do I devote an entire Market Report to one topic, but considering the circumstances surrounding Cory Lidle's death, I think I can make an exception. From Beckett: "Even before Cory Lidle's death was confirmed, opportunists had purchased all of Lidle's cards that were offered on eBay with a Buy it Now price. Forty-six Cory Lidle card listings were available on eBay just one hour after the news of his death. Soon after, there were more than 800 listings as dealers and collectors rummaged through their common boxes in anticipation of a big payday in the wake of tragedy. It's a sad pattern that the hobby has seen before with the passing of Dale Earnhardt, Payne Stewart, Kirby Puckett and now Cory Lidle. What collectors must realize is that there is no honor in buying these items now. It's an irresponsible knee-jerk reaction that reinforces the unscrupulous behavior of a select few who are looking to make a quick buck." My take: I can understand both sides of this, and I think it boils down to your morals and values (which I'm obviously no expert on). Some people see no problem in profiting off of ANYTHING - they need to make money to eat and pay rent like the rest of us. And I can certainly understand that. Me personally, I think it matters to me how I make my money. I don't think I could sleep at night from profiting off of a tragedy like this, so I would stay away from it. In my mind, it just isn't worth making a few hundred bucks.
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| Collecting Lidle: Another Perspective |
From Beckett: "Those who jump up and down and call the buying and selling "ghoulish" and "profiting on the dead" are standing in the middle of a forest, but can't see the trees. They don't get that this is what we do as collectors and dealers EVERY SINGLE DAY. What is the difference between selling a Thurman Munson card and a Cory Lidle card? OK to sell Munson, but not OK to sell Lidle? When did it become OK to sell Munson? When will it be OK to sell Lidle? Is it OK to sell Pat Tillman yet? Is it OK to want a Lidell card yet? So what is the difference in selling them today vs. a few months from now? The price will never be the same, so it will still be profiting. Not everyone buying one yesterday did it to make money. They were buying a piece of a legend. Lidle cards will never be the same value they were just a few days ago. When we choose to buy a piece of our legends, it is not in disrespect or greed. Sure, there is some of that. But more likely, it is a form of worship and respect. Most fans didn't know him before, but they want to now. And they want to include him in their collections." My take: Oh boy, here's where it gets a bit fishy. I agree with everything that this article says. For the collector to want to honor Lidle by adding him to their collection, it's impossible to see anything wrong with that. Obviously any smart dealer would throw some of Lidle's cards up now and make more than they would have a month ago. That's not a problem in my eyes. The problem that I (and I think many collectors) have is the people that went online IMMEDIATELY following his death to purchase as much Cory Lidle stuff as they could for the sole purpose of PROFITING from it. That just rubs me wrong.
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| Topps Updates Lidle Card |
From Beckett: "Topps announces that it has reformatted the design of Cory Lidle's 2006 Topps Updates & Highlights trading card. Although the card was shipping in just a few weeks, Topps felt that the proper thing to do was to pull Lidle's card and change the format of the design. Topps made changes to include the words 'In Memoriam 1972-2006'." My take: Good move Topps, good move.
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