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Competing against your Nemesis...... do you have one?

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mrdallas

Active member
Mar 20, 2013
1,414
0
Roseville CA
Being a set collector or even a popular PC guy can really stink sometimes. For the most part it can be rewarding but there are those times when you get stuck competing against someone else who has much much deeper pockets than you (at least it feels that way) and you end up overspending so much money it becomes exhausting. I remember when I was going after my 1998 Precious metals set I had to fight for the cards against someone who I knew would blow me out of the water on each auction. I would always snipe at the end and win very rarely but only if I spent 2X-3X what the card was actually worth. Sometimes as much as 10x what they would sell for if either one of us were not in the game. When going after HTF cards though, at least on the surface, it seems worth it.
I find it really funny because it feels like the other collector is my nemesis and the when I do win the W is sooooo rewarding :)

Does anyone else here have their “Nemesis”??


DO you get that feeling of satisfaction when winning the item over that person?

I know this may sound really shallow (which it probably is) but such is the ways of being a rare set collector I guess. Sorry for the long window post just had to get this off my chest. Now back to the “war” LOL.

I would like to add that I always try to reach out to the people I am competing against and try to reach some sort of agreement so that we don’t exponentially blow the values up. On my Precious Metals set it worked out well as the other collector and I were able to assist each other on some very tough cards to find and not break the bank. We also now have a good enough relationship where I feel OK to reach out to him if I am looking for something rare and I think he may know where it is; however, it does not always work out that way.
 

Pinbreaker

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
10,131
287
Laguna Niguel, CA
With all the Topps Archives autos of Edgar, there are a few of us that are competing for these..

I'm up to about 30 different and the other day I won a card that I had forgot I set a snipe at..

I e-mailed him since we email each other when his stuff hits, and I asked if he wanted the dupe I won.. he said to just send him an invoice as usual.. :)
 

mrdallas

Active member
Mar 20, 2013
1,414
0
Roseville CA
As a collector of many things Phillies, I have a couple. There is one who will bid too high on anything high end. Every time I win one I'm both excited and mad I was made to pay more than I should have!


I so know this feeling... usually a try to not think about it after the fact or I end of getting more mad than excited :)
 

gracecollector

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
6,559
215
Lake in the Hills, IL
Actual message I got this week from an eBay seller. He had accepted my Best Offer on a card, and then my nemesis tried to offer him more to sell it to him.

"I knew that mark grace was a cub's fan favorite, but I did not know to what extent. anyway, your fellow collectors are real cutthroats. 2 offers of $250.00 with suggestions from one on what to tell you. great !! enjoy the great card. this might be the year. It would be good for baseball if the cubs win the world series. will take to postoffice monday morning."
 

mrdallas

Active member
Mar 20, 2013
1,414
0
Roseville CA
That is Shameless!!!!!!! Once there are bids on a card I need or it has been sold, I just move on to the next. I know this stuff happens all the time, but good to hear that your seller has integrity.
 

Therion

Well-known member
Nov 19, 2008
5,781
389
Looooooosiana!
I have such odd collecting habits that I'm always shocked when I get competition. I once had someone bid me up on a Marwin Gonzalez auto. I let him take it up to $40 or so then just went and hit the $5 BIN of the same card from a different seller.

But before I call them stupid, I didn't notice until I was frustrated that I actually had someone competing for it that I looked for another.
 

fordman

Well-known member
Feb 22, 2013
3,190
32
Ohio
About the beginning of August when my guy was traded, someone was bidding on Jay Bruce stuff causing stuff to be out of touch with prices. I'm assuming they were a Mets fan trying to build up a Jay Bruce collection thinking he was going to do a lot better than he did. Now that he's pretty much been a dud in that trade, no one is bidding on stuff of his right now. I know I had to overpay for a few items but glad 'the other guy' dropped out of the bidding war.

Fordman
 

predatorkj

Active member
Aug 7, 2008
11,871
2
Yes I have a couple and one is on this very board. It is frustrating as hell but to be honest, the way I look at it is none of us can have it all and I've got things they don't have and vice versa. If you play the player collecting game thinking you're going to have it all, you better be collecting someone new who has no fans.

I do work with my main nemesis from time to time and have even purchased cards from him. But I don't like to think of anyone as a nemesis. Just as a collector who happens to like the same player I do.
 

mrdallas

Active member
Mar 20, 2013
1,414
0
Roseville CA
Yes I have a couple and one is on this very board. It is frustrating as hell but to be honest, the way I look at it is none of us can have it all and I've got things they don't have and vice versa. If you play the player collecting game thinking you're going to have it all, you better be collecting someone new who has no fans.

I do work with my main nemesis from time to time and have even purchased cards from him. But I don't like to think of anyone as a nemesis. Just as a collector who happens to like the same player I do.



That is why I put nemesis in quotes, It really isn't meant to be any type of disdain or dislike for that person. More, just a serious competitor that at times is like thorn in my side. :) Right now it feels a lot more like a sword. hahaha
 

bstanwood

Well-known member
Sep 24, 2016
3,666
332
Mystic, CT
I don't "know" any of them but there are at least two Wakefield collectors/Sox collectors looking for some of the rare Wakefield cards that have made go much deeper in my pockets than I would have liked. The most notable one i can recall is the 2007 topps heritage chrome black refractor, I lost one a few months prior so I made a bid I knew would not lose, I might have paid nearly 4x the book value but I don't regret it, I haven't seen one since.
2003 topps black was another one i had to drop a small bank to get, it was the only one i ever saw in auction though.
If I collected a player with more current stuff maybe it wouldn't be quite as bad.
 

banjar

Well-known member
Mar 22, 2015
2,540
883
Lafayette, Colorado
So how is it that some of you have actually found your nemesis or nemeses? From a lot of ebay auctions I *think* there's another Alomar collector or two out there, but who knows. I have found and contacted a couple guys online, but both of them are pretty casual. Not hard core enough to spend the big $ like these phantom nemeses do.

Maybe the way to smoke out other collectors is to start a website called "thebestrobertoalomarcollectionintheuniverse.com" and brag enough that they get pissed and write me :). Actually I've thought about that, but just can't get up the motivation needed to create a decent website!
 

mrdallas

Active member
Mar 20, 2013
1,414
0
Roseville CA
So how is it that some of you have actually found your nemesis or nemeses? From a lot of ebay auctions I *think* there's another Alomar collector or two out there, but who knows. I have found and contacted a couple guys online, but both of them are pretty casual. Not hard core enough to spend the big $ like these phantom nemeses do.

Maybe the way to smoke out other collectors is to start a website called "thebestrobertoalomarcollectionintheuniverse.com" and brag enough that they get pissed and write me :). Actually I've thought about that, but just can't get up the motivation needed to create a decent website!


For me, Once eBay changed to the new format of making it impossible to see the actual user ID, I would list cards that I had and thought the other guy needed but higher than I figured even they would spend. Then when they would make an offer on one of my items, I had there ID and could make contact with them.
 

banjar

Well-known member
Mar 22, 2015
2,540
883
Lafayette, Colorado
Thanks! That is a really good idea.

For me, Once eBay changed to the new format of making it impossible to see the actual user ID, I would list cards that I had and thought the other guy needed but higher than I figured even they would spend. Then when they would make an offer on one of my items, I had there ID and could make contact with them.
 

tonsofcommons

Active member
Aug 20, 2008
6,102
13
Iowa
My wife is my collecting nemesis! LOL

Just kidding. She actually has gotten cards for my Latrell Sprewell collection and my current Pacific collection.

I actually bid against her on a card that she was trying to buy me for Christmas last year. LOL!

I don't really have a specific nemesis, but I do run in to player collectors that I bid against when I am trying to grab certain cards.
 

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