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many people seem to hawk sports memorabilia by proclaiming it to be a great investment. (apparently, it's such a great investment that they need to sell it asap. or maybe they're so altruistic that they want you to reap all the astounding future profits.) while we've all seen items occasionally flipped for a handsome profit, i'm unaware what enables them to be able to accurately judge the investment potential of an item. unlike more mainstream investments such as commodities, real estate, or securities, sports memorabilia doesn't have reams of data showing the specific, long-term financial performance of various items. where can i find out, for example, the financial performance, over the past 10 yrs, of 1992 kirby puckett game-used jerseys? sporadic anecdotes, atypical cases, and anomalies hardly qualify. auction house results are all over the place with identical items often fetching very different prices. i suspect their pitch is meant to help part buyers with their money by promising that the item isn't just a fun luxury; it's an "investment"! if a buyer is reluctant to part with a large sum over a relatively irreverant item then surely the promise that the item will make them money will do the trick. it's a common pitch and i'm sure most of us recognize as a steaming pile of BS, but it strikes me as blatantly irresponsible and borderline fraudulent when dealers and auction houses enter the realm of investment advisors, lending advice for which they have absolutely no data to support.
the last AMI catalog had an article discussing the game-used market in recessionary times. i was very interested to read what i thought would finally be a rare, substantial article discussing the financial performance of this market. i was expecting to see hard data, profound economic theories applied in relevant, enlightening ways, and some great statistical analysis. as i should've guessed, the article had none of them. the article was a puff piece that basically said the game-used market will remain strong and that "blue-chip" pieces retain their value in tough times. while it was shocking to hear an auction house whose livelihood depends on brokering sales "objectively" reassure the market that all is well, it was even more surprising to see that none of their claims were backed up by a single shred of data or evidence. it was nice to read that blue-chips will retain their value if only because i have a love of the blindingly obvious. (AMI regularly sells tons of non-blue chip pieces so i found it amusing that they were implying that the value of those collectibles may tank.)
this month's AMI catalog, replete with the usual spelling and grammatical errors, tempts with more inane financial advice. kieta (whose angelyne-esque photo always bring a smile to my face) offers that "At no other time in history has the memorabilia market been so strong. Prices and values are holding strong and steadily compounding". holding and compounding. ok. no data supporting any of that. skip forward past her bizarre discussion of the "avant-guard" (like avant-garde but with more protection?), and she puts her investment advisor hat on and offers up this stunning gem: "Acquisitions in memorabilia are a dynamic (and exciting) way to diversify your portfolio - invest for college, or just to enjoy en route to a cozy retirement. One great feature in sports or celebrity memorabilia is that you can always safely redeem." wow. just. wow. is that a new offer from AMI? or just an incredibly irresponsible, inaccurate, garbage sales pitch? if it's the former, then rob mitchell who's been trying to hawk his black betsy on ebay for a long time now may want to take them on it. it gets even better: "..more often than not, the general trend of enhancement in our industry provides security and promises greater rewards..than any other financial endeavor". any data to help support any of that massive assertion? of course not. she wraps up in fine style by saying that sports memorabilia "glitters with immensely more radiance than a featureless stock certificate". (highest stock returns for 2007 (year-ending totals): MOS 327%, AKS 174%, OI 168%, NOV 140%, AMZN 135%). i'd like to see the last item that returned over 327% in the current market. i'd even be interested in 120+% returns. surely AMI wouldn't spout such huge assertions without solid data, so i'd love to hear it.
while i understand that kieta's missives are often little more than nonsensical, misspelled combinations of imaginary words, this sort of pseudo-financial drivel strikes me as an irresponsible and inaccurate way of marketing items. false advertising constitutes fraud as does giving unqualified financial advice. the truth is that as an auction house, AMI's entire livelihood solely depends on the commissions collected from transactions. the higher the transaction amount and the greater the volume, the more AMI makes. whether the transactions make sound financial sense isn't their concern. in fact, it's in their best interest for buyers to grossly overpay as that means higher commissions. the idea that AMI is reassuring buyers that their purchases are "investments that you can always safely redeem" is so disingenous and shady that it conjures up the idea of a weasel telling a chicken that its eggs are safest if looked after by the weasel.
to wrap it up with a little comedy, here's an "investment":
rudy.
the last AMI catalog had an article discussing the game-used market in recessionary times. i was very interested to read what i thought would finally be a rare, substantial article discussing the financial performance of this market. i was expecting to see hard data, profound economic theories applied in relevant, enlightening ways, and some great statistical analysis. as i should've guessed, the article had none of them. the article was a puff piece that basically said the game-used market will remain strong and that "blue-chip" pieces retain their value in tough times. while it was shocking to hear an auction house whose livelihood depends on brokering sales "objectively" reassure the market that all is well, it was even more surprising to see that none of their claims were backed up by a single shred of data or evidence. it was nice to read that blue-chips will retain their value if only because i have a love of the blindingly obvious. (AMI regularly sells tons of non-blue chip pieces so i found it amusing that they were implying that the value of those collectibles may tank.)
this month's AMI catalog, replete with the usual spelling and grammatical errors, tempts with more inane financial advice. kieta (whose angelyne-esque photo always bring a smile to my face) offers that "At no other time in history has the memorabilia market been so strong. Prices and values are holding strong and steadily compounding". holding and compounding. ok. no data supporting any of that. skip forward past her bizarre discussion of the "avant-guard" (like avant-garde but with more protection?), and she puts her investment advisor hat on and offers up this stunning gem: "Acquisitions in memorabilia are a dynamic (and exciting) way to diversify your portfolio - invest for college, or just to enjoy en route to a cozy retirement. One great feature in sports or celebrity memorabilia is that you can always safely redeem." wow. just. wow. is that a new offer from AMI? or just an incredibly irresponsible, inaccurate, garbage sales pitch? if it's the former, then rob mitchell who's been trying to hawk his black betsy on ebay for a long time now may want to take them on it. it gets even better: "..more often than not, the general trend of enhancement in our industry provides security and promises greater rewards..than any other financial endeavor". any data to help support any of that massive assertion? of course not. she wraps up in fine style by saying that sports memorabilia "glitters with immensely more radiance than a featureless stock certificate". (highest stock returns for 2007 (year-ending totals): MOS 327%, AKS 174%, OI 168%, NOV 140%, AMZN 135%). i'd like to see the last item that returned over 327% in the current market. i'd even be interested in 120+% returns. surely AMI wouldn't spout such huge assertions without solid data, so i'd love to hear it.
while i understand that kieta's missives are often little more than nonsensical, misspelled combinations of imaginary words, this sort of pseudo-financial drivel strikes me as an irresponsible and inaccurate way of marketing items. false advertising constitutes fraud as does giving unqualified financial advice. the truth is that as an auction house, AMI's entire livelihood solely depends on the commissions collected from transactions. the higher the transaction amount and the greater the volume, the more AMI makes. whether the transactions make sound financial sense isn't their concern. in fact, it's in their best interest for buyers to grossly overpay as that means higher commissions. the idea that AMI is reassuring buyers that their purchases are "investments that you can always safely redeem" is so disingenous and shady that it conjures up the idea of a weasel telling a chicken that its eggs are safest if looked after by the weasel.
to wrap it up with a little comedy, here's an "investment":
rudy.
Don't worry, Aeneas, I have no stake in the matter and am not passing judgment upon you in posting this.
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